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SUMMARY FINDINGS
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE
COACHING SUMMIT:
A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT TO DISTINGUISH THE PROFESSION
Sponsored by the International Coaching
Federation Conference
ICF Conference - October 1999, Orlando,
Florida
Compiled by: Dr. Lee Smith
and Dr. Jeannine Sandstrom
CoachWorks International, Dallas,
Texas
Abstract: This article represents key findings,
definitions and discoveries about the profession of Executive Coaching. A group
of 36 Senior Executive Coaches (see complete listing at end of this paper),
thought leaders in the field, met for the purpose of identifying the primary
distinguishers of Executive Coaching. This paper is written for the benefit of
the following primary audiences: individuals calling themselves Executive
Coaches, other coaches of the ICF membership, those coaches who aspire to work
at the executive coach level, organizations wishing to hire Executive Coaches,
organizations desiring to initiate a coaching culture as a strategic device for
retaining talent, coach training organizations and other professional coach
organizations.
The following areas are covered: Need for such an effort,
identifying the basic level of competence in all coaches, definition of
Executive Coaching, primary distinguishers, competencies and proficiencies,
strategic rationale for hiring Executive Coaches, executive coaching tools,
industry trends and ethics.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
AN INDUSTRY NEED FILLED
Over the last
decade of the 20th century, coaching became a more mature profession and
industry. As with other developing professions, participants began to
distinguish themselves into specialties and declare the parameters in which
they offer services and employment. There are many types of coaches (e.g.:
sports coaches, personal coaches, business coaches, spiritual coaches, life
coaches are among the myriad of different titles coaches have claimed).
Consequently, there was confusion about the Coaches who are engaged to work
with leaders and executives of major organizations. For industry purposes,
there needed to be a way to distinguish Executive Coaches from other types of
coaches. There was a strong need to answer the question "What is an Executive
Coach?" There was also a need to determine the appropriateness of the title and
the primary factors for which such coaches are capable of providing services at
such high and broadly impactful levels of responsibility in organizations.
Laura Whitworth (CoachLaura@aol.com), co-founder of The
Coaches Training Institute, declared in early 1999 a need for a clear
distinction around the specialty area of coaching that is called Executive
Coaching. Since there was a growing demand for Executive Coaches by companies
and organizations, Whitworth had a dream of fully distinguishing capabilities
and parameters so that industry could contract with the right coach for their
top corporate talent. Engaging a small committee of well-known executive
coaches and thought leaders in the field, she joined with Dr. Lee Smith (Lee@coachworks.com) and Dr. Jeannine
Sandstrom (Jeannine@coachworks.com) of
CoachWorks International, and Leslie Clark and Lauren Powers to bring together
an alliance of seasoned executive coaching leaders to discuss such
distinctions.
This small group caught the spirit of Whitworth's dream
and became determined to have an International Executive Coaching Summit. They
gained the sponsorship of the International Coaching Federation, an
organization dedicated to the development, support and integrity of the
coaching profession. Their leaders agreed that such a Summit would align with
its own quest for professionalism of coaches worldwide and were willing to
sponsor such an event at their October 1999 International Coaching Federation
Conference in Orlando, Florida.
More than 100 leading Executive Coaches
responded to an invitation to apply for participation in the two-day Summit.
The 36 who participated (see list of participants at end of the paper) were
those applicants having the most extensive experience in the field and who were
also being contracted to coach at the highest level of executive
responsibility. The committee was determined to have those coaches who have
been specifically defining the field to participate in formally distinguishing
it.
The desired outcome was to bring a compelling message to industry
about the proficiencies, capabilities and ethics of those who would be hired to
coach with executive leaders. Another outcome was to be clear about the
distinct differences between Executive Coaches and other types of
coaches.
The two-day Summit was highly successful with high-energy
competitors and leaders in the field dropping their egos at the door to
collaborate and create something unusual and much needed for their profession.
With the help of two highly experienced facilitators, Dr. Jeannine Sandstrom of
CoachWorks and Dr. Phil Drouillard of Sibson, this collaborative meeting of
peers and colleagues resulted in definitions, findings and discoveries that
would bring understanding of the Executive Coaching field to industry as a
whole. The following sections of this paper explore the findings of the
Summit.
