Executive Coaching : Management's new magic?

World-class athletes know it. So do public performers. Winners in nearly every profession know that without the right coach, they won't perform at their peak.

Performance coaching is now increasing in popularity in the business world, with many prestige companies implementing coaching programs for their executives and managers. High performance is a must for individuals to maintain a successful career, and for companies to maximise the investment they make in people. As organizations flatten, as production cycles hit hyperspeed and change becomes a constant, coaches help develop better, more nimble business leaders.

There are many different manifestations of coaching. Typically coaching starts with senior executives and usually the appointed coach is someone external to the organization. The coaching process can be extended throughout an organization so that a coaching culture develops to encourage individual ownership of tasks and independence of thought, which reduces the degree of disengagement reported by so many medium to large organizations. Indeed, some proponents of coaching argue that coaching is having such a major impact now because it is time for a different approach to leadership. It is estimated that the current leadership model is costing around Euro 80Bn a year in the UK alone.

Coaching is a tailor-made and creative process, designed to help develop and extract maximum potential from managers & executives. Skilled Performance Coaches aid individuals and teams in breakthrough thinking, the art of leadership, interpersonal communication as well as handling conflict and the management of stress. So coaching develops managers' skills and competencies, helps the advance in the company, as well as to change behaviours that interfere with success. Employees in non executive positions are increasingly demanding coaching, having seen the benefits that senior executives obtain from the coaching experience.

The harvard Business Review reports that business coaching has emerged as a critical activity to support individual and team development, and that it provides new directions in customer service, productivity and overall organizational effectiveness.

Coaching is not a therapy. The role of each coach is not to tell you what to do or "fix" you psychologically. Rather, it is a partnership in which it is the coach's job to elicit powerful responses and Change within individuals. Coaches help by reframing situations and enabling new ways of thinking about performance in life and work.

Many human sciences have contributed to the field of coaching, including psychology, counselling, organisational development and education. For example, Inside Out's approach utilizes some advanced visualization techniques used by top athletes. Central to more sophisticated coaching is a model developed by Robert Dilts.

By influencing the Identity and Beliefs & Values of a person or organization, it is possible to effect far more fundamental Change than by simply enhancing their capabilities and behaviour.

What are the returns & benefits of performance coaching? A recent survey found an average return on investment of nearly 6:1 for executive coaching where external coaches were used. Increases in company productivity have been reported by 53% of executives, and 48% reported an increase in both quality and organisational strength.

Managers are generally positive about the qualitative benefits of coaching. Nearly 80% of executives reported improved working relationships with direct reports, and over 70% reported better relationships with immediate supervisors. Nearly 70% also reported improved relationships with peers and job satisfaction (61%).

Many high profile companies that have introduced coaching have published figures reporting positive outcomes from coaching - in revenue growth, increase in market share, gains in productivity and better outcomes in staff retention.

Another study has shown that when training is incorporated with coaching the the gains of training increased fourfold from just over 20% to nearly 90%. Anecdotal evidence abounds to support the formal research.

However, it is difficult to determine the value of coaching in isolation. The more persuasive argument is that coaching delivers significant, positive ROI when it occurs as part of a Change Process in an organisation. And the one thing that is constant in business now is Change.

So is Coaching the new Management Magic? For the individual being coached the results may feel like magic. More prosaically, for the business it does provide talented leaders and employees with a process to assess their strengths and interests, and address their limiting behaviours. This enables them to become fully engaged and contribute more to the organization.

So for leaders who want to maintain their competitive edge and exceed themselves, or for organizations that need to retain and develop talented employees, having a coach becomes mandatory.

Source : EMA NOVO 1/03, written by Malcolm Nicholson from Inside Out Ltd. 2003

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