To understand what executive coaches do to merit their coaching fees, the Harvard Business Review (www.hbr.org) conducted a survey of 140 leading coaches.
The analysis developed by senior editors of HBR and Carol Kauffman of Harvard Medical School was compiled from 140 respondents from nearly 200 survey invitations that were distributed by email. Respondents were divided equally into men and women. The coaches are primarily from the United States (71%) and the United Kingdom (18%). 66% of respondents disclosed that coaching is their primary source of income. The group is highly experienced: 61% have been in the business more than 10 years. 50% of respondents come from the fields of business or consulting and 20% from the field of psychology.
The coaches were asked what companies should look for when hiring a coach. Here are the top three qualifications (percentages of respondents who ranked qualifications as "very important."):
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Experience coaching in similar setting (65%)
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Clear methodology (61%)
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Quality of client list (50%)
Do companies and executives get value from their coaches? Coaches explain the healthy growth of their industry is due to clients keep coming back because "coaching works."
So what is professional coaching and how does it differ from consulting?
Download and listen to this MP3 recording of a recent interview of Coach Agno for the answer to that question.
Questions you should ask yourself regarding the ingredients of a successful coaching relationship:
Is the executive highly motivated to change? (Executives who get the most out of coaching have a fierce desire to learn and grow.)
Does the executive have good chemistry with the coach? (The right match is absolutely key to the success of a coaching experience. Without it, the trust required for optimal executive performance will not develop.)
Is there a strong commitment from top management to developing the executive? (The firm must have a true desire to retain and develop the coached executive.)
Does the focus of coaching engagements shift?
All but eight of the 140 respondents said that over time their focus shifts from what they were originally hired to do. It usually starts out with a business bias and inevitably migrates to 'bigger issues' such as life purpose, work/life balance and becoming a better leader.