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DISCOVERIES AND FINDINGS
The Dilemma: The Basic Level of
Competence in all Coaches
As the Summit participants
began listing all the things that Executive Coaches do and what Executive
Coaching is, there was a realization that the list related to characteristics
of all coaches. This discovery led to awareness that there is a basic level of
coaching competence that should be obvious in everyone who delivers coaching
services whether they operate as personal coaches or Executive Coaches. All
coaches should have proficiencies in listening, creating an environment for
change, facilitating self-awareness, etc., and should be able to work with
personal, professional, and perhaps organizational issues about which their
clients want focus.
The dilemma for Summit participants became that of
identifying characteristics that set Executive Coaches apart from all others.
Distinguishers such as business acumen, understanding the world of leaders, and
having a proficiency in systems and organizational behavior would then become a
way for organizations to quickly identify appropriate internal and external
coaches. Distinguishing factors were those that would serve executives best. As
described below, it was important for Summit participants to fully define
Executive Coaching for the marketplace.
The Definition of Executive
Coaching
The 36 participants agreed to the following
definition of Executive Coaching:
Executive
Coaching is a facilitative one-to-one, mutually designed relationship between a
professional coach and a key contributor who has a powerful position in the
organization. This relationship occurs in areas of business, government,
not-for-profit, and educational organizations where there are multiple
stakeholders and organizational sponsorship for the coach or coaching group.
The coaching is contracted for the benefit of a client who is accountable for
highly complex decisions with wide scope of impact on the organization and
industry as a whole. The focus of the coaching is usually focused on
organizational performance or development, but may also have a personal
component as well. The results produced from this relationship are observable
and measurable, commensurate with the requirements the organization has for the
performance of the person being coached. Quick Points of the Definition
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A relationship exists between Coach and high-level individual(s) of
the organization. |
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The relationship occurs in and is sponsored by differing kinds of
organizations with multiple stakeholders. |
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Coaching is for the benefit of a person with high levels of
responsibility and broad scope of impact. |
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Focus of the coaching may be both organizational and personal
development. |
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Outcomes are observable and measurable, and match organizational
performance requirements. |
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Primary Distinguishers for the
Profession of Executive Coaching and Executive
Coaches
The primary distinguishers of Executive Coaching
and its Executive Coaches revolve around a definition of the person being
coached, the wide range of responsibilities for which they are held
accountable, the breadth and depth of skills that are demanded in their
high-level roles, and who the Executive Coach needs to be with their levels of
proficiencies and capacities in order to serve as the developer and change
agent at those levels.
Description of the Executive Leader Being
Coached
Broadband responsibility and impact of the executive being
coached:
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Fiduciary responsibility to multiple stakeholders |
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Stewardship of human, financial, intellectual, capital and social
resources for the benefit of all stakeholders |
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Economic, social and ecological well-being of entire
communities |
Executives
want to be coached around a complex combination of skills and human capacities
that are required of their role(s) in the organization, such as:
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Business acumen and financial management |
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Leadership and organizational skills |
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Social and communication skills |
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Analytic and innovative thinking capacities |
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Ability to inspire trust and commitment to action |
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Rewards and acknowledgement |
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"Presence" that allows them to work in a very large arena or
overlapping arenas |
Distinguishing Characteristics of the Executive Coach
In
order to be an effective resource for the executive's development, Executive
Coaches must possess a unique combination of maturity, professional skills and
human qualities, such as:
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A firm grounding in business knowledge and competencies |
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Thorough understanding of the world of the executive
leader |
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A broad understanding of leadership and leadership
development |
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Knowledge of systems dynamics (organization and
community) |
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Knowledge of the framework of adult development |
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High standards of personal and professional ethics |
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Highly developed communication proficiency allowing them to operate
in the executive's environment |
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Advanced coaching skills and capabilities |
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Stature and reputation that gains respect |
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A commitment to lifelong learning similar to the Leader
him/herself |
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Competencies, Proficiencies
and Interpersonal Characteristics of the Executive
Coach
Corporate organizations are seeking qualified
Executive Coaches but many do not know what characteristics and proficiencies
to request. They also have not had any distinguishing guidelines previous to
this paper to use in determining what kind of coach their executives
need.
