Sunday, May 7, 2017

A633.7.4.RB_SiegmundWayne

How Do Coaches Help?

     Coaching, at first, sounds like a pretty broad term in general. As a gymnastics coach for 13 years, I remember teaching progressive skills, basic and advanced techniques as well as how to think about certain skills to assist in overcoming fears. As a certified personal trainer for three years, again I coached on how to execute safe and effective techniques for exercising, motivate to establish commitment and routine, as well as assist in changing to a healthier lifestyle, such as diet. In the future, I have considered becoming a Life Coach, where I would help individuals and families make healthier and wiser choices during and throughout the different phases of their lives personally, professionally, spiritually, economically and socially. In the corporate arena, what Executive Coaches do to help executives, how this progress is measured and how it is reported is somewhat of an elusive process.
     In an attempt to define the term coach, Ralph Stayer (1990), owner of Johnsonville Sausage, explained in a nutshell that coaching is "...communicating a vision and then getting people to see their own behavior, harness their own frustrations, and own their own problems" (para. 24). After a number of failures in trying to redesign the way his company did business, Stayer discovered that he really did not have any control over his employees in how they felt, behaved, expected, and perceived. However he did discover he had control over a couple contextual things he had created - the systems and structures.
     What Stayer learned along the way was first, just get started in making a system change instead of waiting for more information, and second, start the change with the most visible system that you have control over (Stayer, 1990). Structurally, Stayer created teams where individuals once managed, flattening the company's hierarchy from six tiers to three. In the end, Stayer dropped terms like employee and subordinate and replaced them with member, and managers came be known as coaches. In Stayer's new business model, he had incorporated 'coaches' into his structure "...who could build problem-solving capacities in others rather than solve their problems for them" (1990).
     In most corporate environments, however, coaches are typically hired to help executives make improvements and progress within the context of business, however, it proves that personal issues typically arise and get addressed as part of the overall coaching purpose (Coutu, 2009). In fact, Coutu (2009), found through an academic study, "...that between 25% and 50% of those seeking coaching have clinically significant levels of anxiety, stress, or depression." Coutu doe not state that executives with coaches have metal health problems, but that it is noteworthy to understand that using an executive coach under these circumstances could be dangerous and counterproductive (2009).
                       
According to Coutu (2009), most coaches say they "are hired primarily to work with executives on  the positive side of coaching – developing high-potential talent and facilitating a transition in or up", while a lesser amount claim "that they are most often called in to act as a sounding board on organizational dynamics or strategic matters", and that "relatively few coaches said that organizations most often hire them to address a derailing behavior."
Furthermore,, Coutu shares that ...[coaches] "will do more than influence behaviors; they will be an essential part of the leader's learning process, providing knowledge, opinions, and judgment in critical areas. These coaches will be retired CEOs or other experts from universities, think tanks, and government"
     It appears that while there is a caution and concern in hiring an executive coach, it proves valuable to ensure that proper and appropriate credentials are established, as well as a well-laid out plan developed related to the reasons as to why the executive coach is being hired in the first place. I find this a very interesting arena, and will continue research to discover today's ground truth in today's corporate environment as it relates to executive coaching.

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