Cristian Hofmann is an inspiring executive coach and consultant for Empowering Executives.
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An executive coaching process involves more nuance than general organizational development strategy. However, the same approach can be applied. In the executive coaching process, the first thing you, the executive coach, should do is ask questions to understand the executive coaching as an event in context. Thus check:
- Who came up with the idea of executive coaching? Is it the coachee’s own idea, or was it an edict from those higher in the hierarchy?
- Who thinks what about the coaching?
- How might this affect the person being coached?
- Does the coachee find this acceptable or degrading?
The beliefs around coaching vary greatly from one corporate culture to another. If the company believes that whoever is coached shows weakness, the effect is completely different than if the message is: Whoever qualifies for coaching, can have coaching. It’s important that coaches explain that to leaders upfront.
Next, clarify what the coachee needs or wants, otherwise, the coachee may think: There's something wrong with me. That weakens the coachee, and they will perceive the coaching as a burden, rather than an opportunity. Even if someone talks about "problems," it is important to adjust their mindset and instead think of these things as "concerns." Concerns and problems are not the same, and it’s important to establish that understanding before you move forward.
There should also always be a clear vision for the coaching and a target you are trying to hit. In other words, what should be the result and how will you be able to tell if you’ve achieved your goal? Make it as detailed and concrete as possible. Target visioning is a very important step. Even just describing what you are going to do in three months can help you get on the right track.
Once you have a target vision description, help your client recall past successes. Often seeing the target vision description can make people think Oh, I'm not there yet. As a coach, I encourage them to look at past competencies and ask: Are there episodes where I have already experienced something similar? It’s in those moments that coachees realize they are more competent than they may have thought. Coaching now becomes a ritual of appreciation, evaluation and the expansion of already existing competencies.
The hard part is figuring out why existing competencies are not being applied in the various areas of concern. I often ask coachees: What could have caused you to not use the competencies even though you have them? There are many reasons, but I often find it comes down to the effects using those competencies may have. It may sound strange, but it’s not always a show of incompetence to not use one's competencies. Rather, the decision may have been a defense or done out of loyalty to other people. This creates a new task for the coachee called ambivalence handling. It’s about assessing the conflicting goals and figuring out how to integrate them in a constructive way.
The last part is about applying the insights and lessons learned in coaching to everyday life. Once a coachee has been through the coaching process, they should feel more confident about self-design and handling such processes in the future. Success as a coach is reflected in the fact that people can go out and realize: I don't need a coach anymore, I am my own coach.
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