The following is a listing of the basic proficiencies followed by
the distinguishing qualifications required of an Executive
Coach:
Basic Coaching Competencies (as specified by ICF
Credentialing)
The Executive Coach possesses the following eleven
competencies that should always be present and visible in any coaching
interaction:
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Meet ethical guidelines of the profession |
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Ability to establish a coaching agreement |
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Ability to establish an intimate and trusting relationship with the
client |
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Ability to be fully present, conscious and spontaneous |
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Ability to express active listening |
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Ability to ask powerful questions |
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Ability to be a direct communicator |
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Ability to create and raise the client's awareness |
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Ability to design and create action plans and action
behaviors |
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Ability to develop plans and establish goals with the
client |
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Ability to manage the client's progress and hold him/her responsible
for action |
Advanced
Executive Coaching Proficiencies
Executive Coaches work beyond the
basics of coaching (as listed above) with a very complex group of
proficiencies. Their levels of expertise encompass broadband skills and
defining intervention abilities. In fact, Executive Coaches must be able to
operate on an equal level, (i.e., peer) with the executive with whom they
coach.
The following are the advanced proficiencies identified by the
Summit participants:
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Ability to ask the tough, strategic questions because the Coach
possesses a wide range of business knowledge, experience and expertise. The
Executive Coach may, at times, use the "coach approach" to consult the
executive in the area(s) that the Coach holds business expertise. |
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Holds a high level of confidence in working within the leadership
arena. Executive Coaches are thoroughly familiar and comfortable with the
executive leader's world (context, roles and hierarchy) and has a thorough
working knowledge of leadership and leadership development. |
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Ability to have conversations beyond the obvious. May include global
issues, philosophical items, sociological issues or business issues of the day
and future. Executive Coaches are comfortable coaching around complex issues
and international agendas. |
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Ability to recognize and intervene in the system dynamics to maximize
performance and structure. This requires that the Coach be able to discern the
patterns of behavior and larger scale systems that prohibit peak performance.
This is particularly true when working with the executive and his/her
team(s). |
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Ability to be a risk taker by challenging individuals at high levels.
Executive Coaches speak the truth when no one else will. |
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Holds great respect for and knowledge about multi-cultural issues
that enhance the executives' international business focus. |
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Ability to articulate adult developmental theory and deliver
information about how the executive compares with what he/she needs to be and
do. |
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Ability to be highly innovative, creative and collaborative.
Consequently, serves as a strategic partner to the executive leader and his/her
team. |
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Ability to be a confidante in which executives are able to share all
sides of themselves; their hopes as well as their fears, their egotistical
wants as well as their social needs, their dreams for themselves as well as
their organizations. |
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Holds highly developed coaching, communication, and interpersonal
skills and competencies that allow the Executive Coach to operate confidently
in both the social and business environment of the executive
leader. |
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Ability to inspire others at the highest levels. The Executive Coach
is truly the one who inspires the inspirational leaders. |
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Ability to hold all things in confidence and operate out of highly
evolved ethical procedures and conduct. |
Interpersonal Characteristics that Industry Seeks
In
addition to proficiencies listed above, organizations look for specific
characteristics beyond the obvious, such as:
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Companies look for an Executive Coach who can be an insightful
sounding board while holding sacred the confidences. |
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They look for an experienced conversation partner who is a good match
(i.e., where there is a strong connection between Coach and client). However,
they want a Coach who is different enough to bring about intervention,
innovation and creativity to awareness. |
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They want someone who can work beneath the strong ego of the leader
and who will challenge him/her to raise standards in all areas. |
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They require someone who is dedicated to having the executive
accomplish the agreed upon outcomes (e.g., increased productivity, increased
effectiveness, shifts in leadership approach, increased organizational
benefits). |
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They need someone who has "been there" and who understands through
their own analytical and intuitive hunches what the organization and client
issues are. |
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Executives want a Coach who will give strong objective feedback in a
non-judgmental manner. |
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Executives are looking for someone who will model processes and
vision for them until they can model such things themselves. The Executive
Coach actually holds the vision of the outcome while having the executive be
accountable for advancing toward goals. |
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Strategic Rationale for Hiring Executive
Coaches
There are many
reasons that companies consider hiring Executive Coaches versus another type of
coach. The participants of the Summit captured the primary reasons in the
following listing:
Strategic Leadership Development
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Their executive has requested a Coach who serves as a sounding board
for strategy, particularly when the marketplace has changed. |
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Their executives and executive teams need strategic leadership
development and skills. |
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They are conducting 360-degree feedback assessments and want
Executive Coaches to deliver feedback and conduct follow-on coaching. They
often want the Executive Coach to provide a model for the executive to deliver
360 feedback to his/her director reports. |
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Their executive needs to raise standards of performance so the
company can stay competitive in the marketplace. |
Implementation of Strategic Goals
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They want coaching for implementing their strategic initiatives and
goals. |
Team
Coaching
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They want coaching for executive teams so that the teams can lead the
company in a cohesive yet innovative and collaborative manner. |
Derailment
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An executive is on a derailment path and needs a major shift or
retrofit to stay in the game. |
Assimilation Coaching
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A new leader needs assimilation coaching into the culture to assert
his/her leadership into the organization. |
Succession
Planning
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They want help with developing succession planning of appropriate
replacement personnel. |
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They want coaching for retiring or mobile leaders to design the next
stage of life. |
Career
Development
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They want their executives to have career development coaching.
