View from the Lighthouse - Coastwise Consulting

Welcome to View From the Lighthouse, the newsletter and information resource sent to you by CoastWise Consulting, Inc.

This issue of View From The Lighthouse focuses on the topic and process of Coaching. What I've been wondering about in particular is why, despite other segments of the organization consulting business having suffered considerably during the dot.com meltdown and the general economic downturn in the US, individual coaching has not only held up well, but its popularity has increased during this time. I'll share a couple of studies that look both qualitatively and qualitatively at the results and impact of coaching and offer some other anecdotal data about why I think this has happened.

I'll also introduce you to a book about an important aspect of coaching, Coaching with Spirit: Allowing Success to Emerge (Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2002) by Teri-E Belf.

Every issue also points you to relevant web sites and/or additional resources on the topic. Our aim is to provide relevant information in a concise format that will generate thought without draining your time.

The CoastWise Lighthouse is designed to be help you stay on course and avoid the rocky shoals that can be a part of organizational change and development. It is published quarterly as a service to clients, colleagues, and others interested in our topics. In each issue we focus either on a business book of special interest to our readers or on a topic relevant to the CoastWise Consulting mission,

One of my favorite parts of my work is coaching, because it offers the opportunity to develop a relationship, really a partnership, with an individual that helps them improve their individual performance both personal and professional and, in turn, leads to improvements in the organization that they lead or are part of. This work occurs at the intersection of individuals and the organizations of which they are a part, and the "traffic" or dynamics that occur at those crossroads have always intrigued me: organizations are the "containers" in which we all live and work and the context for choices we make. How we interact in these systems is a big variable in our personal satisfaction and quality of life and in our contributions to the communities of which we've chosen to be members.

A Brief Overview of Coaching
Coaching is not about techniques; it's not formulaic. Rather, it's about the quality of a relationship that supports and enables change, and while the focus is on the development needs and opportunities and the goals of the client, both client and consultant must commit and bring energy and direction to it, and both will learn and grow. While some coaches work primarily on teaching specific technical or professional skills, my view of coaching is built on the premise that there is a direct link between behavior and outcomes, and attending to one at the expense of the other misses the point. Engaging with my clients to explicitly and practically understand this link and relationship; to recognize that it is their own meaning-making processes and conclusions that determine their reality and, thus, heavily effect their outcomes; to assist them in discovering new ways of looking at and processing their experience; and to develop and experiment with behaviors and strategies that will lead to different, presumably more satisfying and productive outcomes, is why I love coaching.

What the coach brings to the table:

a conceptual framework that's the context, rationale, and compass for the engagement
understanding of and experience in applying behavioral and systems sciences such as psychology, group dynamics, human and organization systems, based on solid training in these disciplines and their own experience of being coached
reliable assessment methods for providing instrumented, multi-rater feedback and more subjective data that are based on interviews with key stakeholders about their needs, expectations, experiences, and perceptions

What the client brings:

clear or emerging goals and desired outcomes
curiosity about the process, the opportunities that await them, and how things can be different--and better--for them
willingness to engage: when clients are not voluntary participants, resistance is often the result
time & energy to be regular in attendance, to do "homework" assignments, and to give conscious attention during and between meetings to what's going on for them and between them and others
openness to self-exploration and change: this is the essence of coaching, without which the other factors don't matter

Outcomes:
Coaching is all about developing the competence of the coachee. It focuses on facilitating increased personal and professional effectiveness that enables the client to realize or accomplish more desired outcomes in both arenas, doing it in a way that minimizes undesired/unanticipated outcomes in the process, while enjoying a life that is purposeful and intentional, satisfying and fulfilling, and reasonably balanced. Coaches assist clients in finding the intersection point their aspirations, talents and the forums or communities in which to live them out or offer them.

Why Coaching Has Endured and Expanded While Other Developmental Consulting Has Diminished?

I think there are two answers to this: First, because there is emerging evidence, based on research, that coaching works. Personal anecdotal data and evaluations from coachees, reports from their managers, and calculations of ROI all point to this conclusion. Performance, individual and organizational, improves; problems get addressed; goals get met; and projects that were floundering get saved. Second, because the state of organizations today requires more managers, executives, and others in leadership roles who are personally capable of dealing with enormous complexity and chaos, and that is a huge development need that can be addressed by coaching.

