Larson & Richburg defines leadership coaching as “a stage of personal development developed to improve a leader’s success in fulfilling his/her professional goals within the organization’s business objectives and values.” (Branton, 2006) Hence, this requires not just personal growth and coaching but also on fulfilling the organizational objectives by which the client (or the one being coached) must render a special contribution. Hence, the coach needs to be oriented to the client’s work or professional context/s; his/her work organization, its goals, present objectives and long term goals, organizational values, mission, vision, etc. At the same time, the coach must also be oriented with the client’s personal background; his/her professional goals, performance level at work, and his/her further goals.
My coaching program is made up of four one-hour sessions with a new Marketing Manager. Taher is a first time executive and a decision manager for this post. Generally, the company is an average trade publication. However, it has a global reach. He has a general responsibility for almost fourteen staff with varied and streamlined functions. He shall also set the advertising and marketing budgets and will directly be responsible to the Publisher. While this post is temporary, Taher is aiming to be appointed to the post for good.
At the time we started our coaching session, my role as his coach and confidante became delineated.
Planning and Preparation:
As a general preparation, I assessed Taher’s situation and needs according to these three critical questions:
1. Does he need a coaching plan or a performance improvement plan?
2. Is this going to install him to the present position?
3. How do I measure our success?
After, I reviewed several coaching principles that are related for individualization. I have internalized on Howe's “primary principle” which holds that the coach must seek to facilitate rather than direct. (Cross & Wright, 2002) I also reviewed Sands and Alexander’s coaching principles which focus on the socio-psychological aspect, especially on one’s “individual needs.” (Ibid.) I also followed the manager’s guide to effective coaching by Cook and Poole (2011) and also the principles of adult action learning by Kramer (2007-2008). Then, I charted out our coaching program.
For the first session, I briefed Taher on the goals and purpose of our coaching sessions or program. I emphasized to him that I will just facilitate his learning and his finding of solutions to his new work challenges and situations. However, I told him that I will not be the one to give him the solution/s. I began the session with inquiries pertaining to the general conditions helpful for his coaching.
Since Taher and I have been colleagues before, there was no initiative to build trust in the first session. But then, I instilled to him that we will have a professional relationship for the coaching and that everything we will talk about will remain confidential. There would also be a distinction between our friendship and the professional relationship of a coach and a coachee. I felt that this was enough to make him understand the boundaries of our working relationship and the confidentiality of the things we will share in the next sessions. I was confident that by this delineation, I have initiated a safe environment which is comfortable and also formal at the same time. This will help us tackle work related issues in greater length.
I have easier time preparing for my second to the fourth coaching sessions since I followed the OSKAR Coaching Model. (Whitworth, et. al., 2007) It is a powerful framework that aids me in focusing on solutions for my client Jensen. For each session, I asked Taher what he would like to achieve in the long term, what is the current situation, what are his choices, what are his supposed actions or plan of actions, and how does he review his progress and measure his success.
I also have a ready-made questions and a session structure to make my client more at ease and used to the coaching sessions. By focusing on the OSKAR Coaching Model I felt more confident to precisely assess the changes which Taher wanted to make and/or the attitude and skills he wanted to acquire or learn. I also worked on the motivation side, why he wanted the position and how he would go about staying in the post and honing his professional development for better things ahead. I have also incorporated some part of the various coaching models such as the GROW Model and the TGROW Model and some effective coaching principles as mentioned above. I chose these models because they have very effective in most coaching sessions throughout the years. They have been used in varieties of ways and I feel that in most traditional ways, they are useful. I am somehow uncertain about the new models because I am not so familiar with them.
Generally, I was pleased with the preparations because it allowed me to review the previous sessions and apply the coaching principles and approaches which I believed would be most useful and effective. It was a second nature that I worked as a facilitator and I direct the client to his needs and requirements, without making my own personal stance on his issues, interests and challenges. By evaluating each session in preparation for the next, I always found helpful insights to make the next session more effective than the previous ones. It also allowed me to emphasize some points of development or reinforce the new attitude or skills which my client has learned.
Description and Reflection:
I used the OSKAR Coaching Model during the four sessions and it was evident that my client was keen on the skills and knowledge which he needs to pursue for his new position. The scaling, which was a special feature of the OSKAR Model, was extremely helpful because it allowed me to zero in the needs of my client. It was evident that Taher wanted to secure his position as a Manager and this enabled me to have a clear picture of what he wanted to achieve against where he is. By using the scale of 1 to 10, where 1 represents x and 10 represents y, we were able to chart where he is at the moment in relation to his professional objectives. By linking the quantified answers to his own set of skills, knowledge and attributes, the goals were more vividly quantified. It made me uncover Taher’s strengths, made him more conscious about his own potentials and attributes and build more confidence in himself. This also helped him become more assured of how he is going to pursue his own goals in relation to the goals of his company.
I realized that it was more challenging to coach a client who has a more or less defined goals and was set to achieve it. All the information we unraveled during the first session seemed to have a fit in the final picture. Hence, it was more challenging for me how to make Taher get to where he sees (or expects) himself to go in a definite period of time. I did not supply hiw own challenges and questions but merely led him to where or what he already instinctively knows even before he approached me for counselling.
There were no physical and/or emotional hurdles between us and this is because we have worked together before. But then, I noticed that Taher was a little uncertain of the success of the coaching sessions. This may be due to the fact that he never encountered this before nor did he seek help or assistance for his professional growth and development. He has never been helped or assisted by others during his non executive career.
I directed Taher to zero in on his strengths so that he would not be defensive with his weaker sides in skills, knowledge, attributes, etc. Even when he sometimes justified why he was assessed with some negative or lower points, I shrugged off this gesture and re focus on his strong points and positive feedbacks. I invited him to explain how his strengths assisted in his past professional development and success. I felt that this was a key to unlocking his own paths towards focusing and harnessing his potentials. I was elated by the revelations and the self realizations of my client.
Then we studied his present contexts and I inquired how his positive attributes and/or strengths assist him at present. At this instance, he came to realize how his own positive attributes served him very well in the past than at present. He slowly realized that the success elements of this present post are very much different than the success elements of his previous professional situations.
At the end of the said session, Taher has finally opened up and was committed to unlock the skills and attributes required for him to become successful in his new post. The assessment outcome was very effective in making my client pinpoint his goals and how he would get there in the very specific context of his new work environment.
During the third session, we started to work on developing the following:
A more appropriate communication style with his department and other co employees and superiors
A more conscious appreciation of his attributes of others
A more active leadership style that allows him to elicit engagement and promote responsibility among his own staff.
In my own evaluation, I realized that the involvement of a positive work atmosphere is very crucial to the development of an executive or a manager. The most excellent managers must work excellently in a group environment, thus, his work related skills and attributes are very critical. (Adler, 2008) Even if Taher is ready to alter his negative attitude or weak leadership style, his own department and the overall work organization is still the vital part of encouraging his further growth and development. If they are supportive of his own changes, then, the progress will continue.
After the fourth session, I prepared a progress feedback from Taher’s team and I felt overwhelmed by his positive developments. There was indeed a considerable improvement in his evaluation. The greatest development can be seen in the areas we indentified and worked on. The changes in his communication style were very significant and I believed this paved the way for better management and greater cooperation among his team. It was also very fulfilling to see how the active leadership style really fit Taher’s own personality and management approach and/or philosophy. This evident self-efficacy implies that he is very well on his way in securing his post and would be in a much better position to achieve higher goals in the future. (Brown-Volkman, 2003)
Assessment of the overall impact:
As the sessions evolved, I was very eager and pleased by the little developments I am discovering from my client. He seems to be more confident, self assured and goal oriented. He also seems to be more people oriented and draw his own team members for meaningful work performances and achievements. It is very fulfilling to see how coaching helps a client professionally and personally. I would say that Taher has never been more relaxed and suave than before. He also has the stance of being able to surface over any hurdles as he has internalized than his strengths are much bigger than the challenges and difficulties he presently faces.
As Taher related, the coaching sessions or program seemed to be very well appreciated. He admitted that he initially was uncertain if this will be beneficial but he saw the rewards in the end. The coaching has significantly made a great impact on his personality and outlook and the way he carries himself as a manager. Taher also related that he thinks every manager must undergo a professional coaching session once in a while. He has also applied the coaching principles in the way he mentors his own subordinates. This he actually admitted in appreciating the strategies and approaches which I applied for our sessions. He said that there are other strategies but he considered the OSKAR Model very direct to the point, in his case. Especially that he was a colleague, I was very satisfied by the project and the wonderful changes it has brought not only to my client but to my own overall professional experience as well.
I do not think that Taher was making appositive feedback just because he was related to me. I certainly know, that by his own level of performance now, and by the way he handles his own staff, that he really internalized the principles pertaining to how he will achieve his goals, given his own sets of skills, knowledge and attributers. For this, I feel so proud of him and myself as well.
Suggestions:
I really believe that a four series of session is not extensive as far as coaching an executive is concern. I therefore suggest that in the future, this project be extended to at least six sessions. This, I believe, will enable the coach to set out more sophisticated and tangible plan of action relating to his client’s own needs.
I also suggest that the coach will also undergo their own training preparations so that they will have the same grasp of the readiness and empowerment. (Adler, 2008) While admittedly, for some, this exercise may just seem to be one of those requirements, I really believe that this should pave the way for better and more qualified coaches in the future. (Brinton, 2006)
Appendix:
OSKAR Coaching Model
References:
Adler, N. (2008). International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 5th ed. Mason, OH: Thomson Higher Education.
Brinton, N. (2006). “The Secrets to Successful Leadership Coaching.” Leadership Coach Academy Newsletter. Retrieved on May 26, 2012 from, https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:vG3B7bFmAT4J:peoplepotentialgroup.com/db5/00491/peoplepotentialgroup.com/_download/SecretstoSuccessfulLeadershipCoaching.doc+leadership+coaching+report&hl=tl&gl=ph&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiCtXQk5OmtYEYovTo3S0itInb0FkEOy2vza6Q6b1IJHwsLc4VDlI9asV_5smFQtrySuK7Q81Ta2PHo7O1BcSJWwsEb9Om-JzrEGYkvPfKlwUXbOmXZu66oJiaseH_dNmomEBNR&sig=AHIEtbR5kIIKqgwErmq_B183oUCzEgNP3Q.
Brown-Volkman, D. (October 30, 2003). Four Steps to Building A Profitable Coaching Business/ A Complete Marketing Resource Guide for Coaches. Germany: iUniverse.
Cook, M. & Poole, L. (2011). Manager’s Guide to Effective Coaching, 2nd ed. New York: Briefcase Books.
Cross, N. & Wright, I. (2002). “Coaching performance swimmers: The individualization of training programmes in Great Britain.” ISBS coaches information service. Retrieved on May 27, 3012 from, http://www.education.ed.ac.uk/swim/papers4/cw.html.
Kramer, R. (Winter, 2007-2008). “Leading Change through Action Learning.” The Public Manager Journal.
Whitworth, L., et. al. (2007). Co-Active Coaching: New Skills for Coaching People Toward Success in Work and, Life. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing; 2nd edition.
