What is coaching?

From the desk of Jenny Roche –  Director, Board Business

Coaching is one of the most powerful ways to fast track the professional development  of executives. It enables an executive to ‘see themselves’ clearly, through the eyes of their peers, their team and their stakeholders.  It enables an assessment of “where am I now and where do I need to be” to be successful in this role or to be prepared for the next.  Using this insight, coaching helps people improve their personal performance and in the process can deliver fantastic business results.

 Everyone who wants to maximise their performance can benefit from coaching, even the best performers. Sports people know this. It is unthinkable to imagine Raphael Nadal deciding he no longer needed a coach having attained number one seed as a professional tennis player. 

A good executive coach will see things that you can’t. They will ask you questions you hadn’t thought of. They stimulate you out of repetitive thinking. They listen, question and provoke creative thinking. They challenge you to focus on what is important and ensure that outcomes add real value.

So what is the difference between coaching and mentoring?  Let’s assume you were trying to choose between two new hires into an important position.

A coach would ask you questions about the ideal person for the role and the balance of people on your team currently. They would ask you how you would manage each person to bring out their best, and they would check that you understood how the strengths and weaknesses of each person complemented your own. They would use their experience to challenge you to think outside your normal hiring paradigms and assist you come to the best decision.

A mentor would share with you what he or she would do in your circumstance based on his or her experience with hiring for similar roles in the past. They give you the benefit of their experience.

So, why should you consider coaching?   Because it works…..

In late 2005, Dr Gavin Dagley, supported by the Australian Human Resources Institute, instigated a research program to look into the success of executive coaching.  Overwhelmingly both the HR practitioners and the executives who participated in the study found that the coaching programs to have been successful. 

The following is the 5 most common benefits of coaching observed by HR practitioners:

  • Clearer understanding of own style, automatic responses and the issues arising from these;
  • Improved communication and engagement skills;
  • Improved coping with stress and robustness;
  • Clearer understanding of own professional performance; and
  • Clearer understanding of organisational issues and how to overcome them.

Executive Coaching is a bespoke development program to brings out the best in executives, to re-engage and inspire them and in doing so achieve accelerated business performance.

Link to report: A Guide to Using Executive Coaching

Sources:

Stephen Neal; Liz Spencer-Arnell & Liz Wilson; Emotional Intelligence Coaching; Kogan Page Limited, 2009

Robert Kaplan; Top executives need feedback—here’s how they can get it : McKinsey Quarterly SEPTEMBER 2011 https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Top_executives_need_feedback–heres_how_they_can_get_it_2852

Posted in - Executive Coaching