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In the News…
Organizations Need Coaching on How to Coach!
The success of performance coaching hinges on the support of top brass, enabling organizations to generate superior business and employee results, a new study shows.
Business results were 21 percent higher among organizations whose senior leaders “very frequently” make an effort to coach others, according to High-Impact Performance Management: Maximizing Performance Coaching, produced by Oakland, California-based advisory firm Bersin & Associates.
Additionally, organizations that reported “excellent” cultural support for coaching had 13 percent stronger business results and 39 percent stronger employee results, including engagement, productivity and customer service, the report notes.
The report is based on responses from nearly 200 U.S. companies. It marks the second phase of Bersin’s study on performance coaching. An earlier Bersin report in August revealed that 70 percent of organizations have jettisoned traditional performance reviews in favor of coaching, but also noted that most managers don’t know how to effectively coach.
To read more, go to: http://www.workforce.com/article/20111212/NEWS01/111219998/organizations-need-coaching-on-how-to-coach-report#
Top 5 Personal Coaching Myths! by Robert Pagliarini, Chicago Tribune
Personal coaching is all the rage. Harvard Business Review reports that coaching is a $1 billion a year industry, but just what is a personal coach, professional coach or life coach, and why are so many executives and individuals using them to catapult their careers, to break free from 9-to-5 jobs and to create better, more fulfilling, richer lives?
First, what is a professional coach? The International Coach Federation (ICF) — the leading global coaching organization and professional association for coaches — defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
Second, who’s using coaches? In a 2009 study of the professional coaching industry by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), they found that coaching was used by 90 percent of organizations surveyed, and that, even in the economic downturn, 70 percent report that they are increasing or maintaining their commitment to coaching. Coaching is clearly popular, but what does a professional coach do?
As with any growing profession, there can be a lot of confusion. To help distinguish fact from fiction, here are the top 5 personal coaching myths:
Myth #1: Personal Coaches are Professionals who can help you achieve your goals.
Fact: Some, but certainly not all, coaches are professionals who can help you reach your goals. One of the problems in the coaching industry is that anyone can call themselves a professional coach, life coach, personal coach, etc. Jennifer Corbin, the president of Coach U, one of the largest and oldest coach training organizations in the world, said, “Technically, anyone can hang up a shingle as coaching is not regulated. Many people ‘coaching’ have no idea what coaching is as they haven’t been trained or haven’t been coached by a professionally trained and credentialed coach. There are ‘schools’ that will offer a credential after three hours of training, and people read a book or watch a TV program and decide, ‘I’m a coach!’” As a result, the quality of coaches varies dramatically. I strongly suggest working with a coach that has been accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF). The ICF provides independent certification that is the benchmark for the professional coaching industry.
Myth 2: Coaching is a nice employment perk.
Fact: Coaching is as much a perk to your employees as their computers are. Employees may view coaching as a value-added benefit, but successful organizations see coaching as something much more than a perk. Done right, professional coaching can drive sales, employee engagement, creativity, workplace satisfaction and bottom-line results. Wellness programs have been shown to provide approximately a 300 percent return on investment (ROI). In other words, companies who spend $1 in a wellness program (e.g., exercise clubs, personal trainers, smoking cessation workshops) earn $3 as a result of decreased turnover, fewer sick days, reduced health insurance costs, etc. It’s no wonder wellness programs have experienced such tremendous growth — it makes financial sense!
The ROI from professional coaching is even more astonishing. According to a Manchester Consulting Group study of Fortune 100 executives, the Economic Times reports “coaching resulted in a ROI of almost six times the program cost as well as a 77 percent improvement in relationships, 67 percent improvement in teamwork, 61 percent improvement in job satisfaction and 48 percent improvement in quality.” Additionally, a study of Fortune 500 telecommunications companies by MatrixGlobal found executive coaching resulted in a 529 percent ROI.
Myth 3: Personal coaches can only help you reach personal goals; professional coaches can only help you reach business goals.
Fact: A good coach is someone who is an expert at helping others create positive change in their lives. For some clients, the positive change they most want may be focused on personal goals such as relationships, time management, work-life balance, stress reduction, simplification or health, but other clients may be more interested in professional or business goals such as leadership, getting a promotion, starting a business, etc. An effective coach works with the client to help them live a better, richer life — regardless of their specific types of goals.
Myth 4: Coaching is for “problem” employees.
Fact: Coaching used to be a euphemism for, “you’re doing lousy work, but, before we can fire you, we need to show that we’ve done everything we can to support you so we don’t get hit with an employment lawsuit.” No mas. According to Paul Michelman, editor of Harvard Business School’s Management Update, “Whereas coaching was once viewed by many as a tool to help correct underperformance, today it is becoming much more widely used in supporting top producers. In fact, in a 2004 survey by Right Management Consultants, 86 percent of companies said they used coaching to sharpen the skills of individuals who have been identified as future organizational leaders.”
Good coaching focuses on an individual’s strengths and aims to help the client achieve what they want more of in life and at work. The goal? To help the client identify and achieve their greater goals and to help them live a better life. A good coach isn’t there to “fix” anyone, but to help the client navigate toward a more engaged and compelling future.
