Today, executive coaching is on the rise. Newer and more exciting executive coaching methods have been developed that are effective in not only expanding executive coaching effectiveness but also executive coaching client satisfaction. At the root of most coaching processes are a few essential practices that differentiate coaching from other development activities. The following six steps of the executive coaching process have gained broad acceptance as a powerful approach to developing leaders. They represent some of the fundamental underlying practices of coaching, and with careful examination can act as a lens to determine if the right people are involved, resources are available, timelines make sense, and your expectations are clear.
1. Direction
Ensure that both parties understand the desired outcome of the coaching engagement. Often this is called contracting or setting clear objectives for the process. What will the individual or team be doing differently as a result of the coaching process? This step should include a specific, measurable, and timely outcome.
If your coaching objective is for a team to “Improve communication,” that could mean anything from identifying specific opportunities for alignment with executive leadership to developing an action plan to ensure more effective collaboration on individual projects. The latter would be an example of a measurable outcome, while the former might not be as easily measured against expectations.
2. Discovery
What are existing conditions and what is needed to achieve the desired outcome? What has prevented success in the past and why do those barriers need to be crossed again? At this stage, it is important for coaches to understand constraints and assumptions that can limit their ability to influence the individual and organization. Moving beyond these limiting factors is one of the key functions of executive coaching.
Executive coaching around executive presence might uncover an executive’s belief that if she were more relaxed and had better eye contact with her leadership team, she would be seen as more authoritative. These assumptions could then be identified as the starting point to developing executive presence-a critical leadership competency for this executive. This discovery stage is critical and should include identifying people who might have insight into the executive’s situation or experiences that are relevant to the coaching objective.
3. Development:
How will the individual or team get from Point A (current state) to Point B (desired outcome)? What are all of the variables that need to change? Most importantly, remember no one person can be successful in changing himself or herself so all parties involved must also be willing and able to change. This is critical because executive coaching is not just about the executive being coached, but also about executive leadership teams and their willingness to support executive growth. Therefore, it is important for people involved in executive coaching processes to have a good understanding of what success will look like at Point B.
If an executive is struggling with executive presence, does that mean that the executive is more likely to be outspoken during meetings? How will this behavior change affect the team’s ability to support and follow executive leadership? What executive behaviors have contributed to success in the past?
The development step should also include an assessment of readiness. In other words, what are the conditions needed for successful coaching at Point B? If this includes a different type of work environment because it has been too hierarchical in the past, how realistic is that goal within the organization? This may also involve changing an individual’s job description or even reassigning someone else on the executive team. As you can see, there could be some unintended consequences if these changes do not take place. It is important to deal with executive coaching changes in as realistic a way as possible.
4. Design
Is this the right process (coaching) for achieving the desired results? There may be more efficient ways for individuals or teams to achieve their outcome through other means, such as training or mentoring. In addition, self-directed learning can also be valuable in helping an individual or team develop themselves. If executive coaching is the best means for achieving an outcome (rather than training, mentoring or self-directed learning), then the coach must determine whether this executive is a good fit. This involves assessing the executive’s readiness and willingness to participate in executive coaching as well as their desire and commitment to change.
For instance, executive coaching might not be the best fit if an executive is not open to receiving feedback. If executive coaching is determined to be the most appropriate means for achieving desired results and a good fit, then executive coaches should design their coaching approach accordingly.
5. Direct
Coaches act as catalysts during the period of change and are careful not to oversteer or overcorrect. As one senior executive put it, “I don’t want my coach to screw up all that I have worked hard to accomplish.” Coaching is about empowering individuals and organizations so they can continue their progress after the coaching engagement has ended. Therefore, executive coaches should help their executive to develop a realistic plan for managing the change.
The executive coaching relationship is delicate and requires mutual trust, respect, confidentiality, and an appreciation of executive coaching as a process that can be difficult at times. One executive described it this way: “I knew I was in trouble when my coach told me I was doing all the work and he wasn’t making much progress.” This executive saw “progress” as simply following through on what he had decided he wanted to do rather than being open to new ideas about how his behavior might also affect others. For example, in trying to build his executive presence during meetings, one executive became more competitive with other executives rather than more collaborative even though they had been working together for years.
There are executive coaching models that describe the process as linear and others that view executive coaching as a spiral in which executive coaches return to previous stages of development. Either model can be effective but they both require executive coaches to shift their mindset once completed steps have been achieved. For instance, executive coaches must constantly remind themselves not to over-function or over-coach during the discovery and planning stages when executives are expected to drive their own improvements. Once executives reach Point B these same executive coaches might find that they need to redirect their efforts toward creating new opportunities for executives who may be moving beyond what is required from them at work.
6. Debrief
It is essential that both the coach and individual or team debrief at the end of a coaching engagement to understand what worked for them, what could be improved next time, and how they can more effectively work with others in the future.” Debriefing is critical for executive coaching because the process of executive coaching does not end with a formalized conclusion. Instead, executive coaches should help executives transition back to their regular roles and responsibilities. These individuals need support in order to sustain what they have learned through executive coaching, and this may require follow up meetings with executive coaches.
For instance, one executive had difficulty transitioning from his executive coach once he returned to work, but it was imperative that he continue receiving feedback on how he handled himself with others in the organization so as not to lose all that he had learned during his time apart from the workplace. Executive coaches should find ways to support executive’s efforts to move forward in their new leadership roles as well as ways to continue executive coaching beyond formalized executive coaching engagements.
In conclusion, executive coaching is a collaborative process that requires executive coaches to provide executive leadership with the tools and knowledge necessary to improve their executive presence within and outside of the organization. Executive coaching builds upon executive’s strengths rather than attempt to replace or rebuild who they are as leaders. It focuses on results; helping executives develop sustainable new thinking patterns, behaviors, mindfulness, and actions so organizations can become more aligned toward a common purpose. In order for executive coaching relationships to be effective, both the individual executive being coached as well as his or her coach must have an appreciation for this evolving process in order for development goals to be achieved.