a guide for the human resource professional phần 9 pptx

Weassume you’ve never been a coaching client before, so in this sec-tion we examine your role in helping to ensure the success of thecoaching relationship.. Personal coaching is also a l

• Responsibilities to your boss and HR person

• Coachable moments

• Permission to speak up

Why Use a Coach?

You, the client, play the central role in the coaching story Weassume you’ve never been a coaching client before, so in this sec-tion we examine your role in helping to ensure the success of thecoaching relationship

Something in the way of a business challenge probably is ing the need for you to learn some new behaviors quickly This chal-lenge may appear as a change in the nature or scope of work, anassignment to turn around or fix a business, or a global or interna-tional assignment with a high level of complexity and ambiguity in

caus-it Usually these challenges occur in clusters, possibly creatingthoughts such as “It just never stops” or “I might be in over my head”

or even “What am I supposed to do now? ” Whatever it is, there is aneed to ramp up quickly and accelerate the learning curve

There are lots of ways to learn Our early educational lives weretypically dominated by “instruction” in one form or another As wegrow into adulthood, trial and error becomes perhaps the most com-mon learning method We also learn by reading about what othershave done, watching what others do, or occasionally by going toformal classes Personal coaching is also a learning alternative.Coaching tends to be most appropriate when:

• Performance makes an important difference to the

employer Almost by definition, the contributions

expected of senior executives fall into this category

Managers at other levels who are in especially

significant roles also are responsible for making an

important contribution, so they too can be appropriate

coaching clients Managers may receive coaching

simply because they are considered to be “high

potential,” regardless of the nature of their current

organizational role

• The relevant learning issues are in the “soft skills” area

Improving any person’s performance in these areas is

often difficult and requires an intensive effort Many of

these coaching assignments fall into familiar categories:

• Helping people with personal or self-management

issues, such as a need to micromanage, time

manage-ment difficulties, balancing work and family life, or

perhaps a career-related concern

• Helping people who have assertive, dominant, or

controlling styles become better able to build

rela-tionships, create trust, delegate, work in teams, or

develop their subordinates

• Helping people who have good “people” skills to be

better at calling the tough decisions, setting and

enforcing standards, and handling conflict in

produc-tive ways

• Helping people develop leadership skills when they

have moved (or are about to move) into a more

prominent role (Some typical leadership issues are

providing vision and strategy, performing symbolic

roles, and functioning in a much more “alone”

position without getting much valid feedback.)

• Used in conjunction with formal succession planning

programs

• Associated with executive development programs

Lessons learned offsite may be combined with

on-the-job assignments and the support of a coach

when the formal program is over

• There are no right answers, you need to develop yourown solutions to certain of the puzzles of executive life,and it’s hard to do it on your own If there were rightanswers hidden away somewhere, the task would be alot easier

• The learning needs to happen according to your ule, and quickly People who are moved into importantpositions with little advance notice can be supportedwith a coach

sched-• Assimilating new hires, or another term for this is

“on-boarding.”

The common theme throughout this list is the need to deal with

a steep learning curve

How a Coach Can Help

What actually happens in the coaching relationship that allows you

to get better at interpersonal skills, communicating, delegating, timemanagement, emotional self-management, or other soft skills? Howdoes someone focus on and improve these kinds of skills?

First, let’s agree that these skills are not of the kind that can belearned in a classroom setting Rather, they are learned by directinteraction with others while working Sometimes this is called

“action learning.” This is the way adults learn best, and this is themodel that best applies to interpersonal skills With the coach’shelp, a feedback loop is created based on trying out new behaviors,followed by feedback and reflection, and then trying again to be aseffective at whatever is happening

Here are some of the things the coach and the coaching processcontribute to the learning:

• Focus of attention Having a coach means paying attention

to the issues Appointments are scheduled, time is spent,

and discussions are held regarding the relevant topics

• Self-discipline Because of the regularity of appointments

and the involvement of other people, it’s a lot easier to

stay on track Organizational life is full of distractions,

even emergencies Having a coach is a way to increase

the priority of this change effort

• Valid data Change and learning require good data, and

the coach can help bring that about Information is

needed on what you bring to the job, what actions are

effective, and what is needed in order to succeed A

coach may offer his or her personal views of your actions

and/or may do some “testing” using standardized

inven-tories The coach can interview others in the

organiza-tion to get their views confidentially The coach can

help interpret 360-degree surveys, attitude surveys, or

performance reviews Perhaps most importantly, the

coach can help you make sense of all this data

• New ideas The coach may or may not have held a job

such as yours But he or she has worked with a lot of

people like you and knows something about how they

have succeeded The coach brings new perspective to

your thinking and helps you get out of mental ruts and

dead ends Not all the ideas are brilliant—or will work

for you Nonetheless, there’s a pool of suggestions

waiting for you to check out

• Support It’s not easy to do things differently In

addi-tion to your own ingrained habits, your colleagues mayhave you fixed in their minds as a person who does