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Measurable
Accountabilities
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They want tools of measurement as well as observable
results. |
Personal
Coaching
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At times the executive him/herself wants personal
coaching. |
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Tools of the Executive
Coach
To accomplish the items listed
above, the Executive Coach brings a wealth of tools to use in coaching and
intervention within the organization and the world of the executive leader. The
Summit participants concluded that, in addition to those items listed below,
the greatest and best tool being brought to the relationship is the Executive
Coach himself or herself. Executive Coaches are aware of the possibilities and
profound impact they have on individuals, organizations and communities.
Concomitantly, they are aware of their own development and have a positive
intention of growing and learning along with the person(s) being coached. In
essence, the Executive Coach is a tool that organizations use to impact for the
greater good of their workplace.
Listed below are the primary tools
employed by most Executive Coaches:
Assessments for Conducting Gap Analyses
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Initial interviews that determine current situation, future goals,
what is missing, background of strategic plan, mission statement, financials,
etc. |
Outcome
Measurements
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Scorecards for accountabilities |
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Pre/Post assessments to measure results such as 360 degree feedback
for individuals and teams, team effectiveness |
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Measuring progress in terms of political acumen, being well read,
personal courage, facilitation of teams, tasking for practice, stakeholder
management, intellectual/intuitive awareness of the bigger picture,
global-multicultural capabilities, personal and professional successes (e.g.,
networking, sales/marketing, and business/operational skills) |
Processes
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Processes for conducting business in more effective manner such as
determining vision, modeling values, discerning authority, decision-making,
effective meetings, handling conflict and disagreement, creating innovative
methods. |
Customizable Tools
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360 degree feedback with outcome of Professional Development
Plan |
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Self-assessment tools such as developmental history, wheel of
balance |
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Facilitated conversations and shadow coaching |
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Role playing, homework assignments such as reading and
practice |
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Powerful questions, requests and use of stories and
metaphors |
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Technological tools such as coaching simulator, audio tools, email
and voice mail coaching |
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Trends in Executive
Coaching
As the requests grow for Executive Coaching at
high levels of organizations, we are beginning to see trends emerge that
predict the potential longevity of the Executive Coaching profession and
industry. The Summit participants reported the following trends of which they
are aware.
Coaching for the
Executive
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Executive coaching is becoming a perk in executive benefit
packages. |
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Executives are able to spend little time in training venues, but
consider the coaching to be "just in time" learning. They distinguish this from
training, which is "just in case." |
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Executive Coaching legitimizes working on the interaction between
life stages and demands of role in the life of the leader. |
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Executive Coaches may also address balance, wholeness and community
within the executive arena. |
Inclusion
in Academic Programs
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Executive MBA programs have begun to consider the issue of the
Executive Coach in the mix of possibilities, with coach training as a part of
learning. |
Human
Resources Trends
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More and more, Human Resource executives are required to possess
coaching competencies. |
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Human Resource executives are expected to have access to available
Executive Coaching resources. |
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Since there's a trend in Human Resources to do more web-based
learning, Executive Coaching fills the gap for face-to-face and team real time
learning. |
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Executive Coaches contribute to an organization's advantage in the
talent war and increase the likelihood of high attraction, retention and
motivation. |
Remuneration of External Executive Coaches
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External Executive Coaches have a vested interest in having the
coaching initiative be successful. This vested interest is often represented by
agreeing to receive part of their remuneration in the form of stock
options. |
Executive
Coaches
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Executive Coaches are expected to have a network of excellent
recourses to refer to their clients and clients companies. These are typically
specialists in complementary areas to coaching. |
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Executive Coaches are expected to be able to work with a variety of
learning styles in individuals and a variety of electronic/interactive
media. |
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Results-based project proposals and contracts are gaining in
preference over hourly arrangements. |
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The credibility of Executive Coaches is growing in sync with the
demand by organizations for certifications, proven track records and strong
references. |
Impact On
Society
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By being responsible and acting with integrity and ethical
parameters, Executive Coaches make an impact on society as a whole because they
coach with individuals and teams who have a wide scope of impact on the
world. |
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Ethics of the Executive
Coach
Executive Coaches follow the basic ethical
guidelines held by all other coaches. You may find the International Coach
Federation Ethical Guidelines for Coaches on the website at
http://www.coachfederation.org/ethics.htm.
