Business coaching is taking off like never before. Once reserved for executives or the privileged few, there's a new movement to democratize coaching. During my early days in HR, there were two kinds of people who worked with executive coaches. The first was the senior-most leaders: CEOs, SVPs and VPs who were responsible for large divisions with thousands of employees, generating big revenue dollars. On the flip side, when senior leaders or high-level individual contributors began to burn out, stopped performing well or were being held accountable for bad behavior, a coach was called in as a last resort.
Coaching: The New Normal
Fast forward 15 years, and we're now seeing coaching used to personalize and bolster the development of high performers and high potentials. Not only that, but the idea that coaching can help people at all levels in an organization is beginning to take hold. In today's economy, people change roles more frequently and may experience everything from promotions to downsizing to positions requiring entrepreneurial skills, sometimes all at the same company within a matter of years. Traditional business and HR leaders have realized that coaching plays a pivotal role in helping people succeed in a new or newly expanded role during reorganizations, mergers and times of rapid change. Expats, new parents and first-time managers are all prime candidates for coaching.
That's true today more than ever for a few key reasons.
• Companies move at a rapid pace, and people succeed or fail quickly. Providing support during critical transitions will increase the chance for success.
• People are costly, and top talent is harder to find than ever before. Coaching is just one element of a worthwhile investment in a person's development.
• Senior leaders need to quickly internalize and act on what they learn, which requires individual practice and understanding.
HR: The Frontline Of Leadership Development
HR professionals partner every day with other business leaders to identify top talent, recommend promotions and build multiyear succession plans. They facilitate talent reviews using tools like the nine box and others that help assess capability and future potential. These exercises are not an end in themselves; at their best they are the basis for conversations about how to grow employees, create bench strength and help people at all levels reach their career aspirations.
Like any function, HR professionals can only use the tools that are in their toolbelt. Over time, seasoned HR partners will have been exposed to a variety of development tools including styles assessments, workshops, rotations and on-the-job training. Many have access to internal training programs. Most, however, have never received coaching, learned basic coaching skills or studied the ROI of coaching. Why does this matter?
Coaching: A Missing Tool In The Toolkit
HR is frequently asked to "coach" managers, executives and employees. In my experience, they're really being asked to give feedback, which is important, but different. I know when I was an HR manager, having a coaching methodology and a list of powerful questions, and understanding of the difference between coaching and consulting, would have benefitted me immensely. Before becoming an executive coach, I received coaching only three times. The first was self-initiated, and the second was only after I'd spent more than eight years in HR.
Coaching is experiential, and being part of an effective coaching conversation, even if it lasts for less than an hour, can be life-changing. In order for HR to understand the value of coaching as a development tool, effectively select and integrate coaches, nominate employees for coaching, and measure the effectiveness of coaching programs, HR professionals themselves must be exposed to coaching. The best way to internalize the impact of coaching that goes beyond a theoretical understanding is to receive coaching oneself. Since HR is at the forefront of employee development, let's offer this important learning opportunity to our up-and-coming HR leaders.
