Becoming an Exceptional Executive Coach: Use Your Knowledge, Experience, and Intuition to Help Leaders Excel

289 Pages·2011·3.18 MB·English

by  Michael H. Frisch

Becoming an Exceptional
Executive
Coach
USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE,
AND INTUITION TO HELP LEADERS EXCEL
Michael H. Frisch, Robert J. Lee,
Karen L. Metzger, Jeremy Robinson,
and Judy Rosemarin
AMERICAN MANAGEMENTASSOCIATION
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Becominganexceptionalexecutivecoach:useyourknowledge,experience,andintuitionto
helpleadersexcel/MichaelH.Frisch...[etal.].
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978-0-8144-1687-7
ISBN-10:0-8144-1687-X
1. Executivecoaching. I.Frisch,MichaelH.
HD30.4.B432011
658.4’07124—dc22
2011011577
© 2012MichaelH.Frisch,RobertJ.Lee,KarenL.Metzger,JeremyRobinson,and
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Contents
Acknowledgments v
List of Figures vi
Introduction 1
PART I:
FOUNDATIONS FOR BECOMINGAN EXCEPTIONAL EXECUTIVE COACH 7
Chapter 1 Your Personal Model of Coaching 9
Chapter 2 Executive Coach Competencies 19
Chapter 3 Foundations and Definitions 24
PART II:
TOPICS IN EXECUTIVE COACHING 39
Chapter 4 Managing the Coaching Engagement 41
Chapter 5 Contracting the Coaching Process with
Clients and Sponsors 54
Chapter 6 Sponsor and Stakeholder Involvement 63
Chapter 7 Building Early Relationships with Clients 75
Chapter 8 Goal Evolution 86
Chapter 9 Assessment and Information Gathering 94
Chapter 10 Feedback:What and How 106
Chapter 11 Development Planning 117
Chapter 12 Encouraging Dialogue and Stories 127
Chapter 13 Strengthening the Partnership 137
Chapter 14 Using the Partnership to Motivate
Change 145
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AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
CONTENTS
Chapter 15 Coaching for Leadership 153
Chapter 16 Differences 166
Chapter 17 Closure 176
Chapter 18 What Happened:Self-Reflection and
Evaluation 188
Chapter 19 Professionalism and Responsibility 198
Chapter 20 The Role of the Internal Coach 208
PART III:
ARTICULATINGTHE OUTPUTS OFYOUR PERSONAL MODEL 219
Chapter 21 Output 1:YourApproach to Executive
Coaching 221
Chapter 22 Output 2:Your Executive Coaching
Practice 229
Chapter 23 Output 3:Your Professional Development
Plan 235
Chapter 24 Becoming an Exceptional Executive Coach:
Amber’s Story 239
Exhibits 249
Notes 269
Coaching Glossary 271
For Further Reading 273
Index 276
About theAuthors 281
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Acknowledgments
First,wewouldliketothankanearlybutpivotalcontributortothereal-
ization of this book. At the 2008 annual meeting of the American
PsychologicalAssociation,RichardHackmangaveapresentationabout
the dos and don’ts of producing a book based on topically focused
discussions of a long-standing group of colleagues. We don’t know
whatotherattendeesatthatsessiontookaway,butforusthemessages
were clear: Turning intentions and interesting points into tangible text
requiresthetyrannyofaprojectmanager,duedates,funds,andapro-
fessionaleditor.Justasincoaching,asolidprocessthatputsideasinto
actionisanecessaryconditionforaspirationstobecomereality.
More immediately, we would like to thank our students, super-
visees, and the organizational sponsors of coaching assignments con-
nected with our courses. During our ten years of teaching executive
coaching,theirsupportandencouragementhaveprovideduswiththe
impetus to continually question, refine, and articulate our ideas about
executive coaching. We would also like to thank our organizational
clients,whohavereliedonustosupporttheirinternalcoachingefforts,
as well as our academic partners, Baruch College (CUNY) Zicklin
Business School’s Management Department and the graduate pro-
gramsoftheNewSchoolUniversity.Inaddition,wewouldliketothank
our editor, Claire Wyckoff, who participated in innumerable “book”
meetings, showing enormous patience in providing guidance on both
the product and the process. We would also like to thank Christina
Parisi, our Executive Editor at AMACOM, who supported our proposal
and was decisive in helping us resolve key questions even as she nur-
tured her other projects. Finally, we would like to thank our families,
who unflinchingly supported this extracurricular effort with their
encouragementandflexibility.
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List of Figures
Figure1-1. PersonalModelinputsandoutputs. p. 12
Figure2-1. Coachcompetencies. p. 21
Figure3-1. Streamsandbanksofexecutivecoaching. p. 26
Figure3-2. Executivecoachingcontinuum. p. 35
Figure4-1. Typicalphasesofexecutivecoaching. p. 42
Figure5-1. Contracting:settingprocessexpectations. p. 56
Figure7-1. Guidelinesforthefirstcoachingsession. p. 78
Figure7-2. Sessionstructure. p. 80
Figure8-1. Goalevolution. p. 87
Figure9-1. Popular360-degreefeedbackinstruments. p. 96
Figure9-2. Introductiontotheinformationalinterview. p. 99
Figure11-1. Benefitsofdevelopmentplanningmeetings. p. 121
Figure13-1. Containmentequation. p. 138
Figure14-1. Reframingresistance. p. 148
Figure16-1. Self-assessmentaboutdifferences. p. 169
Figure16-2. Differencesdecisiontree. p. 172
Figure19-1. Coachingcaveats. p. 200
Figure20-1. Internalcoachconsiderations. p. 213
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Introduction
Our Journeys
Wefiveauthorscametoexecutivecoachinginwayssimilartothosewhopar-
ticipateinourcoachtrainingcourses—fromorganizationalpsychology,con-
