Why every executive coach needs a coach

To quote the famous ad (about hair loss): “I’m not just the President of the Center for Executive Coaching…,” I’m also someone who benefits from having a coach myself.

Recently I was venting to my coach about a business relationship that was under some strain. I wanted the coach to understand precisely how flawed the other person was, and provided plenty of evidence to make my case.

The coach did what a great coach does: She gradually had me point the finger back at myself. By focusing on my own issues — both through her great questions and her keen observations — she helped me see exactly how I was a big part of the problem in the relationship.

More importantly, she made me see that I have a particular blind spot that leads to trouble in many aspects of my business and personal life.

The moment I recognized that was like being a central character in a movie during one of those 180 degree plot and perspective twists (like Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense, or Nicole Kidman in The Others). My entire point of view shifted, in a big way.

We then worked on some solutions so that I can correct my own behavior and become more effective.

What a wonderful experience! Not only did I find a way to improve, but I also got to experience the “aha” moment of a highly productive coaching session.

Should the Executive Coach be directive?

One of the tensions an executive coach faces is whether to be directive or not.

On the one hand, there are a number of coaching programs that emphasize the need for coaches to conduct what is called “inquiry” — the asking of many open-ended questions to understand the client’s view of the world and, done well, to have the client have their own insights about how to improve.

On the other hand, many coaches are seasoned executives, and clients hire them for their knowledge and even mentoring. Clients pay good money for advice and insights. Coaches at this end of the spectrum have trouble with the discipline of inquiry, and even find it to be lazy.

Our program suggests two ways to handle this tension:

First, executive coaching is situational in nature. Sometimes the most effective approach is to listen and ask questions to understand. Other times, the client would benefit from some hard-won advise and guidance. Just as we train our clients to be more adaptive and flexible in their styles, so must we determine the right time to be directive and the right time to inquire.

Second, in my experience the coaching relationships that have achieved the most impressive and sustainable results have done so through a dialogue between the coach (myself) and the client. Sometimes I propose ideas, or even give some hard-to-swallow advice. Sometimes I ask questions. The client does the same. Eventually we arrive at a solution that is better than either of us could have developed alone.

As with any kind of high-performance coaching, there is no formula and every client and situation differs. There are signals about when you may be being too directive (the client drifts off, or passively agrees with everything you say), and when you may be being to indirect (the client gets frustrated and asks for your point of view). It is up to you to guide the conversation towards commitment, action, and results that your client will achieve.

Decisions With Imperfect Information

Some clients won’t make a decision unless they have perfect information, which of course doesn’t exist.

There are many ways to handle this situation, but here is one of my favorites, which a mentor of mine taught me once:

There are good decisions and bad decisions. Most people know how to separate the two.

The problem some executives get into is that they can’t decide from among a list of good decisions. They get into analysis paralysis trying to distinguish between decisions that will work out fine. In reality, it is impossible to know which of many good decisions are best.

Once you understand this situation, you can reassure the client that — since they have sorted out the good and bad options — they really can’t go too far wrong.

Ask them if there is any additional, realistically available information they can get to distinguish one good decision from another. Then ask them to either choose with their gut or flip a coin.

Executive Coaching Tool: Overstatement and Understatement

Sometimes the executive coach can help the client achieve insights by intentionally overstating or understating what they hear.

For instance, today I worked with a client who was frustrated with an employee and didn’t know what to do. So I took the situation too far and said, “Maybe it is time to fire this person.”

The client responded by disagreeing — and then offering her own more moderate and thoughtful solution to the problem.

On the other hand, last week I worked with a client who seemed unwilling to make a decision and take action about an issue. So I said, “This problem must not be a serious one for you, since you aren’t willing to make a commitment. We have all the information we are going to get, but you won’t take action, so I can only conclude that this is not a pressing issue. Let’s move on to something else.”

The client responded by choosing a sound course of action and committing to next steps.

If you feel that this approach is inauthentic, you can make it more open and honest by prefacing your remarks, as follows: “I’m going to be provocative here and play a role…”

Case Study: The Power of Executive Coaching

Sometimes clients hire me to watch a meeting or conference and provide my impressions. Executive coaches are known for being sharp observers who can provide some valuable insights, and many organizations are willing to pay good money to listen to our findings.

This past week I observed a two-day conference that included my client, their own customers, and a number of prospects. The client was presenting their product and getting feedback.

The two days included an overwhelming amount of information, issues, discussions, and loose ends.

At the very end of the proceedings, I met with a very frazzled client executive team, and did what they asked me to do. I started:

“Based on these two days, here are three things I saw that are critical to your company right now….”

(Unlike many so-called coaches, I don’t care to take the easy road, which is asking the client what they think the key issues are. They are not paying me to ask simple, lazy questions that anyone can answer, but instead they expect my honest, candid observations!)

Then I provided a concise summary of each issue and the alternatives facing the client.

The client was extremely grateful to have someone who could discard all of the extraneous issues and help them focus in on true priorities. We all lose focus after being inundated with daily crises and fires, and it is valuable to have someone who can take a step back and help people gain rapid clarity, insights, and a clear sense of priorities.

Note also that the client engaged me to help them continue to focus and resolve those issues.

This is one small example of the value executive coaches can provide. On a personal note, I had a wonderful trip, got to visit one of my favorite cities, enjoyed some great restaurants, and strengthened my relationship with a loyal and terrific client.

A perfect career for recent retirees and baby boomers

Here at the Center for Executive Coaching, we get a tremendous amount of interest from recent retirees and baby boomers coming to the end of their working careers.

Many of these people have an incredibly valuable store of experience and lessons learned and would make terrific executive coaches. At the same time, they tell me that they are looking to work from home, make their own hours, keep their mind challenged, and earn a great income.

Executive coaching is an excellent option for people in this position and I suspect that as more and more boomers retire, the ranks of executive coaches will swell with highly talented, experienced professionals.

At the same time, it has been fascinating to receive calls from a number of SCORE volunteers. SCORE, or the Service Corps of Retired Executives, provides free consulting to entrepreneurs. Many SCORE volunteers contact us because they want to earn money in exchange for their wisdom, and because they know that — if they learn how to develop business efficiently — they can find a variety of desirable clients that they can serve.

So here is some food for thought: If you are nearing retirement, or recently retired, consider a career as an executive coach. You don’t have to pay large franchise fees because, with a bit of training from a reputable organization, you can quickly learn how to set yourself up as a credible executive coach, as well as best practices in helping executives perform better.

Every executive coach says they get results, but what exactly are results?

If you want to set your Executive Coaching practice apart, you should be able to explain exactly the results you get for clients — and those results should be compelling.

What keeps executives up at night? I guarantee you that they are not thinking, “Gee, I wish I had an Executive Coach on my payroll.”

But they are thinking about how to increase cash coming in, decrease cash going out, stand out in a crowded competitive field, and raise the value of their enterprise.

Too many executive coaches get fuzzy when it comes to the results they provide. They focus on things like improving communication and teamwork, building leadership capabilities, introducing new and supposedly more effective behaviors, and serving as a sounding board to help executives test new ideas and feel more confident.

All of these things can be useful, but they are not compelling enough to get you hired. They are not primary benefits.
If you want to make it as an Executive Coach, you need to be able to convey the results you get in terms that matter to busy, bottom-line driven executives. The closer you can come to showing how you increase revenues/cash coming in, decrease costs/cash going out, raise the value of the enterprise (for for-profit executives), or help dominate the competition, the more successful you will be.

Don’t take real money for pretend results.