Who Benefits from Coaching?

I answer a question I get most often, "Who benefits from Coaching?", by stating that I feel anyone in a leadership role or anyone who wants to be in a leadership role is a candidate for Coaching. The criteria I use is the individual must be willing to learn, try new things, try old things that have failed, and is committed to improving their business behavior. It is well documented that an integral component to a leader’s success is how well you relate to other people in your organization, at all levels. It goes back to the fact that first, you need to manage yourself, and then you must manage the relationships you have with others.

In my ten years of coaching, I have been called in mostly by HR Professionals when someone is not living up to company’s expectations of them. In most Talent Management articles, development of future leaders is at the top of the HR list of “To Do’s”. The issue is the majority of HR Professionals are now reporting to Chief Financial Officers. Cost-reduction usually hits the people development first with marketing expenses a close second. This contradicts the real need of developing future leaders. We have to dig deeper than the senior level.

Today a positive trend is emerging, the majority of Coaching is designed for leadership development (Sherpa 2012 Survey). We have to look at each employee as a leader and teach them leadership skills that makes them more productive for the benefit of the company.

Coaching helps the participant in several ways:

• Provides a platform to reflect on their decisions, communication, and behavioral style that is exhibited in the workplace, which affects the outcome of their department.
• Provides an environment for self-assessment and critical thinking.
• Provides alternative methods and use of competencies that shows the participant how to change in both the self-management and relationship management arenas.
• Focuses the participant on the design of the outcome by providing feedback in a timely fashion.
• Provide an environment that is non-threatening and demonstrates the organization’s interest in the success of the individual as a person.

Most new hires today request that the company demonstrate an opportunity for advancement and that they show an interest in their development. An external coach with leadership training and excellent facilitation skills may be in itself, the best vehicle to demonstrate the company’s commitment to the employee’s needs, growth and development plan as a future leader. The use of Coaching is starting to move into the mid-level management ranks and its use is starting to be seen with the future leaders who have not yet reached a management role. It’s only taken ten years.

There is no question in my mind that people appreciate a company’s interest in their well-being. It just isn’t demonstrated enough. Coaching can demonstrate that interest in their journey to success.