things in a certain way Making changes means takingrisks, persevering in the face of resistance, and possiblyfeeling a little strange or silly at times Changes require

a “safe” environment in which to takes these risks Thecoach is there to provide encouragement, help, and

someone to talk to while all this is happening

• The learning process Sometimes the greatest value

com-ing out of a coachcom-ing relationship isn’t just your

changed behavior or the changed perceptions of others

in the organization Sometimes it is your insight into

how to learn The coach’s expertise is exactly in this

domain, and some of it should rub off on you over thecourse of your relationship

A coaching assignment is triggered by an opportunity or a glitch

or a transition of one kind or another There will be many moreopportunities, glitches, and transitions in life, but a coach won’t be

there for most of them If you take away good insights into how to

handle the learning/change process, and a sense as to how to use theseinsights in future situations, then you will be the real winner

How Coaching Starts

Coaching puts you in a very active role This is a shift from the

role you played when you were a student or a patient seeking helpfrom a doctor Nothing much of importance will happen as aresult of coaching unless you try to make it happen All the other

participants in the story are supporting characters—it is really allabout you and what you want to do.

This active role begins at the very beginning, when the first cussion is held about coaching You should make an active decision

dis-to be a coaching client Perhaps you initiated the idea If someoneapproached you about it, your participation should be voluntary.Ideally, you should enter this relationship with positive energy andcuriosity Unbridled enthusiasm is too much to expect from a first-time participant, but you certainly shouldn’t be coerced into thisactivity

You should be comfortable about doing the coaching at thistime By “this time” we mean that the flow of your work suggeststhat coaching might be helpful now and that you’re comfortablewith your boss and HR professional as participants This is also adecision on your part

Similarly, you may have been actively involved with the choice

of who your coach will be and what the two of you will focus on

So now it’s time to actually start the coaching relationship.What should you be doing to make it worthwhile? What are youlikely to be experiencing during the coaching?

Steps in the Coaching Process

Coaching relationships are custom-designed, not replicated from amanual the coach keeps on a shelf or that the HR department asksexternal coaches to obey However, a large percentage of coachingassignments do follow a general format, which is what we willdescribe here If you feel your situation falls outside of the usual pat-tern for coaching assignments, you will need to contract for a vari-ation on the traditional relationship so you will have a process thatmakes sense for you and your company

Steps in the coaching process usually are delineated at the set of a coaching engagement Although the names and labels mayvary, in almost all situations a coaching process will contain thesesteps:

Usually the agreement is more formal with the HR sional and the organization and less formal with you A continuum

profes-of formality is possible, ranging from a one-paragraph email to aformal contract with a non-disclosure agreement

The purpose here is not to create rigidity or arbitrary limitations.Rather, a clearly understood coaching process is important becausepredictability builds trust A good structure also allows for discus-sion of variations to the plan, as needed

Perhaps the most important element in the success of a ing engagement is the bond or “chemistry” between you and thecoach A lot has been written, but very little decided, on what goesinto the magic of a good bond During the contracting step there

coach-has to be a sense from both parties that “This is going to work” or

“I trust this person.” Of course, the relationship can be terminated

at any time later on, but there have to be positive feelings at theoutset—or there is no contract!

A contract, memo, or letter of agreement will typically addressthe following points:

• How often you and your coach will meet and for

approx-imately how long, for example, two or three times each

month for about an hour

• A starting and possible ending date

• The general focus of the coaching, such as project

lead-ership skills, an abrasive interpersonal style, time

man-agement, or work/family balance issues

• Some sense of how “success” will be measured—how

the wrap-up and evaluation might proceed

• Reporting and confidentiality—who can say what to

coach-by everyone involved All of the parties involved, the client, theboss, the HR person and the coach, must understand the goals andobjectives of the coaching It also helps to convey to the coach thepossible future plans for the client and what is contained in a suc-cession plan if one actually does exist for that individual At that

point, it is incumbent on the coach to develop a coaching plan tohelp the client achieve the desired goals.”

