Criteria to evaluate an executive coach.

Evaluation quickly becomes an issue when clients seek out or engage an executive coach. For many executives, how to carry out that evaluation is not a question they will have considered before. In most organisations, business executives will defer to the HR or Talent Management team to take the lead and introduce a competent coach. But what criteria might they be considering? And what relevance have they got for the executive client.

Last week I engaged in a discussion with some colleague coaches from the UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School where this topic surfaced in the context of what large organisations examine during coach selection. The outputs are useful when I consider how professionally qualified executive coaches can differentiate our service in the corporate market.

We discussed some key selection criteria that corporates might apply, and I have captured these, but it struck me that there might be more to consider when you take on the perspective of the executive coachee.

Professional Practice:

• What is the coach’s approach to contracting, third party involvement, practice evaluation and disengagement?
• How does the coach describe their coaching approach and how do they apply it? Do they use alternative styles and how knowledgeable are they about their practice?
• Is the coach psychologically minded?
• How does the coach deal with the issue of confidentiality?
• Do the coach’s values include honesty and integrity and do they embrace diversity and equality?

Credibility

• How does the coach present in terms of confidence, presence, impact and personal style?
• Has the coach a business focus and is he/she results oriented.
• Does the coach appear both self aware and mindful of others’ emotional needs.
• Has the coach an understanding of how large complex organisations work and has he/she a good appreciation of executive agendas at this level.

Competence

• How much coaching experience does the coach have at executive level and what type of coaching has been practiced in the past?
• How effective is the coach at questioning, listening, challenging and giving feedback?
• What is the coach’s approach to assessment and profiling? Is profiling part of the service or will the coach work with assessments already completed by the client?

Qualifications

• What coaching qualification does the coach hold? Is it from a reputable educational institution, perhaps post graduate level and is the course recognised by one of the professional bodies.
• Is the coach a current member of a professional coaching body?
• The coaching profession has developed high standards of practice for professional coaches. Does the coach engage in professional supervision and CPD?  

All of these criteria are indeed relevant to coach selection but there is one last imperative for an effective coaching relationship. From the perspective of the executive, this one often comes down to personality and getting the right fit. While coach and coachee don’t have to hit it off as the best of friends, there must be a mutual respect between them. The coach should approach the coaching assignment with an unconditional positive regard for the client and the client must have respect for the professional role played by the coach. It will be hard for the HR team to assess this final point, so this final call is one for the executive client.

Who are you now?

“Who are you now?”
David Rude, MA, CPC
May 16, 2011

I struggle with faith; often more than I’d like to admit. Why can’t I trust that between my efforts, the laws of Nature and God watching over me all will work out for the best? I sometimes find myself struggling just to get motivated to go about my daily activities. Fortunately, I am usually able to catch myself before I slip too deeply into this place of doubt, impatience and frustration.

It confuses me that I can still lose faith in things. I mean after all these years, why don’t I trust that things will always work out. They always do. Sometimes I feel like I am so far off course, that I have drifted miles from my original goal. It’s hard for me to accept that an experience is good and helpful when I am late for an appointment or when I have to redo some project. But then I realize that no matter how many times my plans are interrupted or changed I somehow am still on the right course for me.

When I am able to remain open-minded and flexible I find that I can overcome most any obstacle that comes up. It’s been suggested that experience is what we get when we don’t get what we want. So, if I don’t get what I want I instead get something more valuable, I get experience. Experience, for me, is opportunity. It allows me to recognize what could be if I tried again with a different approach or a different attitude. Experience encourages growth, too.

Once we are able to trust ourselves and the world around us and practice faith we can find our way back to our goals and hopes.

We do, though, have to make a decision, to move forward. I know it’s not easy to do this because we’ll have leave the comfort of our past (yes, even the negative and yucky stuff) behind. Many of us will doubt our decision to move forward. We’ll second-guess and wonder “what if?” Moving towards your “real,” purposeful and mature goals (versus towards those easy, lazy, unhealthy ones) means work. It means giving up our childish and doubting ways. It means choosing growth which will bring you back to people whether that group is a family, a boy/girlfriend, an office setting or even a whole community. In The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho describes the experience of one choosing to move back towards a healthier and more productive life. “He still had doubts about the decision he had made. But he was able to understand one thing: making a decision is only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”

Sounds good, doesn’t it? When we make the decision to move forward with our lives we are inadvertently deciding to have faith, too. The two go hand in hand. They say that “faith can move mountains.” Faith, in my life, has moved me well along my life’s path to places I never dreamed possible. Faith and a healthy outlook will restore a sense of possibility and potential to your life. When I am in this pattern of growth I am happier and healthier. I am not alone either. My connection to people is stronger as is my connection to God.

Think about who you are right now. Are your choices based on faith and growth or are they stuck in fear and unhappiness? We have lots of choices to make in our busy lives. We can choose to trust ourselves and our God, we can choose to move forward in our lives’ pursuits and we can choose to live honest and open-minded lives.

The Similarities and Differences between Coaching and Therapy

As this is a question that is often asked I have searched for a suitable explanation and descriptions from those who can explain it better than I.  To my delight Peter Bluckert had already published this article outlining the differences between Coaching and Therapy.   I hope you find this article as informative as I have.

The Similarities and Differences between Coaching and Therapy

An article by Peter Bluckert

Given that coaching and mentoring¹ is still in its early stages of development as a profession it is hardly surprising that there is a lack of clarity and agreement around definitions, approaches, core competencies and several key issues. One of those issues is the difference between coaching and therapy², and it is a subject often discussed by coaches in training and by more experienced practitioners. It is one of those thorny topics which defies simple, reductionist thinking and doesn't fit neatly into two by two box system models or bullet point lists.

Read the full Article here

Books that Coaches should Read!

All, I'd like to compile a list of Books that all Coaches should read and I'm looking for inputs and reviews. I'll start with three of my favourites.

First, The inner Game of work by Timothy Gallwey. Excellent dissertation on how we are our own best enemies and how 'self limiting beliefs' are the biggest obstacle to success. Secondly, Changing for Good, Prochaska et al. A must for Coaches to help their clients to understand whether or not they are ready for change and how to move from one stage to the next. Last (but not least) Now Discover your Strengths by Buckingham and Clifton. Excellent model to help Clients to find and focus on their strengths.

These three book have helped me help more clients, I'd be very interested in hearing others top 3 (or more).

10 Management Traps – and How to Avoid Them

10 Management Traps – and How to Avoid Them

Excellent Article on the top 10 traps all managers find themselves falling into. As a manager I bet you will recognise some you have fallen into yourself.