sulting, organization development, career counseling, and the personal
helpingprofessions.Atthetimewebegantocoachtherewasnoformalprac-
ticeofexecutivecoaching.Theneedforindividualized,just-in-timeexecu-
tivedevelopmentemergedinthe1980s,intheformofrequestsforhelpfrom
ourhumanresourcescontacts.TakingacuefromAChorusLine,amusicalof
thatera,werespondedwith,“Wecandothat!”Withverylittledefinitionor
guidance, we originally provided those individual development services
under various headings, such as developmental counseling, mental health
consultation,occupationalclinicalpsychology,orretentionwork.Bytheearly
1990s, however, executive coaching had become the preferred label, and
somewhatconsistentexpectationshadbeendefined.
Although there was no training for executive coaches back then, there
weremanystreamsofskill,knowledge,andpracticethatfueledandshaped
coaching work, including individual psychotherapy, leadership develop-
mentcourses,organizationdevelopment(OD),andhumanresourcescon-
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AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
INTRODUCTION
sulting. At the same time, there were new ideas about management and
leadership that were synergistic with the increasing demand for executive
coaching. Managerial competencies beyond technical skills were gaining
prominence,includinganemphasisonthemanagerascoachanddevelop-
eroftalent.Approachestoleadershipbeganfocusingonsoftskillareassuch
ascommunicationandinterpersonaldynamicsratherthanformalauthori-
ty or command and control. Human resources practices were moving
beyondpersonneladministrationtoincludesophisticatedsuccessionplan-
ning systems and 360-degree feedback tools for individual development.
Consultingandtrainingfirmsandexecutiveeducationbranchesofbusiness
schoolswererespondingto,andadvancing,thesenewideasaboutleader-
shipandHRpracticesandincorporatingthemintomanagementandexec-
utivetrainingexperiencesforclients.
Ourearlyopportunitiesforexecutivecoachingworkevolvedoutofthose
swirlingapplications.Undertheprevailingzeitgeist,executivecoachingcoa-
lescedwithasurprisingdegreeofconsistencyaroundaconfidentialone-on-
onerelationship,informedby360-degreeandotherassessments,organiza-
tionally sponsored, and anchored in on-the-job action planning. Certainly
there were branded labels for coaching, reflecting a particular theoretical
model or the desire to be differentiated in the marketplace, but the rough
outlines of accepted executive coaching practice became clear quickly.
Supportingthatclaritywasthefactthatcoachingwasnotyetatermusedfor
servicesoutsideoforganizationalcontexts.Inotherwords,thetermcoaching
hadnotyetballoonedtoapplytopersonal,life,andcareerinterventions.
Bytheearly1990sintheUnitedStates,coachinghadbecomeanaccepted
optionforexecutivedevelopment.Eventhosefirmsofferingmoretraditional
classroomcoursessawcoachingasacomplementtotheireffortsandgraftedit
on. The Center for Creative Leadership was an early innovator in executive
developmentcoursesandusedcoachingtofacilitateinterpretationofassess-
ment feedback as a basis for individual development planning. In addition,
coachingfounditswayintoincreasinglysophisticatedhumanresourcesprac-
tices. Competency-driven human resource planning, performance manage-
mentsystems,andactionlearningteamsalltriggeredidentificationofleaders
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AmericanManagementAssociation•www.amanet.org
INTRODUCTION
who would benefit from individualized, accelerated development. As execu-
tives and managers were selected for development, demand for coaching
grew. Coaches were screened, introduced to prospective clients, and offered
coachingopportunities,typicallyforsix-monthengagements.
In these early years, coaching qualifications were undefined, but some
werefavored:affinityforthebusinessenterprise;insightaboutorganizational
life,especiallyatthetop;theabilitytoengageexecutivesone-on-oneinaself-
discoveryprocess;andorganizationalsponsormanagement.Industry-specific
knowledge,assessmenttoolfacility,professional/humanresourcesnetworks,
andconsultingexperiencewerealsoimmediatelyuseful.Experienceasapro-
fessionalcounselorandadvancedtraininginpsychologyorotherhumanserv-
icefieldsaddedtocredibilitybutwerenotrequired.Eventually,aparallelphe-
nomenon emerged as HR professionals began offering forms of coaching to
managersintheirorganizations,andtheroleoftheinternalcoachwasborn.
Theauthorsparticipatedactivelyinthegrowthofexecutivecoachingand
alsowerecalledupontohelpimproveitspractices.Startinginthemid-1990s,
wesupportedthedevelopmentandcasesupervisionoflessexperiencedexec-
utivecoaches.Forallofus,thesecasesbecameverygratifyingaspectsofour
professional lives. We discovered we enjoyed, and were effective at, guiding
othersintheircoachingwork.Wealsofoundasynergybetweencoachingthe
coach and our own coaching practices: Our cases became opportunities to
extractlessonsandprovideexamples,whilethecasesourstudentsprovided
drewusintobroadercoachingissuesandconsiderationsofhowtotraincoach-
es, whether they would be based inside their home organization (internal
coaches)orbecomeindependentcoachesofferingtheirservicestoavarietyof
organizations(externalcoaches).
Key Principles from Our Executive Coach
Training Programs
Theseexperiencesledustodelivercoursesonexecutivecoachingstartingin
2002.Sincethen,wehaverefinedandclarifiedourideasaboutcoachingand
howcoacheslearn.Theseinsightsarethebasisforthedesignandcontentof
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