The Current State of Many Organizations
In the four or so years since the dot.coms unraveled, followed by the tanking of the economy, and 9/11, more has changed in and about organizations more quickly and intensely than ever before in such a short period of time, and, in my opinion, not in all instances for the better.

The number of companies and jobs has dropped considerably, and life for the survivors has gotten a lot more difficult. They are expected to do more themselves and/or to make it all happen with diminished resources. Managers often end up doing the work of individual contributors in addition to their own. The programs, organizations, workforces, and results that people are expected to collaborate on, oversee, manage, and produce require more than can be done in the time and with the resources available. This leads to burnout and over time to problems with productivity, quality, and efficacy.
Organizations have become much more complex and chaotic. As a result of forces such as globalization, consolidation within organizations and industries, mergers and acquisitions, and dramatically increased spans of control, what managers and executives are being asked to cope with is for many somewhere between staggering and simply beyond their capabilities.
The quest for competitive advantage, increased returns for investors, and meeting the expectations of Wall Street only increases. This requires those that lead organizations to stay current in every way; constantly innovate, reinvent, and reorganize; partner and collaborate on an even larger scale.
The fundamental employment contract has been irrevocably altered. Reciprocal trust and loyalty have diminished significantly. Turnover would be out of sight if there were more jobs available; instead, many of those who haven't been laid off stay in jobs they hate. This reduces productivity and feeds the conditions that cause the problems in the first place.
There are few, if any, slack or available resources in organizations, and addressing problems of the magnitude and complexity that most organizations face requires bandwidth of both human and other resources. Changes often aren't attempted, or they fail for lack of resources, or related variables or other conditions shift before the change can be successfully implemented.

While these conditions are largely systemic, addressing them is the work of leaders and managers--individuals on whom companies and their stakeholders increasingly rely to ensure their survival. Effective leadership requires a set of individual and organizational competencies, abilities, and ways of being that transcend (while incorporating) technical knowledge and organization experience. (There is research that supports this position; a good place to start is with Daniel Goleman's work on Emotional Intelligence.) I think that many companies are recognizing the increasing need to invest in leadership development, and coaching is a focused, customized, increasingly known approach to the sort of individual development that is foundational to leadership.

Research about the Impact, Effectiveness, and Tangible Benefits of Coaching
As I began to look for plausible answers to my questions about the sustainability and growth of coaching, the second place (right after my own experience) I turned to was the literature. Many books and articles have been written that define coaching and its intended results, offer conceptual frames, outline process and methods, describe training and certification programs for aspiring coaches, and otherwise explore aspects of this still-emerging discipline. What I was most interested in were studies that had been done using accepted research methods that quantified and described the business impact and benefits of coaching, and I didn't find a lot. A number of studies that I found on other aspects of coaching acknowledged that very little research has been done about this topic--a condition that is common in areas of practice that are still being defined and refined.

There are two studies that you should know about:

In the first, conducted in 1997, AMOCO (now part of British Petroleum) evaluated the results of executive coaching that occurred over a ten-year period, finding that the coaching experience consistently contributed to the development of skills that positively impacted individual skill development as well as organizational results. The study also found that "compared to other AMOCO managers, coaching participants consistently demonstrated improved performance, increased ratings of potential for advancement and 50% higher average salary increases. Moreover, the participants themselves attributed these results directly to the coaching they had received" (study cited in the newsletter of The College of Executive Coaching, Issue 30).

In the second, consultants from Manchester Consulting conducted a study of 100 executives who had participated in coaching interventions. The sample was demographically diverse, and 50 percent were Vice Presidents or above in their organizations. The study surveyed the participants as well as key stakeholders about both tangible and intangible business results, and they designed a research methodology to quantify the return on investment of coaching. (This was the first study to do so, and I was unable to find others that did this.) The processes for identifying, reporting, and assessing business-related outcomes and metrics were constructed to isolate the contributions that could be attributed to coaching vs. other variables, were intentionally conservative in their calculations and, therefore, in the results reported.

