Coaching is a big decision and a considerable investment in time.
Here is a list of questions I had when I was considering being coached as well as questions I have heard from leaders. I have answered them with my way of coaching in mind. My answers are by no means representative of the entire business coaching profession, they reflect my personal approach, ethics, beliefs and experience. I hope that they will help you move forward, whichever path you decide to take.
WHO
How do I find a coach?
There are several ways to find a coach. Recommendation seems to work well. You can also look at coaching associations for a list of certified coaches.
Some executive coaches do great work without having followed any training. It is however safer to work with a coach who is accredited by a recognised Association such as the WABC or ICF, as such professional would have received appropriate coaching training and these accreditations guarantee that your coach benefits from solid experience.
Asking your coach if (s)he’s been coached him/herself is also a good idea, as this can help a coach understand what it means to be in the client’s shoes.
How do I know if my coach is right for me?
Once you’ve chosen a coach, have an introduction conversation with him or her (prior to signing an agreement) and ask yourself these questions:
Do I feel comfortable with the coaching agreement? (My own and my coach’s commitments)
Do I feel connected to this coach? Do I feel comfortable? Do I trust this person?
Is my coach sufficiently goal-orientated, for me to be reassured we’re aiming together at some very tangible results?
Do I think my coach’s experience as a coach and in the business world is relevant to my challenges?
Should my coach, to be efficient, have a similar background to mine?
In short, not necessarily.
If you’re a Head of Tech, a coach with a tech background is not essential. If you work in retail, a coach who can be beneficial to your growth doesn’t need to have experience in retail. You can however, if you’re a leader, check that your coach has held leadership positions in the past, as there are a lot of specific challenges that are inherent to leadership.
I already have a mentor, what is the difference between a mentor and a business coach?
Coaching and mentoring are two different relationships and drive different outcomes:
- A mentor inspires you. It’s often someone more senior than you, someone you respect and who - over a period of time - brings you food for thoughts and encouragements through conversations. The value of your mentor is inherent to his/her experience - often as a leader. There’s no “contract” per say between a mentor and someone being mentored. You’re lucky to have a mentor.
- A business coach helps you visualize and verbalise your goals, prioritise them, come up with creative solutions, encourage you to test new approaches and assess their outcomes… A coach will be contractually bound to you. The goals you’re aiming at through coaching are clearly defined. You pay a coach.
HOW
How much time will coaching take?
The time you allocate to being coached is your decision. You alone know how big or urgent the challenges you’re facing are and how ambitious your goals are.
Some leaders want something transformational, fast. For them I would advise a session per week.
Some leaders want to improve a skill or behaviour, this takes time. A session once every two weeks may be sufficient as the leader may want to “test” new approaches in between coaching sessions.
You may contract your coach for a set number of session, a period of time, an outcome. I have rarely coached clients for less than 3 months as this sort of period of time is necessary to try new approaches and assess their outcome.
Will there be “homework” from coaching, that comes additionally to my daily tasks?
Not per say. Certainly, there won’t be papers or essays to write! During your coaching sessions, you’re going to decide on new approaches to try and test, in order to change relationships, dynamics and results. Such things to test are usually weaved into your daily work, not additional to it. It is essential that as a client you commit to running these tests. A coaching conversation, no matter how rich, is rarely enough for you to impact your environment. A change in behaviour on your part is often required.
How much do I need to brief my coach on my company, my industry, my reality?
I use the first session with a new client to ask all I need to know about the client’s environment. This information empowers me to help my client to verbalise challenges and goals. On my own own, I educate myself about your industry and macro reality.
Typically, the topics that the coach cannot find out on his/her own are: The client’s own reality at work, the dynamics of the client’s relationships with colleagues, how the client’s company is evolving, or the client’s mindstate, mindset, ambitions...
It’s perfectly acceptable to give your coach a series of documents to read, in order to educate him/herself on your company culture, HR processes… I often ask to see my client’s and his direct reports’ Objectives and Key Results.
Does the size or the seniority of my team matter, for me to leverage the benefits of coaching and pass them on?
A coach should empower you to pass on some of your learnings to your team, through techniques and exercises.
The size of your team does not matter much as you’re likely to pass on the benefits predominantly to your direct reports, who in turn will pass them onto their direct reports.
