Keys to Success - Rules of Engagement

   

The Rules of Engagement
Each executive coaching engagement is unique. The characteristics of the individual to be coached, the organizational structure and culture in which he or she operates, and the business challenges he or she faces all define the specific situation. Still, some overarching principles are common to all successful coaching engagements:

1. Commitment. The executive must be fully engaged in the process and assume shared responsibility with the coach to achieve the goals set out early in the engagement. In turn, the coach must be deeply committed to maximizing the performance of the executive and the overall best interests of the company.
2. Trust. The working relationship between executive and coach hinges on complete confidentiality of all information that the executive shares with the coach. Therefore, the coach is only free to report on the extent to which the executive is engaged in the process, but nothing else without the permission of the executive.
3. Partnership. Successful coaching requires a full problem-solving partnership. The coach is responsible for being an objective and insightful facilitator. The executive must be candid, willing to try new approaches and eager to learn from positive and negative experiences.
4. Goal-orientation. The coaching goals are the engine that drives the engagement, and should be developed with input from all key stakeholders (including the immediate manager, HR, peers and subordinates). The maximum number of meaningful goals for an executive coaching engagement is three. More than that is too ambitious and will dilute the effort to achieve sustainable change.
5. Action learning. Once coaching goals have been established, the coach and executive jointly develop an explicit action plan to achieve those goals. These actions serve as practice cases for new approaches. At each step in the engagement, the executive should review outcomes with the coach to assess the success in meeting the goals and identify any midcourse corrections.
6. Candor. The coach must be equipped and prepared to confront the executive in a constructive and professional way whenever the executive is operating in an inappropriate manner that undermines best performance.
7. Measurement. A measurement process should be established at the beginning of the coaching so that the executive and his or her immediate manager can determine whether the coaching goals have been accomplished.
8. Sustainability. All coaching should cultivate sustainable changes for the executive. Since the coaching ends at some point, the executive’s changes should not be dependent on the coach’s ongoing presence.

Attention to these principles will lead to a meaningful and productive coaching experience.

Reprinted with permission from Executive Coaching for Managerial Excellence by Michael Brenner (Bloomington, IN, AuthorHouse: 2007)