When to Use an Executive Coach

When you have a talented executive/manager who makes a solid contribution to the business but who (examples):
• Has problems managing people
• Can’t communicate his/her ideas effectively
• Has problems making good presentations
• Is trying to change the culture and is meeting with resistance
• Has an ineffective personal style
• Has an image problem
• Needs feedback on a sensitive personal issue

When you have a new manager who (examples):
• Was promoted into a large stretch job
• Was promoted into a job with high risk/visibility
• Never managed a large group of people before
• Never managed multiple departments
• Never worked outside of his/her technical specialty
• Has a manager who can’t provide much coaching

When you have a valuable contributor who the company wants to save from outplacement / termination (examples):
• The employee hasn’t been told the truth by past managers and the company feels a sense of responsibility for the employee’s predicament
• There is a political time bomb ticking and the company is trying to avoid a lawsuit
• The person is connected politically in some way to the owner (friend, family member, protégé, etc.)

When you have a star employee who (examples):
• Needs to polish skills in communication to upper management
• Needs to become more politically astute
• Has to grow quickly to move into a bigger job fast, due to business changes, sudden death or retirement of key executive, etc.

Pitfalls to Avoid When Working with an Executive Coach

Before you hire the coach:
• Check references—speak to people the person has actually coached, as well as to their managers.
• Choose people who have executive experience, if he/she will be coaching executives.
• Choose a coach who has a successful track record of managing people, if he/she will be working with someone on employee issues.
• Beware of a coach who has had limited personal experience with organizational politics, especially if the issue at hand is political.
• Coaching certificates, from coaching “universities,” don’t guarantee the person will be a good fit, or have the necessary skills.
• Ask for all fees upfront, including potential charges for phone calls, in-office research and preparation, instruments, etc.
• Match the coach to the person. One size doesn’t not fit all.
• Set clear expectations about marketing other services while working with a client.
• Beware of the coach who overuses instruments because they lack the experience or skills themselves.
• Be cautious of a coach who doesn’t have a sense of urgency and professes the need to have a long, expensive relationship.
• Be careful of the coach who seems to be too eager to take any assignment, without thoroughly probing into the desired outcomes to see if he/she is a fit.
• Be wary of the person who may be acting as a “coach” between jobs.
• Be cautious about someone who doesn’t have any past success stories to share
• Avoid someone who can’t articulate his/her consulting philosophy and principles
• Others?

Beware of the coach who doesn’t do the following early in the process:
• Identify measurable outcomes in a three-way conversation between the manager/coach and person to be coached (and internal HR coach, if applicable)
• Set agreed upon ways to monitor progress
• Get agreement from all parties about how to handle confidentiality
• Set expectations about logistics of where and when.
• Clarify roles and responsibilities of all parties
• Establish rapport and trust quickly with the person to be coached
• Actively involves the person’s manager in the process

© Joan Lloyd & Associates, Inc. (800) 348-1944 info@joanlloyd.com  www.JoanLloyd.com
Executive Coaching * Management Consulting * Customized Leadership Training * Team Assessment / Teambuilding / Retreat Facilitation