The seniority of your team will drive your approach. Your coach will help you decide on the most appropriate language, pace and realistic goals.
Should I tell people that I am being coached? Are there benefits in sharing this information with others?
Some people would never say that they’re being coached because it’s not in their habit to tell when “they’re getting help”, and that’s fine.
Some people find benefits in informing others that they’re being coached, because they can then share their goals, discuss challenges, and ask peers for immediate feedback on improvements and setbacks, which can be very beneficial and extend the impact of coaching to a wider support group.
Neither your coach, nor HR or your manager should tell anyone that you’re being coached (unless you allow them to), the decision is entirely yours.
To make this decision, use your own experience: When you last decided to lose weight or stop smoking or learn a new skill or commit to a sports training program, did you feel the need to share this information with people around you? Were there benefits or drawbacks from (not) sharing this piece of information with others?
WHAT
What are the most common areas that can be improved through coaching?
The list of areas that can be beneficially impacted by coaching is endless.
To summarise, executive coaching can impact 3 main areas:
Your behaviour
Your confidence
Your skills
By looking at this list, you’ll understand that coaching can impact anything you decide to focus on: Your leadership or management skills, your communication style, how you relate to people, the trust you inspire, your decision making especially your ability to make the tough ones, your ability to be visionary or empathetic or to challenge the status quo, you’re ability to negotiate, to be transformational or to adapt to an evolving environment…
Are there “taboo” topics that can’t be discussed during coaching? Any topics that are best not to breach?
There is no taboo topic in business coaching.
Some people think that it’s inappropriate to talk about “personal stuff” in business coaching, I disagree. You are one person, made of a multitude of facets. Something that happens at home can have an impact at work and vice versa. It is possible, however, that your coach comes to the realisation that some of your challenges would be best dealt with the help of another kind of professional such as a psychotherapist, a general practitioner… In which case your coach would advise you to seek additional help, explaining why this is beyond the realm of business coaching.
How do I measure the output and results of coaching? How do I track its impact?
Measuring the outcome of executive coaching is much easier than people think!
Coaches all have different approaches. I am very goal-oriented due to my 7 years working at Google where Objectives and Key Results are the spine of your workload and focus. I like to discuss and prioritise goals with my clients as early as possible in the coaching relationship. Some goals can be very tangible such as “Raise a second round of financing of AMOUNT by DATE” or “Improve turnover by xx%” and some can be less tangible such as “Enhance my relationship with the board, including the quality of advise and the trust I get from them” or “Improve my ability to communicate the vision or the company to external and internal audiences”. However, you’ll find that even for the less tangible goals, there are always what I call “signs of improvement” also known as “keyy results” that will be very tangible: Satisfaction survey amongst employees, 360 degree feedback, renewal of an engagement, employee churn rate, quality of candidates your company attracts…
So in short, you measure versus the agreed signs of improvements, at any point, your progress versus the goals you’ve prioritised and set for yourself. This way, you measure the impact of being coached.
As a coach, I also get feedback from your sponsor and a group of people close to you (spouse, friend, peers, people you manage, your boss, HR…) so I get first-hand a feeling for their perception of your progress and will share this with my client - anonymously of course.
What’s confidential between my coach and myself? What’s passed on to my manager, HR or sponsor?
Similarly to a conversation you could have with a religious leader or a medical doctor, what is discussed in a coaching session is 100% confidential. Period. The client can discuss the content of his coaching sessions with who (s)he sees fit, but the coach cannot.
What the coach may say to a sponsor, HR partner or the coachee’s manager, when asked, is general perception such as “I feel John’s confidence is improving” or “Emma seems to have total clarity over her objectives now” but nothing specific about what’s been discussed during sessions.
Are there situations when coaching is not relevant, or timely?
Yes, in my opinion, there are.
The main one is when someone does not actually wish to be coached but is being pressured into it by an influential person such as his boss or HR Manager. In such cases, coaching’s unlikely to bring results. At the root of the coaching relationship must be the client’s profound desire to change, grow, learn, evolve...
I also don’t believe in coaching when it is the ingredient of a PIP (Personal Improvement Plan) if this PIP is a way for the company to let go of the employee, following a legal procedure.