2.7 Executive Coaching
Beyond the Myths
by Sharon Thompson/Nomadic Life management Consultants
This article is for executives and senior managers who are considering coaching. I offer some questions and considerations for you in your search for the right executive coach (for you) who can be a proper partner in your ongoing leadership development.
FAQ’s
    • “So you’re an executive coach, should I lie down on the couch now?”
    • “What is executive coaching really?”
    • “If I come for executive coaching, will I end up leaving my job, my company, my wife, my family ….?”
    • “You’re the coach (‘the expert’); tell me what’s wrong and how to fix it.”
    • “You tell me that our sessions are confidential. How do I know that you will not share what I say with others in the company?”
    • “You’re just a psychologist, what do you know about leading organizations?”
    • “HR says that I should come to you for coaching. I don’t have any time for this. I don’t see how coaching will add any value to what I need to do for this company.”

These are just some of the typical questions and opinions that I hear from people who contact us for executive coaching. The executive coaching field is booming and many, many people (both qualified and unqualified) are calling themselves executive coaches these days. It is no wonder that so many myths and misconceptions about executive coaching abound.

In order to set a context for my remarks, I am currently providing coaching to senior managers and executives based in Europe who are working for international organizations spanning a number of industries. About 70% of our coaching clients are expatriates.

What is executive coaching?
The activity of ‘coaching’ has been around for many years although the word(s) to describe it may have been different. Definitions of ‘coaching’ vary greatly. The following are a few definitions that capture some of the key essentials of executive coaching.
    • “Executive coaching is the process of equipping people with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities they need to develop themselves and become more effective.” 1
    • “Executive coaching is an experiential and individualized leader development process that builds a leader’s capability to achieve short- and long-term organizational goals. It is conducted through one- on-one interactions, driven by data from multiple perspectives, and based on mutual trust and respect. The organization, an executive, and the executive coach work in partnership to achieve maximum impact.” 2
    • “Executive coaching is a formal engagement in which a qualified coach works with an organizational leader in a series of dynamic, confidential sessions designed to establish and achieve clear goals that will result in improved business effectiveness, both for the individual and the organization. A good coach helps executives develop clarity of purpose and focus on action.” 3
    • “I view coaching as a one-on-one or group service to (mostly) senior executives designed to create more effective, healthier organizations. This definition assumes that when senior executives improve their performance, such benefits spread throughout the organization.” 4
I define ‘executive coaching’ for potential clients as a “time- limited, contractual, confidential and ‘results-oriented’ partnership designed to equip them with the insights and tools that they need to develop themselves and their organizations”. This coaching can be with an individual executive or an entire senior management team.
I am currently doing more one-to-one executive coaching than group executive coaching. However, I have found that team executive coaching (if handled properly) can be a very powerful way to accomplish significant organizational change in a short period of time. The coach can work simultaneously on individual and system issues, e.g.
A Danish General Manager has recently been appointed regional director (EMEA) for a UK- headquartered company. He wants to get started with his new management team in a good way. He and the other members of the team take a number of assessment instruments (e.g. work style, personality and 360 degree instruments). The skilled executive coach can then debrief the results of the assessment with the team. Individual managers on the team learn about their individual effectiveness strengths and developmental needs. In addition, the team can learn about itself and its strengths and developmental needs in facing upcoming business challenges.
I expect to see more of a shift to the use of team executive coaching in the future.
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         The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.
-Chinese proverb
‘Coaching’ is not the same as management consulting, mentoring, counseling or short-term psychotherapy. Management consultants often come in to ‘fix a problem’ and they may offer a defined solution to the problem.  In coaching, it is essential that the client comes to his or her own conclusions about the best way to go forward. I believe that an executive coach should be a ‘guide on the side’ rather than a ‘sage on a stage’ although there are certainly a number of ‘executive coaching gurus’ in the marketplace these days. Executive coaching should go beyond the traditional idea about ‘mentoring’ (i.e. an internal, older manager who helps you to expand your networks and gives you career advancement advice).
Different cultures use the terms ‘coaching’ and ‘mentoring’ very differently. One well-known UK coaching and mentoring firm states, “Coaching is primarily about performance and the development of specific skills. Mentoring is much more broadly based and intuitive focusing on developing capability and often includes longer term help in career self-management.” 5 The term ‘mentoring’ seems much more widely used in the United Kingdom than in continental Europe. Many of our international clients only have familiarity with the term ‘coaching’ from the field of athletics. It is important to find the words and terminology for the coaching process that make sense to the client.
There is a continuum between executive coaching and counseling or psychotherapy. However, coaching should focus on the present and the future while counseling or psychotherapy focuses mainly on the past and the present. In my coaching work, I consider the whole person (i.e. inside and outside of work) although the main focus of our discussions is around work. There are times when psychotherapeutic issues come up in executive coaching. I will acknowledge these issues explicitly when they arise and then discuss some options for addressing them with my client. I then make a judgement about whether these issues can best be handled within the coaching relationship. If not, then I will refer the client to a psychotherapist. If my client is having relationship difficulties, these difficulties may be impacting his or her ability to lead. However, in this case, I would most likely encourage him or her and the partner to seek couples therapy together.
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The true journey of discovery does not consist in searching for new territories but in having new eyes.
-Marcel Proust
What are the issues that people typically bring to coaching?
Executive coaching clients (will) present with a variety of issues of varying levels of complexity such as:
    • Sharpening leadership effectiveness
    • Improving relationships with a boss, peers, direct reports or key stakeholders
    • Managing conflict
    • Effective international career management
    • Leading organizational change
    • Using organizational diversity to ‘get the job done’
    • Building and maintaining a high performance, globally-dispersed team
    • Balancing head office demands with regional and local realities
    • Goal- and priority-setting
    • Improving self-confidence and personal effectiveness
There may be other issues that emerge as a result of the assessment phase at the beginning of the coaching process.
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Finding the right match in a coach

Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it’s the only thing.
-Albert Schweitzer
Since you are going to be the ‘client’, you should be able to specify the characteristics, competencies and values that are important for you. When I am being interviewed as a possible ‘executive coach’, I am quickly asked 1) whether I have been a manager myself and 2) questions around my knowledge and experience of current business practices. You may have a preference for someone of a certain age group, gender or nationality (for example). I do point out to potential clients however that, if I am too much like them, then I might not be able challenge them sufficiently. Likewise, if we are too different, then we might not be able to forge an effective working relationship.
What are the key competencies that you want in an executive coach?
    • Languages
    • management experience
    • experience in your firm or sector
    • experience coaching your level of management
    • expatriate experience
    • membership in relevant professional organizations

There is both science and art in the practice of executive coaching. There needs to be ‘good chemistry’ between you and the coach. You need to feel comfortable with his or her personal and professional style and that s/he will both support and challenge you in the coaching relationship in culturally appropriate ways. I would work very differently with a male Dutch manager than I would with a female Irish director, for example.
There are also some additional (more intangible) values that you may find important to have in a coach such as trust, respect and safety. If you are discussing an IPO or a potential takeover bid, you need to be sure that the coach will maintain confidentiality. If the client is referred to you by HR, you need to agree with your client and HR what information will and will not be shared back with HR. If your coach is coaching other managers within your organization, you need to feel confident that your information is not going to be shared.  You should also not be hearing information about those other coaching relationships.

Where to look for an executive coach?
This is a tough question to answer since the field is currently vastly unregulated. There are many international organizations vying to be ‘the certifying body’ for executive coaches. Companies in the United Kingdom have become so frustrated with the inability of the field to regulate itself that individual companies are specifying their own criteria for external executive coaches.
‘Word of mouth’ may be one answer. Your company’s human resources department may be another source. Some companies are now developing databases of executive coaches who meet company-defined coaching competencies.
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The process of coaching
Counsel woven into the fabric of real life is wisdom.