"When calculated conservatively, ROI...averaged nearly $100,000 or 5.7 times the total investment in coaching," and the authors "feel confident that this level of value has been achieved and may, in fact, be understated." To adjust for the variability that resulted from subjects coming from a variety of organizations, participants and stakeholders were also asked to evaluate coachees' experiences and results on a Total Value Scale that ranged from -5 (value far less that money and time invested) to +5 (value was far greater). Seventy-five percent rated value of the coaching to be "considerably greater" or "far greater" than the money and time invested.

The study also reported the benefits and impacts on individuals and organizations. Business impacts attributed to coaching "included increases in productivity, quality, organizational strength, and customer service," while the intangible benefits "included improved relationships with direct reports, peers, and stakeholders, as well as improved teamwork, increased job satisfaction, and reduced conflict."

Also noteworthy are their findings on the factors that impact coaching effectiveness. Those found to enhance coaching, in order of decreasing positive impact, are: coach/participant relationship, quality of feedback, quality of assessment, participant's commitment, and manager's support. Those that detract, in order of increasing negative impact, are: participant's commitment, organizational support, communication issues, and participant's availability

Coaching with Spirit: Allowing Success to Emerge, by Teri-E Belf
When I first discovered this book in a book review, it caught my attention for two reasons. First was the connection it promised between two major interests and pursuits of mine--continuous improvement of my capability and expertise as a coach, and finding ways to further integrate the dimension of Spirit in my life and work. The second was the name of the author...it somehow seemed familiar, though I couldn't quite place her. Google revealed Teri-E to be someone with whom I had worked years ago (many years) at a YMCA camp back East as well as her e-mail address. Such serendipity is pure delight!

Spirit and spiritual pursuit are, of course, as old as mankind. But much more recently things spiritual have emerged from the mostly religious realm into the more secular such as individual and organizational development. Spirit refers to that dimension that is beyond the physical or cognitive and, in the context of this discussion, is about ways of knowing, wisdom, and guidance that transcend those that are most familiar to us. Also known as soul, higher or inner self, and intuition, spirit is that energy and strength which provides a (frequently unconscious) sense of direction and meaning to our lives and connects us to Source or Essence or the Whole.

In Coaching with Spirit, Belf applies these dimensions of human meaning and pursuit to the practice of coaching. Key to her approach is what she calls the Three Grounded Principles of Coaching with Spirit. They are C for Connection, P for Present Moment, and R for Responsibility, which form the familiar acronym CPR. She elaborates these principles, devoting a chapter to each. The book also contains a lot of very pragmatic information as she includes information about marketing, executive and international coaching, learning communities for coaches, and an assessment tool to assist coaches in tracking their understanding and practice of coaching with spirit. Throughout the book you'll also find rhetorical questions to help you reflect on her core ideas.

There are also others' voices in the book. She has included stories, reflections, experiences, and suggestions from other coaches who share and expand her thinking on this topic and value the added wisdom that comes from paying conscious attention to accessing Spirit as a way of knowing.

What better and more important place to access and utilize this gift of knowing and wisdom than in helping others develop and improve themselves and their lives?

Resources

Belf, T. Coaching with Spirit: Allowing Success to Emerge. (2002). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Belf is founder and Director of Success Unlimited Network, an international community of Success Coaches. She also offers a certification program for coaches. www.successunlimitednet.com.

Flaherty, J. Coaching: Evoking Excellence In Others. (1999). Boston: Butterworth Heinemann.

If you chose only one book to read about the process, discipline, and rigor of coaching, this should be it. The reading list alone is worth it. Flaherty's company, New Ventures West (www.newventureswest.com), runs an equally rigorous training and certification program based on his model and conceptual framework that comes highly recommended by two colleagues who are currently in it.

James W. Smither, Ph.D., who is on the faculty at La Salle University, has an impressive CV that includes numerous studies about coaching. He has investigated multi-rater feedback (360s) quite extensively. (www.lasalle.edu/academ/sba/faculty/smither/index.shtml)

Birkeland, S, et al. (1997). AMOCO Individual Coaching Study. Unpublished research report. Personnel Decisions International.

Nowack, KM. (2003). Executive Coaching: Fad or Future? California Psychologist, July-August 2003, Vol. XXXVI, 16-17.

McGovern, J., et al. (2001). Maximizing the Impact of Executive Coaching: Behavioral Change, Organizational Outcomes, and Return on Investment. The Manchester Review, (Vol. 6, No. 1), 1-9.

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