The two critical factors to ensure a successful executive coaching engagement
The executive coaching industry has a problem.
It’s a good problem in a way. Executive coaching is more lucrative than other coaching fields.
As a result, it attracts all kinds of coaches.
They each have different specialties, philosophies, and qualifications.
So, where’s the problem?
The problem is this makes it difficult for you when you look for coaches who are a good fit for your leaders. Or for yourself.
If you get a coach that’s a poor fit, it’s a double whammy. It costs a lot, AND you don’t see good progress on the goals that led to hiring a coach.
There are several important factors to consider when matching clients to coaches. I’ve written about these before.
But two factors are critically important in my view. If they aren’t considered, I believe the chances of a successful coaching engagement are low.
Two Critical Factors to Ensure a Successful Executive Coaching Engagement
The client’s needs
The coach’s approach
When organizations hire an executive coach, there’s always a reason.
Being clear on the reason will help you select the right type of coach.
Five common executive coaching client needs:
Enhance leadership capabilities
Process client engagement issues such as frustration, feeling “stuck”, burnout, or anxiety
Improve a specific skill set (e.g., speaking)
Learn from a mentor’s knowledge and experiences
Explore or plan career options
As shown in the chart, selecting the right type of coach for needs 3–5 is straightforward.
Selecting the right type of coach for needs 1–2 is trickier.
As I shared in my recent LinkedIn post, executive coaches differ in the extent to which they’re concerned about the client achieving specific goals in a coaching engagement.
Both my time as an independent executive coach and my time leading coaching functions within organizations have shaped my views on this.
I’ve thought more about this recently and have created terms to describe these different styles as I see them.
As the disclaimer goes, these views are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of the broader coaching industry.
As shown in the continuum below, some executive coaches are extremely concerned about results, but not at all about the journey clients take to get there. Let’s call these coaches “drill sergeants”.
Other coaches are only concerned with the journey clients take, and not at all with results. They’re focused on helping each client take a meaningful journey towards becoming a better human being who is their “best self.” I call these “journey-oriented” coaches.
Finally, there are coaches, like me, who focus both on the coaching journey AND results. I call these “destination-oriented” coaches.
“Destination-oriented” coaches also care about helping clients become better human beings, but they approach this aspiration within the container of a well-defined and structured engagement.
When Destination-Oriented Coaches are a Good Fit
“Destination-oriented” coaches are likely to be a good fit when a company is investing in upgrading a leader’s capabilities.
There’s a defined time period for the engagement, the goals are clear, behavioral change is expected, and the ROI is important.
When Journey-Oriented Coaches are a Good Fit
“Journey-oriented” coaches are likely to be a good fit when clients primarily need to process engagement issues such as burnout, frustration, feeling “stuck”, or anxiety that affect their work performance.
It’s hard to put these types of challenges on a timeline, and an unstructured approach may be the best bet.
When Drill Sergeants are a Good Fit
Almost never.
(I’m sure there are exceptions.)
I don’t recommend this coaching style for most clients. Focusing ONLY on results is short-term focused and neglects addressing the root issues that set the client up for long-term success. It’s a band-aid approach and can be highly stressful for the client.
What if a client needs to upgrade leadership capabilities AND is suffering from issues that affect their engagement or work performance?
In these cases, I lean toward a destination-oriented coach. Often, making progress towards specific goals while addressing engagement challenges will lead to gains in both areas.
Choosing the right executive coach for a client requires carefully matching their needs with a coach who brings the most helpful approach to the specific engagement. Being sensitive to the variety of ways coaches approach their profession will help you ask the right questions so that you know what you’re getting. The right match increases the odds of success and maximizes the value of the coaching engagement.