      -Walter Benjamin

There are five main stages in the coaching process. 
Interview – You should have a face-to-face chance to meet with a potential executive coach to evaluate him or her. This is the time for you to ask a number of questions about the person’s background and experience.
    • Does this person listen well and treat you in a respectful manner?
    • Do you think that you can risk being vulnerable with this person?
    • Can this person help you to develop?
    • Is there the right kind of ‘chemistry’ between the two of you to develop an effective working relationship? Can s/he help you reach your goals?
    • Does this person have the cross-cultural and business sophistication you are seeking?
I am being asked more and more to come in as one of 2-3 executive coaching candidates to be evaluated by a potential client. I also make my own assessment of whether I think that I can be of help to them. The executive coaching relationship is a two-way partnership.
Contracting -The coaching process should have an outcome which is well-defined and measurable. The roles and responsibilities of the coach and the client should be specified. The elements of the coaching process should be clearly specified. There should be clearly-defined evaluation methods and an established timeline for the coaching process. Fees and expenses should be indicated.
Confidentiality should be addressed. Often my executive coaching clients are referred to me by someone else (e.g. HR Director or the client’s boss). These are important stakeholders in the coaching process. I have to manage the relationship with them and their expectations in a way that helps the coaching process. I have to be clear with my client about what I or will not share with them.
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The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.
-Albert Einstein
Assessment – Executives are busier than ever these days. They need to see a proper ‘return on investment’ for the time they spend in coaching.  I start all of my executive coaching assignments with an assessment phase. I will ask for a group of assessment instruments (i.e. both self-assessment and multi- rater/360° instruments) that fit the client’s context.  Some clients have recently been assessed on the job or in a leadership development programme and that data is very useful. I will also ask the client for permission to conduct a number of targeted interviews of those people in the company who are closest to the executive. The client and I will decide on how s/he will introduce me and the interview process and what topics should/should not be pursued. I may also ask to observe the client in a team meeting setting. At the end of the assessment process, I will present the results and themes. I then work with the client to set measurable targets.
Work itself – The coaching itself can be done in a variety of settings and ways (e.g. face-to- face at the client’s primary location or off-site, by telephone or videoconference). The frequency and type of coaching sessions need to fit the issues, the schedule and the cultural context(s) of the client. When working with clients who are operating in cultural situations where the nonverbal communication is especially important, I will deliberately plan more face- to-face and team observation sessions.
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Many are stubborn in the pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal.
-Friederich Nietzsche
Professional and personal change and development can be a difficult and slow process. In the coaching process, it’s important to plan for intermediate evaluations of progress in order to ‘celebrate’ the smaller achievements that contribute to reaching overall goals. Clients should have a well-selected group of trusted colleagues who are giving them regular feedback about their key issues throughout the coaching process.
Evaluation – A formal process of evaluating the outcomes of the coaching process can involve a second round of a multi-rater (360°) assessment and targeted interviews. The client should also evaluate his or her progress. A final report to the client should indicate what has been achieved and what the outstanding issues still are. Professional and personal development is, after all, a ‘work in progress’.
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Conclusion
In times of change, those who are prepared to learn will inherit the land, while those who think that they already know will find themselves wonderfully equipped to face a world that no longer exists.
-Eric Hoffer
“Executive coaching” is a modern term for a profession which has been practiced for many centuries. Today’s practitioners are using both old and newer tools in plying their trade. It is important for you the consumer to have a clearer understanding of what executive coaching is and is not . You should also be able to have clear expectations of an executive coach and the process of coaching. This article was intended to highlight some of the key issues in finding an appropriate executive coach to assist you in your development.
1 Peterson, D.B. (1996). “Executive coaching at work: The art of one-on- one change”. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 48(2):78-86.
2 The Executive Coaching Forum (Third Edition, 2004).The Executive Coaching Handbook. www.theexecutivecoachingforum.com.
3 Miller, Karen Kirkland and Wayne Hart (2001). Choosing an Executive Coach. Greensboro, North Carolina, Center for Creative Leadership.
4 Kets de Vries, Manfred F. R. (2004). Coach or Couch, Anybody? The Zen of Creating High-EQ Organizations. Fontainebleau, France, Insead Working Paper Series.
5 Clutterbuck, David.  “Mentoring/ The most frequently asked questions about mentoring/What’s the difference between coaching and mentoring?”. www.clutterbuckassociates.com
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