From the VC’s Corner (25): Exec Coaching as a Pragmatic Tool
Being assisted by an exec coach is not a sign of weakness. To the contrary, this means a serious professional, a person who wants to excel and asks support for self-improvement. Coaching is a “pragmatic tool,” says Michelle Walder, chief executive of TXG, which matches coaches with multinationals. This booming sector is not regulated and has almost no barriers to entry; well, the coach still needs some track record of accomplishments/expertise, great communication skills and flexibility.
I don’t believe somebody in the 20s, just getting out of school and attending a course, could start touting for exec coaching the next day. Being inexperienced and in a position from where it’s difficult to challenge a senior exec on whom you rely for income, assuming you have only a few sessions a month, does not make you an exec coach. Besides, exec coaching is not the same as career coaching, although the exec might be in a position of career change. Coaching helps the exec get an image of her-/himself as others perceive her/him, and it’s an experience of equals — the coach should also learn from the sessions.
Coaching John (the exec I’ve mentioned about in a previous post — 24,) was also about helping him develop soft skills such as leadership, teamwork, networking, or self-control, in addition to improving performance and scaling teams. Delivering “general advice,” like those you read in various posts or books, does not make one a great exec coach; neither being always a best pal and even extremely polite. When I wear my coach hat, I’ll make you feel, on a few occasions, maybe uncomfortable, and you’ll feel challenged. All’s well as long as at the end of the session you also feel enlightened and a willingness to change. If an exec is not willing to develop greater self-awareness and hear the truth, can’t help her/him much (maybe (s)he needs an advisor, not a coach.)
One might think that being an exec coach is an easy ride, with nice chats and plenty of coffees. My friends, the work can be intense; as intense as you prepare it, and quite difficult when working with powerful people or high-profiles — you might end up even emotionally exhausted, for a few hours, after the session ends. Besides, some people aren’t up for that, and if their ego is too big, or their problem is more like a depression, better refer them to other specialists.
Equally important, for a coach, is finding the balance between exec’s self-development and the company’s goals; when the exec is also a (co-)founder and (co-)owner, the alignment is obvious, but in larger companies, with hired management, the exec’s ambitions might not be the same as their company’s (or team’s.) If the coach’s bill is paid by the company and the exec might end up wanting to leave the company, the outcome of the sessions might be good for the individual but bad for the employer. Even in this case, the coach can help both parties to benefit.
As I’m passionate about entrepreneurship and digital technologies, I believe that (tech) startup founders, also execs, should not outsource their team’s development and feedback to a coach (although some use this model.) Outsourcing the leadership and avoiding the need in developing relationships, just to focus on the tech issues and/or business matters, means poor management — a recipe for trouble down the road.
“Organizations with a genuine coaching culture are few and far between,” says Ms Walder. In this context, you may also want to read here a comprehensive analysis, ”New Year, New You! The boom in executive coaching,” by Emma Jacobs, in Financial Times.
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