Coaching for executives, managers and specialists
The term “coaching” is used as a generic term for different methods of temporary support and guidance for executive managers and employees.
In contrast to “consulting”, no solutions are suggested by the coach, rather the development of own solutions is facilitated. “Coaching” refers to structured conversations between a coach and a coachee (client), e.g. on questions of everyday professional life. The goals of these conversations range from the assessment and development of personal competencies and perspectives to suggestions for self-reflection and overcoming conflicts with employees, colleagues or superiors.
The coach acts as a neutral, critical sparring partner and, depending on the goal, uses methods from the entire spectrum of personnel and management development. He promotes the ability for self-management (help for self-help).
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Coaching differs from (psycho)therapy in that in the latter a medical diagnosis is made by an “expert” and emotional problem reactions are dealt with in a longer period of targeted change work.
When is coaching used?
Coaching is used in many areas, e.g. in sports, in medicine or in private life. In the work environment (private and governmental organizations) coaching is used especially for performance improvement, competence development, conflict resolution, and in leadership. The advantage of coaching is that it can be used in a short-term and targeted manner. Therefore it can be used very widely depending on the topic.
Coaching is considered useful in the following topics in the work environment:
The setting (general conditions)
Persons involved
Two persons are set in the context of a coaching session: the coach and the coachee (client). The client is the person seeking the support. There can be more than one client in a group coaching session.
Often there is also an additional person involved in the coaching: the supervisor. Especially if he/she has initiated the coaching, a joint goal-setting session is often held to develop the same understanding of the issues being addressed for all parties involved.
How does a coaching meeting work?
The procedure is to enable the “client” to organize him/herself through feedback, self-reflection, planning and training (principle of self-management). This includes the steps of autonomous goal setting, independent planning and organization up to self-control (result or progress control) with regard to the implementation of the self-set goals (implementation competence).
- Goal setting: What do you want to achieve? Formulation of goals according to the SMART principle (Specific, Measurable, Attractive and Realistic).
- Planning: What is the best way? (ways, resources, time)
- Organization: What are the concrete steps? (concrete, goal-related actions/processes)
- Control: What has been achieved? (progress, milestones, results)
What is employee coaching (employee development)?
What are the strategies for personnel development?
Many large companies today rely almost exclusively on coaching, because it allows specific challenges to be solved in a targeted manner in the short term. The classic strategies for personnel development are:
Specific coaching measures for employees
The coaching for employees focuses on the
- Individual coaching on the topics mentioned in the personal field (see above),
- Group/team coaching on communication, conflict resolution, and the forms and roles of cooperation,
- Project Coaching similar to team coaching, but with a focus on achieving the goals and deadlines set in project management.
Preventing redundancies/staff reductions
In individual cases, coaching can be a measure to prevent a dismissal. Particularly in the case of poor performance or conflicts, coaching individual persons can solve the problem and thus prevent an expensive dismissal and new employment.
In the case of groups of people, coaching in the framework of career development (career management) can also prevent a staff reduction. Especially the case in a change process due to a change in strategy, this can be achieved by addressing the changes in competencies and a change in culture at an early stage and by anticipating them through personal development. This saves the employer the costs of staff turnover (loss of operational know-how, on-boarding costs, etc.).
What is executive coaching?
Leaders are part of the management and lead one or more employees. The essential difference to other employees lies in this leadership task. Therefore, executive coaching focuses on leadership competence and leadership behavior. Often three levels of responsibility are distinguished:
- Lower management (when taking over the first leadership responsibility)
- Middle management (responsibility for several managers)
- Top management (overall responsibility for a company)
because the management task develops as a function of the number of employees.
What is meant by leadership competence?
Leadership competence is the ability to set goals and to influence and lead the behavior of other people in such a way that these goals are translated into results. As a leader, you have an influence on the performance of your team, e.g. through the motivation of your collaborators and the working atmosphere in your area of responsibility. The team must therefore perform its day-to-day tasks in the best possible way so that you can achieve the goals against which you are measured. In the context of these tasks, the following competencies are important:
- Organize meetings, sessions and workshops efficiently
- Exude sovereignty in your appearance
- Confidently master critical leadership situations
- Conflict management: resolving conflicts over goals, distribution, power and values in a sustainable manner
- Dealing skillfully with “difficult” employees
- Confidently mastering important management tools (target agreement, delegation, appraisal interviews, control, motivation/frustration)
- Dealing skillfully with power and influence
- Develop an authentic leadership style
- Giving and receiving effective feedback (self-image and external image)
- Assessing employees and promoting them in a targeted manner
The 10 most common mistakes as a leader
- They lack energy and enthusiasm
- They do not properly fulfill their role model function; thus, they lack the greatest influence on the behavior of their employees
- They are satisfied with mediocre performance (objectively speaking)
- They do not have convincing goals and perspectives (despite actionism)
- Their decisions are based more on subjective interests and old habits rather than on the common task and challenge
- They do not value cooperation and promotion of (result-relevant) skills very much
- They formulate expectations towards others, but they themselves do not adhere to them
- They are resistant to change, to new ideas or different opinions
- They do not learn from mistakes when dealing with others
- They fail to create a positive work environment and constructive interpersonal relationships
- They fail to develop the strengths and skills of their employees (productivity) (and consequently have a personnel cost problem).
The main phases of coaching include (1) clarification of the initial situation, (2) goal setting, and (3) interventions.
Differences between employee and executive coaching
Here you will find a comparison of these two types of coaching.
What does an employee or executive coaching cost?
The price of a coaching consists of different elements. Basically, the qualification of a coach (education, own professional experience and experience in coaching with the target group) determines the hourly rate per coaching session. After that, frequency of sessions and duration of the program determine the total price.
Duration of a coaching session
Coaching findet in mehreren Sitzungen statt und ist zeitlich begrenzt. Coaching kann durchaus über einen längeren Zeitraum stattfinden. Da es aber immer das Ziel eines Coachs ist, sich überflüssig zu machen, muss ein Coaching logischerweise auch zeitlich begrenzt sein.
Tips for the selection of coaches
For organizations that want to use coaching, it is important to find competent and suitable coaches. Here it is beneficial to work with a larger provider who can guarantee this quality. Below are some tips for the search and selection of coaches: