Executive Coaching: Frequently Asked Questions
What is executive coaching?
How will it benefit our organization?
What differentiates executive coaches from other coaches?
What is mentoring and how does it compare to executive coaching?
How is executive coaching different than consulting or counseling?
What is career development and how does it compare to executive coaching?
Is executive coaching new?
What skills can be developed with executive coaching?
Why is executive coaching effective?
What is the usual duration of an executive coaching relationship?
Who needs executive coaching?
What types of executive coaching will work best for us?
How do you determine what method of executive coaching will work best for our organization?
What makes your service unique?
What are some of the qualities of an executive coach?
How do you measure success?
Do you have a question for us?
What is executive coaching?
Executive coaching is the process of working one-on-one with professionals to help them develop their talent and skills.
Marshall Goldsmith, Laurence Lyons and Alyssa Freas, editors of Coaching for Leadership, define it as “a behavioral approach of mutual benefit to individuals and the organizations in which they work or network. It is not merely a technique or a one-time event; it is a strategic process that adds value both to the people being coached and also to the bottom line of the organization.”
Employees are often promoted to leadership positions because of their performance in a technical role (e.g. administration, engineering, marketing). This new leader may not automatically be successful in their new role.
Why? Because leadership requires a distinct set of skills. Executive coaching enables successful performers to develop the necessary skills for leading others.
By the way, the “executive” in executive coaching is broader than many realize. The word “executive” does not refer exclusively to high level executives, such as a CEO. Rather, it refers to any executive in the chain of command, from a first-level supervisor to the officers of an organization. In organizations reluctant to emphasize titles, it can even refer to a “lead.”
How will it benefit our organization?
While executive coaching offers many advantages, there are three benefits that stand out:
- Leaders begin to develop their teams with renewed passion
- The organization has fewer leadership “bottlenecks,” which stifle innovation and productivity
- Leaders within the organization are poised to deal with the demands of a rapidly changing business climate
What differentiates executive coaches from other coaches?
There are four main branches of coaching:
Life coaches comprise one branch. They contribute to an individual’s overall success in life and relationships. One of the most renowned life coaches is Anthony Robbins.
Personal organization coaches help individuals overcome clutter and become more organized, in order to achieve maximum effectiveness in their lives. Susan Silver, author of Organized to Be Your Best, writes: “We’re a team—you’re the player and I’m the coach. As a coach, I require your full attention and commitment and I, in turn, will help you see what could be working better for you.”
Small business coaches could be considered another branch. Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth Mastery, coaches people to build their business by creating job descriptions for future jobs and then pursuing the right people to gradually fill those positions.
At Greenfield Development Group, our focus is on developing leadership skills, rather than personal/organizational skills or even business growth strategies. In many cases, however, executive coaching can indirectly help you to improve in these arenas as well.
How is executive coaching different than consulting or counseling?
Consulting is perhaps one of the broadest terms in our language today, including everything from management consulting to business process redesign, security consulting to professional development.
Counseling tends to focus on psychological behaviors such as helping people deal with severe personality conflicts, compulsive behavior, depression, etc.
By contrast, executive coaching is a specific process for developing up to 36 distinct leadership skills. We take a practical approach to leadership skills development:
- Gathering data about an executive’s performance
- Providing feedback about change
- Developing action plans for skill development
What is mentoring and how does it compare to executive coaching?
Mentoring is based on a informal relationship between colleagues. Executive coaching is a more deliberate process of skills development.
Mentoring can be divided into informal mentoring and formal mentoring programs. For example, in hospitals and health care organizations, new employees are often assigned to a “preceptor” as part of a formal mentoring program. This preceptor is a more experienced staff member who mentors, orients and trains the new employee in the organization’s best practices.
What is career development and how does it compare to executive coaching?
Career development tends to focus on positions, promotions and paths of advancement. Executive coaching emphasizes the development of leadership skills, which happen to contribute to professional advancement.
Is executive coaching new?
No, executive coaching has been around for some time, though the term is being used more widely than ever before. This reflects our modern emphasis on personal development rather than mass education of employee groups.
What skills can be developed with executive coaching?
Answer here.
Why is executive coaching effective?
Executive coaching is effective because it is both transformation-oriented and results-oriented. The coaching process includes four major phases:
- Measuring the current skills of an individual
- Addressing specific issues of individual leadership
- Solving problems while developing specific skills
- Evaluating the individual’s progress in developing leadership skills
What is the usual duration of an executive coaching relationship?
Interventions that occur over a period of 6 to 18 months generally yield the best results.
Who needs executive coaching?
Senior leaders often recognize that they have supervisors and managers with great technical skills that lack the right people and leadership skills for continued success. Regardless of whether the individual is a lead, supervisor or vice president, they will benefit from executive coaching.
What types of executive coaching will work best for us?
The answer to this is best determined by the level and number of leaders that need to be coached. For example, if the organization has one or two leaders who are lagging behind other leaders in the effective use of people and leadership skills, then a more individualized coaching approach is appropriate.
On the other hand, some organizations have a cadre of tier one leads that need to transition from technical employee responsibilities into leadership roles within the same time frame. In this case, the leaders may be better served by group training as well as individualized coaching.
How do you determine what method of executive coaching will work best for our organization?
We conduct a needs assessment with the individual who will benefit from the coaching. We also meet with senior leaders in the organization whose perspectives about leadership potential are typically broader than that of the individual needing assistance.
What makes your service unique?
Two answers will best serve to answer this question. First, we take a practical, hands-on approach. We understand the theory but our strength is applying the theory to help managers with practical solutions for success. Second, we focus specifically on developing up to 36 distinct leadership skills.
What are some of the qualities of an executive coach?
Two qualities are noteworthy here. The coach must have:
- The capacity to assess a leader’s strengths and weaknesses
- The ability to be candid without damaging the leader’s self worth
How do you measure success?
We typically obtain metrics at the beginning and end of a coaching project using 360 degree feedback questionnaires. We also interview a leader’s constituents before, during and after our coaching interventions so that the leader and those to whom he or she reports have a clear understanding of the individual’s progress.
Do you have a question for us?
Simply e-mail us: talent (at) gdg-earth.com
Take Action Today
Learn about our free trials for training services, join our mailing list, request free information or sign up for a free 30 minute coaching session by clicking one of the four buttons below.
