Executive Coaching for Manager in Need
Caroliso
352 Posts
I have a senior manager who is dealing with a particularly difficult project director who reports to her. She had asked for support in the form of a seminar on how to deal with creative people. I may have even posted about it here and received the advice, which I am coming to agree with, that there is no course that will solve this in a day.
I know there are people who do executive coaching of senior managers. Has anyone had experience engaging such a consultant and have an opinion on how well it works, how expensive it is, and/or how one frames the work so it isn't endless?
Any thoughts on this appreciated.
Carol
I know there are people who do executive coaching of senior managers. Has anyone had experience engaging such a consultant and have an opinion on how well it works, how expensive it is, and/or how one frames the work so it isn't endless?
Any thoughts on this appreciated.
Carol
Comments
I have used an Executive Coach to work with various clients of mine that had a wide array of problems. I had wonderful success. I suspect that it is due to the person I use, who coaches by telephone to keep the cost down. She's one of about 800 certified coaches in the world. If you will call me, I'll tell you about how she does it and what the costs are.
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
Our company uses a private EAP who has individuals on his staff that specialize in different areas. He is a counselor, but has branched out into different types of employee/management assistance. Most recently, we have used him to work with an office we merged with that were having all kinds of interpersonal problems with each other. This is an expensive route to go, but he has been very effective and has the time to spend days in an office helping people work through their issues.
The problem with Executive Coaches is that anyone can say they are one - just like consultants! To earn a PCC, you have to have so many hours of paid coaching, you have to have coached for a certain number of years, you have to be observed and critiqued in an actual coaching session(s) and you have to stand for an individual oral exam by a panel put togather by the Coaching Institue (I think that's their official name) before you can be certified. That's why there are so few of them. This makes sure the individual really knows what he/she is doing.
The person I've used was very highly placed in a health care business before they began coaching. This is the main reason why I use them because they don't come from a theoretical, counseling or academic background. They have actually run a business and have "been in the trenches."
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
You asked about the effectiveness, costs and keeping reasonable time limits on a coaching program. I am too conflicted, perhaps, to address the first (I do executive coaching). Costs will vary widely, from perhaps $60/hour to over $400/hour. Many of us will set up a retainer agreement for a set period of time that gives a reduction in the hourly fee. As Margaret noted, phone consultation also can keep the costs down, though I would generally suggest that the initial assessment be face-to-face.
You should ask for a plan of action and timeline for the work after you, the coachee, and his/her manager have met with a potential coach. You will need to consider the timeline tentative until the coach has been able to do a real assessment. After that assessment (several interviews with the coachee and perhaps others, and completion of 360s and/or other instruments) it should be closer to a something you can depend on. If the behavior change involves specific skills and if motivation is high, the timeline can be short and predictable. If the change is broader/deeper, and/or if motivation not high, it is more difficult to have a firm timeline. But you should have milestones and check points to ensure accountability in any case.
Some suggestions follow for selecting a coach, derived from my experience both as an HR VP employing coaches, and now doing executive coaching.
You (HR), the coachee, and the senior manager should interview potential coaches. The criteria that follow are all relevant, but none are conclusive -- except perhaps the ones that everyone should be looking for: insight, integrity, fearlessness and humor.
1. When you (HR) interview a potential coach for your organization, you should look for
- experience and references
- a relevant advanced degree and/or credible credential (note: there is no single, widely accepted credential)
- access to assessment instruments that are valid and appropriate
2. The coachee should look for
- personal comfort ("chemistry")
- industry understanding
- knowledge/experience with comparable managers/executives
3. The senior manager should look for
- understanding of the issue(s) presented
- readiness to work in a collaboration agreeable to both
- sensitivity to the confidences that must be maintained
You might also look at Four Essential Ways that Coaching Can Help Executives (Witherspoon & White) and Choosing an Executive Coach (Miller & Hart), both publications of the Center for Creative Leadership.
I would add for others reading this that it is useful for HR folks generally to beome knowledgable about credible coaching resources so that they are prepared to suggest and implement this approach when the need becomes apparent, rather than just waiting for management to ask. Taking a few coaches through the first step above can give you a stable of people to call on quickly when the need arises.
Please do not hesitate to call or write off-line if you have more specific questions. I would love to hear how it goes!
Regards,
Steve Mac
Steve McElfresh, PhD
Principal
HR Futures
408.605.1870