I am often asked what it takes to become an executive coach and the answer unfortunately is "a business card that says Executive Coach.
" Business, performance, or executive coaching (it goes by many names) is an unregulated industry, so while you know that your doctor or dentist must have some form of qualification and adhere to specific guidelines, anyone can call themselves an executive coach.
The world recession has left many managers and professionals without a job and an increasing tendency is for such people to want to share their knowledge and experience by offering an executive coaching service.
Of course, simply having great knowledge and experience doesn't necessarily make you a great executive coach.
You can't blame people however for moving into this field, as it is generally regarded as being a $1.
5 billion industry, with an estimated 30,000 coaches worldwide.
(Nixon-Witt, 2008.
) So how can an individual or a corporate client select the best executive coach? Like so many things in the world of business there are 7 steps.
1.
Find out how they justify calling themselves an executive coach.
In the absence of a regulatory framework, you need to ask some probing questions.
Do they have a bone fide qualification in this field and if so how was it obtained? Organisations such as the Coaching Academy in the UK, offer a well established process and some universities are starting to offer post graduate executive coaching qualifications.
Such qualifications and accreditations involve being observed providing coaching and also signing up to a code of conduct.
Check with your coach that they have such credentials.
If they are in a professional body, what criteria was there for entry? If it's just a question of paying, then it is meaningless.
2.
Talk to current clients.
This is the catch 22 situations for a new coach, but I can't help but to advise that you should look for a proven track record of coaching.
Try to talk to their coachees and ask probing questions, as their feeling of loyalty to the executive coach might lead them to give a generic favourable reference but they might not be able to confirm some specific points, if spoken to directly.
For instance, did they sign a coaching agreement? Was a code of conduct discussed? Do they set regular action plans? Can they give an example of where the coaching has helped them? On what basis are they rating their coach highly? (If they have no prior experience of a coach, they might not know what good looks like.
) 3.
Ask for documentation such as confidentiality agreements, action plans, booking systems etc, and see if they can send them instantly or if their appear to have rushed off and produced something for you.
A professional coach will have developed templates for the various stages of coaching and be able to show examples of tools that they use.
4.
What support tools can they use? For instance, personality profiling or 360 degree questionnaires.
A reputable coach will either have the certification and systems to be able to do this themselves or will have an agreement with a suitable qualified occupational psychologist.
While tools such as 360 degree questionnaires are not the be all and end all, a coach should have access to a tool kit, in order to be able to flex to the needs of the individual.
5.
Meet the coach.
If you are a corporate client then your first rationale for the meeting is to ensure that they meet the criteria listed above and that they are a professional you feel you could do business with and whose terms are acceptable.
Then get them together with the potential coachee.
The success of a coaching relationship with a capable executive coach is totally dependent upon the coachee's attitude to the coaching and the rapport between the two of them.
A great executive coach should be able to spot a lack of dedication to the process and suggest a different development intervention and equally, either party should be able to tell if there is a suitable rapport.
6.
Try before you buy.
Assuming that both parties want to proceed, then run an initial executive coaching session and have a de brief with the coachee.
The meeting should have been more than enjoyable, it should have included elements such as setting the ground rules, probing questions to understand the issues that will most add value to the coachee and there should already have been some initial actions agreed on the part of the coachee.
This description might not fit well with some executive coaches who while professional, take a longer term view to developing the individual, but as a corporate client you generally can't wait years for an improvement, hence my suggested action orientated stance.
7.
Agree and monitor some form of metric for the coaching.
The confidential nature of executive coaching often means that the client who pays the bill (the employer) is in the dark as to how effective the process is being.
A great executive coach should be able to agree in advance some meaningful metrics, most of which should be quantifiable, such as how many meetings, how many action points agreed, an assessment by the coachee as to whether agreed goals have been met and lastly a 360 degree questionnaire at the start of the process and further 360 degree feedback at the end (typically 12 to 18 months later.
) While this article has probably made me very unpopular with a number of coaches, it should be noted that not long ago, I was the Organisational Development Manager for a multi national and therefore held the budget for people development.
I wish all my providers had been able to show a great ROI and were so focussed on visible improvements in my staff.
