From: kim@coach2joy.freeserve.co.uk Sent: 29
June 2006 14:36 To: info@gregorycoaching.com Subject: How to
buy coaching - Coaching Insights June 2006
How to buy coaching
- Coaching Insights June 2006
Welcome to June's Coaching Insights.
In this issue:
• How to buy coaching • A bit of Zen
Buddhism • Can you help me?
How to buy
coaching - "Find the right partner and work alongside
each other."
Back in March 2004 the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) produced
an article in their “How to…” range and they focussed their
efforts on buying coaching. Here are their thoughts –
interspersed with my own comments and
experience.
Step 1 - Identify the purpose of the
coaching programme. It’s so obvious and so important.
You’re about to invest your time and money into a personal
development initiative – what exactly are you hoping to
get out of it? How will you know you’ve been successful? What
would look like success but would actually be a
disappointment? What's the context within which the coaching
is sitting? Step 2 - Select the coach(es). In
a recent CIPD survey nearly half the respondents
commented that they had serious difficulties finding the right
coach. Here are some questions they recommend and I would
reinforce:
What training have you undertaken to call yourself a
coach? [My answer? I have recently submitted my coach
specific training record to the International Coaching
Federation (ICF) and listed over 150 hours of coach
specific training. This excludes 60 hours of psychometrics,
EFT etc.]
What experience of coaching have you; and at what
level? [My answer? I’ve been coaching for 8 years; and I
focus mainly on Directors, MDs and “would-be” Directors].
How have you gained your understanding of
organisational dynamics? [My answer? 15 years in HR
leadership roles plus MBA and ten years running my own
business working across most sectors].
Do you have your own coach / supervisor; and what are
their credentials? [My answer? Yes – ICF
qualified].
Have you undergone your own counselling? [My
answer? Yes. I absolutely subscribe to the view that coaches
have a duty to address their own issues so that they don’t get
in the way of their clients’ development and progress. It's my
avowed intention to be 100% present with
clients.]
Step 3 – Manage the process.
Set the agenda. The best coaching interventions
happen when the line manager is engaged appropriately – not so
close that s/he wants to know the content of the discussions;
and not so removed that they scarcely know the coaching is
happening. I made a conscious decision recently that I will
only coach individuals once I’ve had considered input from
their sponsor
/ line manager. What are your aspirations for this individual?
How do you see her now? What support are you willing to offer
him? Whilst I’ve always regarded this as “best practice” I’ve
changed its status to “essential practice”.
Balance confidentiality and feedback. It’s
essential for all parties to discuss how they’re going to
balance the coach's and client’s need for confidentiality with
the organisation’s need for feedback. In my experience the
most important issue here is to be willing to acknowledge and
understand the different needs; and endeavour to get them met
– with integrity. Where there's a will there is a way.
Evaluate the coaching. As Stephen Covey says,
“Begin with the end in mind”. Agree the objectives and the
success / failure criteria upfront. Keep them in mind
throughout the coaching. Refer back to them – preferably with
the line manager – towards the end of the coaching programme.
Look for external perspectives on progress – perhaps through
360-degree feedback.
Present coaching accurately. Occasionally people
regard coaching as something only offered to poor performers.
This is a peculiarly British perspective and an old-fashioned
one at that – and it still lingers on in some people’s minds.
Most of my time is spent with successful, strong performers
wanting to achieve more. Make sure that people know this
is what most coaching is about. If they still hold onto the
view that coaching is a remedial activity, give them the
opportunity to experience quality coaching. Contact us to arrange a trial
coaching session.
Check the individual’s willingness to engage and
change. Sometimes people will say “I want to change!” when
actually what they mean is “I want things to change (but I
don’t want to have to work at it)”. People can do remarkable
things – if they really want it enough. Explore what
investment they're really willing to make in themselves. This
can be tricky because sometimes they're even not being
completely honest with themselves.
The CIPD concludes
its article with the comment, "We would strongly advise
organisations to manage all of the above areas themselves and
not reply on their suppliers". This sounds like painful
experience speaking! As you might expect, I have a slightly
different perspective on this - "Find the right coaching
partner and work alongside each other to address these
issues. You'll all achieve so much more".
A bit of
Zen Buddhism
The person who is a master in the
art of living makes little distinction between their
work and their play, their labour and their
leisure, their mind and their body, their education and
their recreation, their love and their religion. They
hardly know which is which. They simply pursue their vision
of excellence and grace in whatever they do, leaving
others to decide whether they are working or playing. To
them, they are always doing both. -From the Zen Buddhist
text
Can you help me work locally
too?
Many of you will know that I currently spend
much of my working week in London and I hope to continue doing
that. For personal reasons I’m now looking to work locally
too. If you have contacts in the Surrey / Sussex area who
might be interested in hearing from an executive, life or
parent coach, please forward my details to them or contact me
to discuss the best way forward. Thank you. Your
recommendation is how we grow.