Myth 5: Personal coaching takes too much time.
Fact: Professional coaching is a high-leverage activity. Clients can achieve remarkable progress toward their desired future in less than an hour per month of coaching. There is a wide spectrum of how coaching is delivered. Some coaches prefer to meet one-on-one with clients in an office, but most recommend telephone sessions for the ease of use, minimization of distractions, better privacy, greater efficiency, and for (yes, apparently) better connection to the client. Best practices in coaching call for between two and four sessions per month that last at least 20 minutes and up to 60 minutes. A sweet spot for many coaches and clients seems to be three sessions per month for 20 to 45 minutes a session — a miniscule investment of time for the results achieved.
(Robert Pagliarini is a CBS MoneyWatch columnist and the author of “The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose” and the national best-seller “The Six Day Financial Makeover.” Visit YourOther8Hours.com.)
A link to this article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ct-tribu-pagliarini-coach-myths,0,4765163.column
Recommended Links:
The VIA “Signature Strengths Questionnaire”
This link will take you to the “Authentic Happiness” homepage at the University of Pennsylvania. Scroll down to the middle of the page to the “Engagement Questionnaires” then click on “The VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire.” You will be required to enter an email address and password. This is so they can email you the results of the questionnaire. This questionnaire is a free and well-researched survey that will help you to determine your integrated top five of twenty four “Signature Strengths.”
The Enneagram This is a temperament assessment. Lots of information about potential next steps in your personal and emotional growth. Once you reach the site, click on “Free RHETI Sampler” for the shorter test or the “Full RHETI Enneagram Test” for $10.
The Gremlin Training Institute This organization was created by the author of “Taming Your Gremlin.” A book I highly recommend reading to understanding your “gremlin.”
International Coach Federation This is the professional organization of coaches that NyeCo belongs to. They provide many resources, including information on coaching and the ethics we follow in our profession.
NyeCo Recommended Books:
“What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”
by Marshall Goldsmith
Goldsmith, an executive coach to the corporate elite, pinpoints 20 bad habits that stifle already successful careers as well as personal goals like succeeding in marriage or as a parent. Most are common behavioral problems, such as speaking when angry, which even the author is prone to do when dealing with a teenage daughter’s belly ring. Though Goldsmith deals with touchy-feely material more typical of a self-help book—such as learning to listen or letting go of the past—his approach to curing self-destructive behavior is much harder-edged.
“It’s Your Ship”
by Michael Abrashoff
“The most important thing a captain can do is to see the ship from the eyes of the crew.” This belief has successfully guided D. Michael Abrashoff, the captain of one of the U.S. Navy’s most modern and lethal warships. Abrashoff has revolutionized how to handle such challenging problems as excessive costs, low morale, sexual harassment, and constant turn-over.
Business managers will benefit from Abrashoff’s guiding belief that focus should be on empowering your people rather than on chain of command. By shifting organizing principles from obedience to performance, managers will be rewarded with remarkable productivity. As Abrashoff explains, the more people enjoy the process, the better the results. Good leaders listen to the people under their command-and use their ideas to improve operating procedures.
“Working Identity”
by Herminia Ibarra
Aimed at mid-career professionals who have invested much in careers that may no longer fully satisfy, Ibarra’s book challenges the traditional belief that a meticulous assessment of one’s skills and interests will automatically lead one to discover the right job. In reality, she argues, “doing comes first, knowing second.” This is not to say that a marketing director should abruptly resign to become a modern dancer; instead, defining the arc of the future is a “never-ending process of putting ourselves through a set of knowable steps that creates and reveals our possible selves.” Most people will navigate a career shift at some point in their lives, and in this smart, positive guide, organizational behavior professor Ibarra shares the stories of 23 people who did it successfully.
“Fierce Leadership”
by Susan Scott
“Provide anonymous feedback.”
“Hire smart people.”
“Hold people accountable.”
These are all sound, business practices, right? Not so fast, says leadership visionary and bestselling author Susan Scott. In fact, these mantras — despite being long-accepted and adopted by business leaders everywhere — are completely wrongheaded. Worse, they are costing companies billions of dollars, driving away valuable employees and profitable customers, limiting performance, and stalling careers. Yet they are so deeply ingrained in organizational cultures that no one has questioned them. Until now.
“Taming Your Gremlin”
by Rick Carson
This is a completely updated edition of the 1983 classic that introduced a powerful method for gaining freedom from self-defeating behaviors and beliefs. Rick Carson, creator of the renowned Gremlin-Taming Method, has revised the book to include fresh interactive activities, real-life vignettes we can all identify with, and new loathsome gremlins ripe for taming. Carson blends his laid-back style, Taoist wisdom, the Zen Theory of Change, and sound psychology in an easy-to-understand, unique, and practical system for banishing the nemesis within.
Among the things you will learn are:
- Techniques for getting a sliver of light between the natural you and the monster of your mind.
- The extraordinary power of simply noticing and playing with options.
- Six keys to maintaining emotional balance amid upheaval.