Why should the clients of a coach feel any differently.
" Business, performance, or executive coaching (it goes by many names) is an unregulated industry, so while you know that your doctor or dentist must have some form of qualification and adhere to specific guidelines, anyone can call themselves an executive coach.
The world recession has left many managers and professionals without a job and an increasing tendency is for such people to want to share their knowledge and experience by offering an executive coaching service.
Of course, simply having great knowledge and experience doesn't necessarily make you a great executive coach.
You can't blame people however for moving into this field, as it is generally regarded as being a $1.
5 billion industry, with an estimated 30,000 coaches worldwide.
(Nixon-Witt, 2008.
) So how can an individual or a corporate client select the best executive coach? Like so many things in the world of business there are 7 steps.
1.
Find out how they justify calling themselves an executive coach.
In the absence of a regulatory framework, you need to ask some probing questions.
Do they have a bone fide qualification in this field and if so how was it obtained? Organisations such as the Coaching Academy in the UK, offer a well established process and some universities are starting to offer post graduate executive coaching qualifications.
Such qualifications and accreditations involve being observed providing coaching and also signing up to a code of conduct.
Check with your coach that they have such credentials.
If they are in a professional body, what criteria was there for entry? If it's just a question of paying, then it is meaningless.
2.
Talk to current clients.
This is the catch 22 situations for a new coach, but I can't help but to advise that you should look for a proven track record of coaching.
Try to talk to their coachees and ask probing questions, as their feeling of loyalty to the executive coach might lead them to give a generic favourable reference but they might not be able to confirm some specific points, if spoken to directly.
For instance, did they sign a coaching agreement? Was a code of conduct discussed? Do they set regular action plans? Can they give an example of where the coaching has helped them? On what basis are they rating their coach highly? (If they have no prior experience of a coach, they might not know what good looks like.
) 3.
Ask for documentation such as confidentiality agreements, action plans, booking systems etc, and see if they can send them instantly or if their appear to have rushed off and produced something for you.
A professional coach will have developed templates for the various stages of coaching and be able to show examples of tools that they use.
4.
What support tools can they use? For instance, personality profiling or 360 degree questionnaires.
A reputable coach will either have the certification and systems to be able to do this themselves or will have an agreement with a suitable qualified occupational psychologist.
While tools such as 360 degree questionnaires are not the be all and end all, a coach should have access to a tool kit, in order to be able to flex to the needs of the individual.
5.
Meet the coach.
If you are a corporate client then your first rationale for the meeting is to ensure that they meet the criteria listed above and that they are a professional you feel you could do business with and whose terms are acceptable.
Then get them together with the potential coachee.
The success of a coaching relationship with a capable executive coach is totally dependent upon the coachee's attitude to the coaching and the rapport between the two of them.
A great executive coach should be able to spot a lack of dedication to the process and suggest a different development intervention and equally, either party should be able to tell if there is a suitable rapport.
6.
Try before you buy.
Assuming that both parties want to proceed, then run an initial executive coaching session and have a de brief with the coachee.
The meeting should have been more than enjoyable, it should have included elements such as setting the ground rules, probing questions to understand the issues that will most add value to the coachee and there should already have been some initial actions agreed on the part of the coachee.
This description might not fit well with some executive coaches who while professional, take a longer term view to developing the individual, but as a corporate client you generally can't wait years for an improvement, hence my suggested action orientated stance.
7.
Agree and monitor some form of metric for the coaching.
The confidential nature of executive coaching often means that the client who pays the bill (the employer) is in the dark as to how effective the process is being.
A great executive coach should be able to agree in advance some meaningful metrics, most of which should be quantifiable, such as how many meetings, how many action points agreed, an assessment by the coachee as to whether agreed goals have been met and lastly a 360 degree questionnaire at the start of the process and further 360 degree feedback at the end (typically 12 to 18 months later.
) While this article has probably made me very unpopular with a number of coaches, it should be noted that not long ago, I was the Organisational Development Manager for a multi national and therefore held the budget for people development.
I wish all my providers had been able to show a great ROI and were so focussed on visible improvements in my staff.
Why should the clients of a coach feel any differently.
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