Pushing leaders to be their best

There’s a new development intervention, gaining a great deal of favour in both Asian business and throughout western economies. While executive coaching has actually been around for more than a decade, even in the emerging economies of Asia, organisations are now seeing the light and jumping on board for strong perceived returns. Its proponents say it can improve the performance of even the best corporate leaders, giving businesses an all-important edge in today’s competitive environment.

Coaches themselves say the increase in demand has been the end-result of much networking and positive word-of-mouth. “It has certainly grown over the past six years,” Nancy Verhoeven, an executive coach with Vincere Coaching in Singapore, says. “There is a lot more local supply (of coaches) now.”

Dennis Heath, a coach with WayAhead Leadership Solutions, agrees – noting that word-of-mouth has helped to drive the recent surge of demand in Asia. “People see the results and have a better understanding of what coaching is and what it isn’t,” he says.

Who is it for?

That doesn’t mean there isn’t any confusion in the marketplace about the exact role and purpose of an executive coach. According to both Heath and Verhoeven, coaching is still often mixed up with other learning or training disciplines.

“It’s often mistaken for counseling, mentoring or training,” Heath says. “But it is none of those.”

To be fair, he says many mentoring programmes do have an element of coaching included in them. But these are often internal initiatives, forming a relationship between a senior executive and a potential leader one or two rungs below them on the corporate ladder. A true coaching relationship is necessarily external, demanding trust, openness and 100% confidentiality between both participants.

“We don’t tell the client what to do or what not to do,” Heath says. “We use questioning skills to help them think more deeply about themselves, their behaviour and how they can change to get improved results.”

Typically, this is a service for those at the highest levels of leadership – the senior vice presidents and C-suite office holders of large multinationals and public service organisations. Verhoeven says employees of all ranks and functions will certainly be helped through one-one-coaching, but the intensive nature means senior leaders are able to get the most out of the programmes.

“We want the client to be more effective in their work and also their people management skills,” she says.

How does it work?

A typical coaching relationship will last at least – but often not much more than – six months, with sessions of 60 to 90 minutes held every fortnight. Both coaches that HRM spoke with stressed that the set up is flexible between coach and client but that this schedule tends to suit both parties well.

“It takes six months to change a behaviour,” Verhoeven says. “You only start to see a change after three months.” From there, coaching clients need to “accumulate” experience with the new behaviour before it can become part of their habitual memory.

The first sessions will involve both formal and informal assessments of the coaching candidate. Heath will typically use a standard 360-degree assessment, as well as a Myer-Briggs psychometric analysis, in order to get a good understanding of where the client’s strengths and weaknesses are.

“You get the picture of the person, as they see themselves, and as they are perceived by their boss, peers and subordinates,” he says.

From there, coaches can begin to work on those agreed areas. How this is done will often depend on the characteristics or behaviours being addressed. If increasing confidence and public speaking skills is the aim, then coaches will take their clients through a series of presentation scenarios and critically evaluate their efforts. Improving people management skills may involve some intensive evaluations of typical workplace situations, their causes and alternative strategies.

“A lot of coaching revolves around communication,” Verhoeven says. “It’s also about confidence and inspiring and motivating employees.”

Importantly, personality plays a big role. That’s why most HR and learning and development professionals arranging coaching for their senior leaders will present a “panel” of coaching options for each subject. At least three coaches will interview separately in order to get the right fit for all stakeholders.

“I call this part ‘the Beauty Parade’,” Heath jokes.

Positive outcomes

Word-of-mouth is the driving force behind the coaching profession; and both Verhoeven and Heath say the results are clearly positive. Indeed, a survey by the US-based College of Executive Coaching (and published in Fortune Magazine) found a typical coaching investment could reap an average return of more than 570%.

Heath says the benefits are not just financial however. He recalls a recent client, a senior manager, who identified listening skills as a much-needed area of improvement. The executive had become so engrossed in his work that challenges and opportunities were filling his mind while others were trying to communicate with him. Heath says this resulted in him often missing vital points and situations; further compounding the initial problem.

“We worked on techniques to actively clear his mind,” Heath says, noting that with much practice, these tools eventually started to take effect, improving both the leader’s performance and the performances of those around him. “That coaching changed the perception of him in the workplace.”

There were also benefits at home, with the coaching client enjoying stronger relationships with his children as a result, Heath said.

For Verhoeven, the results show best when clients can actively point to the changes that have been made. They see the coaching as a distinct point of difference in their lives and view themselves in terms of “before” and “after” that event. “I have one CEO who starts to talk about ‘the old me’,” she says.

Hiring right

With the growth of coaching demand, the supply of people and organisations offering coaching services has also increased. But both Heath and Verhoeven warn HR to take care when selecting a coach for their organisation or leaders. They say there are many charlatans who don’t have formal training or the right background to offer real coaching solutions.

“Quite a lot of unqualified trainers and consultants know coaching is on the rise – so they add the word ‘coach’ to their business cards,” Heath says. “This is why accreditation is important.”

The International Coaching Federation’s Singapore chapter offers a well-regarded accreditation for executive coaches. They are judged on both their coaching history and the skills involved, ensuring only knowledgeable and passionate coaches receive its seal of approval.