However, in addition to the basics, Executive Coaches must adhere to a set of
primary ethical parameters that address the very essence of the world in which
they coach.
Summit participants identified the following list of ethical
guidelines not identified otherwise for Executive Coaches:
Confidentiality
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Executive Coaches hold inviolate "insider" information (financial,
market strategy, product information). Non-disclosure agreements are often
required. If not, the Executive Coach should provide one. |
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Confidentiality is a negotiated up-front contractual agreement
between the executive, his/her boss, the sponsor and the Executive
Coach. |
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Special situations will be discussed in the contractual agreement
regarding confidentiality. When the Executive Coach discerns the "at risk"
executive or "at risk" system (e.g., addictions, harassment, etc.), he/she will
involve the sponsoring individual in how best to approach such a critical
situation. |
The System
of Coaches
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The Executive Coach will determine where other Coaches are being used
in the system of the organization in order to communicate and align the
strategic efforts. |
Dedication
to Outcomes
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Executive Coaches are dedicated to having measurable outcomes. Goals
are established in the contracting phase so that both the performance of the
Coach and the executive can be observed and measured. |
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Executive Coaches provide means for measuring the results and
outcomes. |
Encouraging
Systemic Support of Gaining Results
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Successful Executive Coaching rarely sustains its results if the
system, the teams and the stakeholders of the individual aren't involved in
supporting the process. It is the ethical responsibility of the Executive Coach
to encourage the executive to gain support from others for his/her results.
Since the Coach maintains confidentiality, involvement in seeking support
should be driven by the executive. |
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When a whole team is the client, the same encouragement applies
regarding the team's relationship with the rest of the organization. As coached
to do so, the team determines how to interact and share its issues and progress
with its stakeholders. |
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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
This very unusual
community of collaborative senior Executive Coaches discovered and created some
extraordinary information about their industry. They gained a clear definition
of Executive Coaching. This was done by not only discerning what is basic to
their operation, but also discovered the unique distinguishers that describe
their complex work world and the scope of their impact on organizational
culture, as well as on society as a whole.
Summit participants
delineated what they know to be the competencies, proficiencies and
interpersonal characteristics that "world class" Executive Coaches posses and
those that industry is currently seeking. The participants also discovered
strategic reasons that Executive Coaching is requested by organizations. Other
considerations were the understanding of current trends in the profession as
well as critical ethical factors held by the Executive Coach.
Major
conclusions of the Summit were the following:
- There exists a
strong need for definition of the Executive Coaching world.
- There is much
complexity in the world of Executive Coaching because of the scope of impact
and responsibility that the executive client, key contributors and associated
systems bring to the relationship.
- The Executive Coach
must be working in this arena as familiar territory, being seasoned both from
experience as well as from the social aspect.
Additional work is to
be done on an ongoing basis. Future Executive Coaching Summits will address
issues such as typical results from a coaching intervention, research about
measurable outcomes, global impact(s), technological advances and continued
identification of advanced ethics.
Added value in this experience is
that the 36 participants are committed to maintaining the community that was
formed in the two days and add others to continue to grow and develop the
understanding and utilization of Executive Coaches.
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International Executive Coaching Summit
Esteemed Participants
The following is a listing of the
Executive Coaches who participated in the International Executive Coaching
Summit and from whom this information was produced:
Sue Bethanis, Sean
Brawley, Cecile Burzynski, Leslie Clark, Jane Creswell, Phil Drouillard, Alexis
Brown Falek, Tim Gallwey, Harris Ginsberg, Elizabeth Guilday Linda Hall, Mike
Jay, Bob Johnson, Stephen Josephs, Ray Lamb, Steve Lishansky, Niki McCuistion,
DJ Mitsch, Agnes Mura, Cynder Niemela, Barbara Parton, Lauren Powers, Jeremy
Robinson, Phillippe Rosinski, Wanda Ross, Jeannine Sandstrom, Cliff Schelling,
Andrea Sigetich, Lee Smith, Gary Taylor, Keith Thompson, John Vercelli, Karol
Wasylyskyn, Laura Whitworth, Ellen Wingard and Linda Yort
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For more information on the Executive Coaching
Summit:
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