Coaching - The Secret to Leadership Development
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Would you like to know what the secret is to leadership development? It is coaching. A recent survey by LHH shows that only about 23% of leaders have received coaching.
Are you looking to progress in your career and wondering what to do next? Have you been managing people for a few years?
Perhaps you have been considering taking another leadership course, certification, or getting an advanced degree. All those options are well and good. But increasing what you know without being able to implement what you have learned will not get you to where you want to be. When it comes to leadership development, coaching is far more effective than training.
How many books or podcasts have you listened to in the past year?
How much of what you have learned have you converted into action?
If you could have implemented just 20% of what you learned, how much of an impact do you think that would have had on your leadership and career?
Working with a coach is a way to do just that – implement positive changes in your life. It is what makes coaching so powerful. Coaching is a high leverage activity, just 1-3 hours a month with a coach can have a significant impact.
Some of you may have worked with a professional coach before, many others of you may not have yet. For people that have gone through coaching before, they understand how powerful coaching can be.
This article is geared for those that may have heard of coaching or have an interest in coaching but aren’t personally familiar with it. There are many types of coaching out there. We will focus on coaching for leadership development, addressing the following questions:
What is coaching?
What are the benefits of coaching?
Who needs a coach?
When should you look for a coach?
How can you find the right coach for you?
What is coaching?
Coaching, as defined by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), is a partnership between coach and clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.
Coaching is NOT consulting nor is it counseling or therapy.
Coaching vs. counseling/therapy
Coaching focuses on the future. Therapy or counseling tends to focus more on the past. Therapist or counselors typically must be licensed to practice in their state. There are no formal requirements to be a coach, this is why it is important to find the right coach for you as we will discuss later on.
Coaching vs. consulting
Coaching is more about asking powerful questions vs. consulting which provides recommendations. With coaching the goal is to enable the client to find the solution. With consulting, typically the consultant is the one providing the solution.
What are the benefits of coaching?
I am an engineer turned coach and regularly leverage data as part of my coaching practice. Here is some data around the benefits of coaching:
A 2023 report from BetterUp has some compelling data.
Coaching is much more effective than training.
Employees forget 75% of what they learn in training workshops and seminars.
Of what they remember, only 30% of employees are able to transfer their learnings to the workplace a year later.
Companies with strong vs. low/no coaching cultures (2020-2022 data) have:
59% higher net profit margin
131% higher revenue growth (5-year average)
94% higher return on equity
64% higher return on assets
Teams with effective managers perform 53% better than teams with ineffective managers.
The 2009 International Coaching Federation (ICF) Global Coaching Study found that coaching has an average ROI of 3.4x the investment.
Who needs a coach?
Given the benefits of coaching that were just described, most working professionals should consider having a coach! In the past organizations would assign someone a coach if they were a low performer or if that individual was having challenges such as getting along with other colleagues. Historically, when coaches were assigned to high performers, coaching within organizations was limited to the executive level. However, more recently, more companies have realized that there is value to making coaching available to wider parts of their organizations.
Having a coach is especially important if you manage people so that you can learn how to coach your team more effectively. According to a 2018 survey in Chief Learning Officer Magazine, the top desired skill for front-line managers is coaching. Gallup has found that a staggering 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager.
Check out a recent blog I wrote with some practical resources on simple coaching questions you can use during one-on-ones with your team members.
When should you look for a coach?
It would be nice to have a coach that we work with regularly and some people do this. However, for many people it is not possible to work with a coach all the time. There will be certain times when you need someone to help you increase your abilities.
The best time to look for a coach is at transition points in your life, for example if you were recently promoted, have changed jobs, or are “stuck” and trying to figure out what you would like to change. These periods require a change to how you have been doing things or your “status quo” and a coach is a valuable partner to have during this time.
I am going to use a medical analogy to explain when to look for a coach. Please keep in mind that although coaching is a professional service, coaches are not therapists or health professionals. Hiring a coach in some ways is like hiring a personal trainer except you are building your mental fitness instead of your physical fitness.
If you had a severe injury, for example, a hip fracture, you would not look for a personal trainer. You would first go to see a doctor. Then you would go to a physical therapist for rehab. Once you have recovered, perhaps you are motivated to live your life differently and want to learn how to lift weights. This is when you look for a physical trainer.
A 2010 meta-analysis of company wellness programs by Baicker, Cutler and Song, found that investing in wellness programs had a 3.3x ROI, this is strikingly similar to the 3.4x coaching ROI from the ICF Global Coaching Study. When we think about coaching using this analogy, the ROI of coaching makes sense. Coaching builds mental fitness instead of physical fitness.
Please keep in mind that if you are going through a mental health crisis, you need to look for a psychiatrist or therapist not a coach.
How can you find the right coach for you?
Leverage trial sessions
Many coaches offer discovery calls or a sample session which is basically a complimentary coaching session to see if you find him/her to be a good fit for you. Take advantage of these types of sessions. Different leadership coaches have different styles, and you want to see which suits you. Since COVID, most coaches offer remote sessions so your coach could even be from another country if you want!
Decide what type of background you would like your coach to have
Whether you want a leadership coach that has worked in your industry or has a similar background to you is personal preference. Coaching, unlike consulting, does not require subject matter expertise in a particular industry especially when it comes to leadership since most of these skills are transferrable across industries. Having a leadership coach that has a different background to you can have some advantages, but some people like to look for a coach that can more easily relate to the challenges they are facing.
Find out about their coach training and/or certifications
Because anyone can call themselves a coach, it is helpful to ask what type of training or certification they have. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is the most recognized coaching organization and certifies coaches as well as training courses.
Keep in mind that just because a leadership coach has a certification does not necessarily mean they are a good coach or the right coach for you, this is why the trial session is important. I managed projects for over 15 years and am a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). I know quite a few great project managers that did not bother to get a PMP certification. I also know firsthand that just because someone has a PMP does make them a good project manager. The same is true of coaches.
Ask what assessments they use
Here’s another medical analogy, can you imagine going to a new doctor with an issue and not providing them with your medical history or them not asking for bloodwork? How effective would your doctor be at diagnosing your condition based on just a physical exam and you describing your symptoms?
Tony Robbins, a very well-known coach, will not work with any client without them taking a DISC assessment. DISC is one of the assessments I find to have high utility. Download a complimentary guide to DISC here.
There are many types of assessments out there. You may have taken some already. If you have, share your results with your coach. This should enable them to be able to work with you more effectively. If you haven’t taken an assessment before, ask which ones they use or recommend. I am certified in Harrison Assessments and I use this with my clients because of how data-rich it is. I like how it takes a balanced approach showing both strengths and areas for development. Because it is behavior based, it enables me to be more effective with my client’s time. It is not a personality test. Personality tends to be fixed but behavior can be changed.
If you have never worked with a professional coach before, I hope this inspires you to find one. Coaching brings me joy. It is such an honor and privilege to be able to partner with someone as they discover more about themselves and grow.
To download a free justification letter template that you can use to request external coaching services for you or your team or book a trial session, visit www.claritasconsultcoach.com.
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