External coaching gains momentum in corner office

Philip Quinn
Financial Post

Wednesday, May 24, 2006
CREDIT: Peter Redman, National Post

When it comes to executive coaches, it's caveat emptor, says Art Horn who has been in the field for more than 20 years and has a background in psychotherapy and philosophy.

"I was this guest on a radio show, and my interviewer when we went to commercial break said to me 'I'm a bit of a coach.' After the interview when I walked out the door of the studio a young person came up to me and said, 'You know I'm a coach' and I swear as I walked down the hall ... someone who had overhead the show on a hallway speaker said, 'I'm a coach', the third person in less than three minutes. I get a phone call a week from someone saying, 'I want to be a coach.' "

Mr. Horn estimates there are only 50 to 60 professionals in Canada who have the background, training and education to properly coach senior executives. The rest are latecomers to the party, although the opportunities for executive coaches are growing.

"Executive coaching is an old idea that's coming back bigger and stronger than ever, and it's driven by the same things that are driving executive searching," says David Kinley, chief executive of Kinley & Connelly, a major recruitment firm in Toronto and the Silicon Valley.

"These days with fewer and fewer people out there, companies have to get smarter and better at keeping their talent and growing it internally. So along with that is [the question] how do we train and help our executives and get them access to the kind of tools that are going to help them be the most successful?"

The problem most companies have with using an internal coach is confidentiality. Mr. Kinley cites the major banks as a situation where there is a multitude of vice-presidents vying for the top job. Who can these executives turn to when they face a career problem? Not their peers who they are in competition with, and likely not even their immediate boss who might also have an eye on the position.

An external coach formalizes and speeds up traditional mentoring because the approach is often problem specific.

It could be as simple as an executive feeling his peers manage to get their points across in meetings while he flounders and asking the executive coach for guidance on how to be more effective in that kind of situation. But the need for an executive coach could also grow out of the perception by other senior executives in the company (or in the case of a CEO, the board of directors) that the executive has an issue, often related to personality, that needs to be addressed.

"Often people are encouraged to get an executive coach because there's a perception somewhere of something holding that person back," says Mr. Horn, the founder and president of the Toronto-based training company Horn, who has worked with clients such as Canada Bread, Bayer, Nortel and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

"Sometimes it's actually a matter of saving their jobs and coaching is deemed by senior leadership as a last resort so they can say to themselves that they've given this guy his best shot."

The trust between the coach and the executive is critical if the relationship is going to work. "If the person I'm coaching says, 'I might want to get out of my company', I'm not telling that information to anyone," Mr. Horn says.

Ideally, the company is hoping the executive will stay with the organization and that the cost of coaching will help it maximize what it has already invested in that employee.

"I invest a $1-million a year in Joe right now and my return is X,' says Mr. Horn. "I want it to be X + Y and so people don't worry about the specific return on investment, the $5,000 or $10,000 (Mr. Horn's usual fee) is peanuts. The question really is, 'who's the right guy to do the coaching.' "

Beyond checking out a coach's references, experience, and education, companies should also pay attention to the buzz in the marketplace. "Word of mouth is key; it's the only way I get my work," Mr. Horn says.

Often executive coaches are valued because of the external perspective they bring to the table. "There's a time and place to have an internal coach, an internal mentor," says Edyta Pacuk, partner, MICA Consulting Partners in Toronto. "I think internal coaching is the job of the manager, it's one of the responsibilities of any person who has people development responsibilities.

"The higher up you go in an organization the more it is indiscreet to use an internal coach and mentor. I'm currently coaching a CEO who said to me, 'at the time I was promoted to my role I was told I would be deprived of two things -- bad food and the truth'."

A chief executive is often not being fed the information he or she needs to operate successfully because employees for various reasons decide to only bring forward the information they think the CEO wants to hear.

"An external coach provides the mirror to the CEO; what is the impact you are making and what are the questions you really need to ask to create a moment where the unvarnished truth can be told [to you]," Ms. Pacuk says.

Through a process of assessment using interviews and questionnaires, Ms. Pacuk and her firm are able to gather and provide the chief executive with the practical and documented information he needs especially as it pertains to personal strengths and weaknesses.

"In our process we're trying to help the leader leverage his or her individual strengths. We really believe that if the leader is able to capitalize on the brilliance or talent he brings to the table, he or she can create great economic value for the organization."

She points to an example of a senior manager whose brusque behaviour caused some of the employees reporting to him to break down in tears. His company was considering replacing him.

"One of the diagnostics we used was the 360 assessment (peers, superiors and subordinates of the executive are asked for their opinions) which really gave him a great mirror as to what the impact of his leadership style was. The first thing he did was share the results with his executive team, 'I'm going to be working on this and this, and I want you to help me.' The turnaround was such that at the end of the year his team nominated him for the CEO award of the year."

Another client had been tremendously successful but started to fumble her responsibilities when her employer went through a difficult transition.

"Within the nine months, we've been working together, she's been promoted twice," says Ms. Pacuk.

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Old idea finds new life in tight market

March 24, 2006
This article appeared on the first page of FP Working, National Post, May24, 2006.

Recruiter David Kinley: These days, with fewer people out there, companies have to get smarter at keeping their talent.

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HOW TO CHOOSE A COACH

KNOW WORK OBJECTIVES

• Is it to develop people so they are of greater use to the company?
• Correct flaws?
• To help someone reach their potential?

PICK CAREFULLY

• Use your business network to find a coach who is familiar with your industry and with the appropriate management level.
• Ask about their training.
• Don't pick the first coach that comes along.

SEEK ACCOUNTABILITY

• Coach should have standards for measuring success.
• Set early milestones.

Ran with fact box "How to Choose a Coach" which has been appended to the story.
© National Post 2006

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