A new coaching model makes the relationship between the executive and the organization the ‘client.’ Both are given a voice and both work together to achieve goals.
- By Ingrid Johnson
Executive coaching is back in style with a vengeance after a slowdown post-recession and for many good reasons. Most business articles have something in common whether talking about going global, increasing diversity in the workforce, increasing employee engagement, or creating a culture of innovation. They conclude that organizational transformation and change begins with executive leadership.
The connection between top leadership and organizational success is tight and flows two ways, so it makes sense that executive coaching should be delivered within context, giving voice to both the executive and the organization during coaching engagements. This ensures that both are in alignment and both receive benefits that support organizational success.
Coaching the Best to Get the Most
Authors John Hoover and Paul Gorrell focus on the special relationship of an executive and the organization, and the role of coaching delivered in context in the book “The Coaching Connection – A Manager’s Guide to Developing Individual Potential in the Context of the Organization” (publisher: AMACOM).
Traditionally, executive coaching has focused on the executive’s strengths and weaknesses, emotional intelligence, communication skills, and other leadership traits. When the organization is taken into consideration during the coaching engagement, the executive’s coaching is integrated with organizational factors such as the corporate culture, strategies, structure, communication style and goals.
Contextual coaching is the maturing of the coaching process, recognizing that it is the relationship between the client and the organization that determines optimal results. To achieve positive outcomes, there must be alignment between the coachee and the various organizational resources, including people, strategies, ideas, and development resources.
Coaching should focus on aligning what an executive does best – capitalizing on strengths – with what the organization needs most in order to fulfill its mission and achieve its overall purpose.
Forming an Organizational Coalition
Approaching coaching with the belief that the executive and the organization are co-clients is designed to ensure both grow and develop, multiplying the benefits. With a contextual focus, multiple contexts can be taken into account, something particularly relevant to organizations interested in growing or expanding globally.
Partners International, a woman-founded, woman-owned consulting company, describes the process as “This dual focus, the coaching client and sponsoring organization as co-clients, means that the coach, the coaching client, the coaching client’s manager, and the organizational sponsor (usually HR) [coaching coalition] will address multiple contexts that affect the situation of the coaching client as well as will align the coaching process with the strategies, cultural imperatives, talent management systems, and competency requirements of the entire organization. This is complete contextual alignment. The contextual coach maps the coaching process to a changing organizational landscape, complete with enterprise-wide strategic agendas and individual issues; revealing how each compliments the other.” Author John Hoover is senior vice president with Partners International.
Developing individuals specific to how they do their jobs and their impact on the organization means finding the place where interests converge to achieve positive outcomes for both. Neither the individual nor the organization can be at cross purposes.
The Contextual Coaching Model is considered an organizational process that is quite different from an individual process. Ten organizational dimensions used in the model to form the framework for Contextual Coaching include strategy, culture, talent systems, development, career, structure, communication, talent solutions, team dynamics and competence. Individual coaching objectives reflect the ideal organizational leadership competencies, values, skills and behaviors.
Critical principals are applied in this coaching process.
One is that there is an established reporting and data analysis process to ensure the coaching process remains aligned and consistent.
Another principle is that the coaching coalition and other stakeholders are willing to articulate what they believe the organization needs to thrive. Multi-rater assessments play an important role in this principle, providing an organizational voice and data that helps determine if organizational needs are being met.
The coaching coalition, as the voice of the organization, determines the feedback providers for the 360 assessments administered by the coach, establishes the questions the multiple raters will be asked, and reviews reports throughout the coaching engagement. Participants in the coaching process represent different organizational perspectives, so their input into the coaching engagement is critical to maintaining alignment.
Tackling Co-Client Needs Head On
One of the many advantages of coaching in context is that an engagement framework is developed, and that framework is used consistently across the organization. Executives selected for coaching across the organization, including globally, hear the organizational voice within the framework though the coaching activities are customized to the executive’s needs. The coach works with the leader to co-create each coaching session to ensure the right focus is maintained within the organizational framework.
The International Coach Federation has defined 11 core competencies that guide coaching sessions. They include meeting ethical standards, co-creating the relationship between the executive and coach, active listening and powerful questioning, creating organizational awareness, setting goals, developing actions, and managing progress and accountability.
The reasons for choosing to coach an executive depend on the needs of the leader and organization. It may be to prepare high potential talent for promotion or succession; change disruptive behaviors; transition someone to a stretch role; convert 360-degree feedback or self-assessment into an action plan for improvement; help someone navigate the organization’s growth plans or transformation; and enhance the leader’s ability to create a culture of engagement.
These are just a few of the reasons, but it is clear that contextual coaching does not skirt critical leadership and organizational needs. It tackles them head-on. Partners International calls it real-time, real-world action learning. The executive owns the learning process but within organizational context.
Ownership is really what contextual coaching is about. The executive and the organization take co-ownership of the coaching process and results, and are co-beneficiaries.
Coaching until this point has been non-scientific in that leaders and coaches have held conversations that have not necessarily been connected to specific results.
The Contextual Coaching model focuses on organizational consistency, quality, and a uniform framework in which a leader can grow and expand in order to deliver full value.