Information Sharing

One of the main requirements in coaching is trust Any successfulcoaching relationship is built on mutual trust between the coachand the client The relationship is based on privileged communi-cation between you and your coach, and often the information that

is exchanged may be potentially damaging If there is a breakdown

in trust, the coaching engagement is clearly bound to fail fore, the issue of confidentiality is crucial to coaching

There-When being coached, you will share delicate private and porate information with your coach in order to explore develop-mental opportunities Naturally, this situation may cause concernsfrom your perspective as well as from the coach’s perspective Youmight wonder who else has access to the information How canyou be assured that the information is not shared with someone youdon’t trust? Who knows that you are being coached? Will the infor-mation shared have an impact on your promotion or salary?The coach, who is usually paid by your organization, faces a dif-ferent conflict: Am I obliged to share a progress report with myclient’s supervisor, Human Resources, or the sponsor? If so, howmuch detail do I go into? Who in the organization needs to beinformed if my client shares information about illegal wrongdoingsinvolving either the client or other organizational members? Allthese concerns are legitimate and need to be addressed beforeattempting to build a trusting, open relationship

cor-If you believe that your coach is sharing private information or

if the coach feels caught up in an organizational power struggle, therelationship is likely to crumble Confidentiality is therefore both

an ethical and a practical issue

Ethical Standards

Whereas doctors, lawyers, priests, and others whose professionsrequire dealing with personal information are bound by the law toapply certain ethical standards, there are no explicit laws in thatregard applicable for coaches For those coaches who are psycholo-gists, the ethical standards concerning disclosures in the profession

of psychology apply Although the coach has to try to make everyeffort to honor your confidence, the coach cannot provide a guar-antee You should be aware that your information is not privilegedunder law

Best Practice

In order to avoid conflicts, the coach is well advised to discuss theissue of confidentiality up-front with you By making you aware thatthere are usually other stakeholders in the coaching process, such

as your supervisor, the HR manager, or others, your coach can cuss with you which information is shared and which information

dis-is kept confidential Ideally, during the contracting phase, a ing between you, your coach, your boss, and the HR professionalhas occurred in which issues of confidentiality have been discussed.Who does the reporting? How much write-up is needed? It makessense to share information about goals and progress, but not thecontents of coach-client discussions

meet-The other possibility is to encourage you to inform other holders about your developmental process This can either be done

stake-in the presence of the coach or stake-in private In any case, you and yourcoach must reach a joint agreement that leaves you both inyour comfort zones and sets a solid basis for a trusting relationship

By reaching an agreement about confidentiality in the first place,most conflicts of interest can be avoided

2 Initial Goal Setting

A first draft of goals—What is to be accomplished by the coaching?—should be part of the contracting step It may look like a simple thing

to do, but it is not

• Client, coach, HR professional, and boss all may wish

to see somewhat different outcomes These

expecta-tions must be articulated and conflicts explored and

resolved

• As the coaching process evolves, what is considered to

be a realistic and desired goal may change

• There may be interim goals as well as long-term goals

• There may be “business” and also “personal” goals—

and they may overlap and impact each other

A reasonable approach, therefore, is to set an initial goal andexpect to confirm or revise it as time goes by

Goal setting is central to the process Well-defined goals allowyou to work together, to assess progress and success, to choose appro-priate methods and relevant data, and so on Good coaching isresults-oriented and does not wander off into unimportant tangents

It is important for the coach to understand the business challengesfacing both you and the organization

The goal for many coaching engagements is expressed in ioral terms For example, you will do more or less of something, orlearn to do something, or stop doing something Some typicalgoals in executive coaching address improvement in leadershipcompetencies, specific interpersonal and social competencies, andthe ability to manage your career issues Other goals may explicitly

behav-and implicitly involve increasing the effectiveness of the tion and team.

organiza-When possible, it will be useful to define the coaching goal in

“business” terms—connecting it to operating plans or financial sures This is often not possible, however desirable it might be It isgenerally sufficient for the goal to be agreed on by the four inter-ested parties—you, your coach, HR, and your boss Both your needsand the employer’s interests must be served This agreement may beeasy to reach or may be negotiated

perfor-to help you set goals for improvements in job performance You andyour coach must be able to operate together with a common lan-guage and set of concepts The most efficient way for the coach to

go about this is by systematically collecting data on those ioral dimensions that have the most impact on performance Whycollect data? As an executive, you are comfortable looking at data.Multiple perspectives create a richer picture Coaching shouldn’t

behav-be based on hunches; objective data is of value Data gatheringcan be done in lots of ways Some alternatives for gathering infor-mation are described below:

• Interviews The coach will create an interview protocol

and conduct either individual face-to-face or telephone