Sweet spot of executive coaching: How do managers find their coach?
They say that executive coaching turns into life coaching, after the third session. It’s only inevitable.
A few years ago, when I started to coach Robert, I knew from the very beginning that he was a difficult kind of guy. He was an expatriate general manager brought in Romania in order to balance the company’s business, hit by the economic crisis, and he was experiencing a dysfunctional relationship with his leading team.
One day, his company started searching for a bunch of coaches through the regional department and invited a few to meet Robert. He had a two hour meeting with each of us and then made the choice.
Difficult clients aren’t those who have no results, but the ones with whom it’s a challenge to build up a relationship. Robert started to give up his masks after our third session, while working on the relationship with his team members. This is how we reached the real subject: he was very attached to his family, but his kids and wife didn’t come with him in Romania.
What turned out to be the solution for his relationship with his team wasn’t doing more things, nor pleasing people, but evolving from being perceived as “absent” to “present and involved”. Step by step, he started doing the team meetings in other places than at work, delegating and treating his colleagues with trust. Was he difficult?
In one of his presentations, Brian Underhill – who’s leading one of the biggest executive coaching companies in the US – speaks about the importance of finding that special element that can differentiate you. He calls it the “sweet spot”. He then gives the example of the only coach in Silicon Valley (out of 50+ executive coaches located there) who states: “I work with the difficult CEO, that with whom no one else can”. This is a perfect example of a “sweet spot”. And this is most probably the way she is being found and chosen.
Underhill also talks about the way the executive coaching market really evolves – a little bit different than the general perception. Judging by a research done among 3.000 top managers and big companies (like Sony, Unilever, Dell, Johnson&Johnson) on how organizations find the right coaches to work with their executive teams, here’s what managers answered:
• 87% – Said they chose by the feeling of being compatible with the coach. In other words, the coach’s chemistry, charisma, and the ability to relate and connect;
• 74% – The coach’s real business experience;
• 49% – The compatibility with the organizational culture;
• 35% – The niche expertise;
• 17% – Certifications;
• 8% – Costs.
It’s obvious that the organizations will have a closer look on costs and certifications, but it’s still the manager’s decision in the end. That’s why I believe it is essential to be able to relate and empathize. It would also be of help to have some sales skills, so that you can build presence, ask questions, and find out what do they really need you for.
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source: coachsource.com
The difference between what companies say and the coaches’ perception – at least when they insist on being found through web search – might come from the fact that companies first identify the coach, and the they also search for him on the Internet.
But before this miracle happens, it’s better to build relationships, be present on your market and become easy to find when it comes to your areas of expertise.
In the executive coaching niche, you won’t make it only by building your image. You’ll need to connect and understand the business, after gaining real experience in similar positions. Maybe you can even specialize in a certain area. Ultimately, you need to be able to communicate with the manager and his organization.
Like Marshall Goldsmith used to say: it’s not what the coach wants, it is always what the manager and the organization choose.
