Organisations are increasingly working with coaches to develop talented individuals and teams. However, I’m not always sure they are getting value from their investment.

Why bother with coaching?

When coaching in organisations is well managed and delivered through great coaches, there are lots of benefits. The organisation can see improved performance at an individual, team and organisation level. Key talent is more likely to be retained and succession planning is improved.

The individual, or 'coachee', can develop greater self-awareness, change their approach, improve skills and confidence, learn to focus on what matters most, improve relationships and develop greater influence. These developments can then be used within their teams and cascaded through the organisation.

What is coaching?

Usually where a talented individual works with an accredited coach who challenges and supports them to:

Clarify future goals and how these fit with the organisation's
Identify strengths and development areas - holding up the mirror
Create a plan for using strengths and tackling barriers and development areas
Work on that plan and then measure progress

Typically, a programme of coaching is 6 sessions long, each session lasting around 90 minutes and happening every 4-6 weeks. Of course, each programme varies to meet the needs of the coachee and the organisation.

So when does coaching work best?

In my experience, coaching adds most value when used in the following contexts:

Creating a more positive and helpful mindset
Developing new and specific skills and behaviours
Improving business results through the team
Leading major change
Supporting participants on leadership and personal development programmes to use the new skills they are learning back in the workplace. Working with a coach can ensure a much greater return from the investment in the programme.
Transitioning into a new role/promotion

A coaching programme is a significant investment, so use your resources wisely. It's not a cure for all performance/development issues!

Getting the maximum benefit and value from coaching

In order to get the maximum benefit from coaching, here are some points which, in my experience, are more likely to lead to really effective coaching programmes and outcomes.

Checklist for value adding coaching:

Involve the sponsor and line manager. The line manager has a vital role to play in ensuring a return on the investment and supporting the coachee to put their new ideas and skills into practice.
Ensure the coachee is willing to be coached - do they really want to develop?
Agree objectives and tangible outcomes with the sponsor, line manager and coachee - I often ask what does success really look like; how will you know this has made a difference? This makes evaluation much easier. Always work to agree clear success criteria, even on more tangible areas like attitude, inner beliefs and confidence. [A 360 feedback before and after can help]
Be realistic in agreeing outcomes. Ask if the coachee can actually achieve the outcomes - or are there other blockers/barriers in the way that the coachee can't influence?
Choose a coach who is accredited, actively practicing, engages in CPD and is working with a qualified coach supervisor. There can be confusion over standards and accreditation in the marketplace, it is not just about having attended a course! You might want to look out for accreditations from lead bodies such as the EMCC, AC, ICF or AoEC to give you greater reassurance of ability.
Select a coach who can establish trust with the coachee and offer the appropriate amount of challenge and support.
Agree clear boundaries around confidentiality of the coaching session conversations.
Measure and evaluate against the agreed objectives and tangible outcomes. A progress check half way through can be helpful too.

Developing coaching skills inside your organisation

As well as using external coaches, you may want to consider how you can develop your coaching capability internally. This might be by developing coaching skills in managers so that they can have coaching type conversations with team members. This creates greater ownership, improved thinking and capability.

Alternatively, you could consider investing in developing your own team of internal coaches and provide an ongoing development programme which leads to accreditation and creates powerful internal coaching talent.

A word of warning though!

Coaching can be misplaced. It generally won't work well or add value in the following circumstances:

When the coachee has been 'sent' or 'told' they need coaching.
If the organisation uses coaching as a way to manage poor performance. Sometimes coaching is used as a last resort, a job may hang in the balance and there may be no desire/too much pressure for real development to happen.
Where the coach is asked to deliver difficult feedback to the coachee. Feedback is usually the responsibility of the line manager and is most helpful if first delivered by them.
When sessions are just 'pleasant chats' or 'offloading' opportunities with no focus on agreed development objectives and little commitment to do anything differently.

I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS.

If you would like to chat about how coaching can add value to you, your teams or your organisation, please do get in touch.

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