Executive Stretch – Hitting the mark with a coaching programme

1. Executive Stretch – Hitting the mark with a coaching programme Stuart McAdam

2. Me? • BA Lancaster - International Relations • MA KCL - War Studies • MBA Bradford - HR • School of Coaching; Tavistock Institute • FCIPD; MAC • HRD: M&G Re, Swiss Re Life & Health, GE SeaCo • KPMG, CBI, Lacsab • MBTI, FiroB, TMP, SDI

3. Executive Stretch? • Boundaries • Roles • Egos…all need managing • Yet when we are “in the grip” awareness of this may be significantly diminished, individually, collectively and corporately

4. So, aim to explore • Situations in which executive coaching can help I/we/us recognise when we are “in the grip”

5. What will success look like at the end of this session?

6. Individual and organisational transition Ending Beginning Middle Focused Recommitment Chaotic Reorganisation Letting Go • Goal oriented • Acceptance • Comfortableness • Anxiety • Anger • Resignation • Denial • Continuing anxiety and anger • Reminiscing • Fear Sense of gain Sense of loss

7. How are needs anticipated? • Business planning process • Training needs analysis • Performance review • Opinion surveys • Development/assessment centres • Due diligence • Imitating competitors • Benchmarking • Panic! • Feedback from the people doing the job

8. The responses include • Training • Retraining • Development • Organisational change • Expensive entertainment • Do nothing and hope for the best • Leave it up to the individual

9. Issues • No common language to define performance and behavioural expectations • Wide variations in how superior or poor performance is actually assessed • Personal rather than objective judgements of performance and potential are allowed to go unchallenged • A willingness to suggest actions others need to take to improve performance

10. Hearsay rather than observation • No collective ownership of solutions; senior manager accountability • Feelings not surfaced early enough • Adult to adult conversations • Stickability!

11. So where might executive coaching fit in? Potential minus Interference equals Performance

12. A definition (or two.. • “We see coaching as a reflective, development and educative space, which brings two minds together to explore work related issues and behaviours” (Tavistock Institute)

13. “The process by which the coach uses appropriate listening and questioning skills to work with the participant to enable them to review and ultimately own solutions upon which they seek resolution”(Stuart McAdam)

14. Or three… • “Coaching is the focused application of skills that deliver performance improvement to the executive's work in his or her organisation, through robust support and challenge. • The coaching process should yield learning and personal development for the executive, and help them to contribute more of their potential. • This collaborative relationship will be short term and practically focused, and will be marked by clear strong feedback” (Hawkins & Smith 2006)

15. And require… • Coachability: Participants must have a capacity for self-reflection, along with a curiosity about the way their actions are perceived and about what motivates the actions of others (M Kets de Vries)

16. Recognising and surfacing the need • “I recognise the challenge, but I’m not sure if I’m doing the right things…” • New Function Head • “I want to help x rise to the challenge of the new job…” • CFO • “My boss and I have agreed that I need some help” • Research Scientist/team leader

17. Issues and opportunities for both individuals & teams • Managing Change: personal and collective • Project teams • Functional teams • New hires • International assignees • And, potentially Pension Fund trustees

18. Managing Change • Before change is possible, leaders need to undergo their own change process • As this evolves others need to engage in their own change process • …change is made up of many individual change efforts by many people

19. The individual change process • Pre-contemplation: not yet aware • Contemplation: beginning to think • Preparation: intending • Action: engaging in new behaviours but not yet cemented • Maintenance: consistently applying over a period of time • Relapse: falling back into old patterns Prochaska & DiClemente 1984 Transtheoretical Model of Change

20. …moving onto organisational change • For leaders to be able to: • Form a guiding coalition • Create a sense of urgency • Develop a compelling vision, and • Communicate that vision and strategy • They will need to have moved through: • Their own awareness of the need for change • Deciding to make the change • Plan for making the change • And begin implementing the change

21. Project teams • Why do projects fail to deliver… “the updates always had green or amber…” • Are concerns seen as negative rather than supportive? Does the energy focussed on “success” impede recognition of issues? • The supposed certainty of a risk assessment model may disguise rather than clarify concerns

22. Project teams • The desire for a rousing kick-off and the choice of project management software may dominate rather than • Adequate preparation, planning and time for reflection • Exploring what people feel about the project and outcomes • Absolute clarity around roles and accountabilities

23. Project teams • Acting as a sounding board for the project leadership team • Providing coaching support for the project manager • Acting as a sounding board for the project sponsor • A sparring partner for the project team before progress review meetings

24. Project teams • “Would a coach have helped? It’s difficult to know for sure, but more openness about what we didn’t know would have made a tremendous difference at the start. The project sponsor would also have benefited, since they clearly saw their role as to give regular pep talks rather than understand the ramifications of our plan”

25. Functional Teams

26. Functional focus – some examples • HR “is this as good as it gets…” the post Ulrich reality; what are we really here for? • Internal Audit – understanding that creating a compliance culture is not the same as imposing compliance • Global Sales team – building a language for working together, creating a partnership with sales and the back office

27. New Hires • You aren’t in your “old” environment; you’re potentially isolated and suspended • Understanding culture, boundary and role issues • Rarely clear until you are on the inside • Have a critical impact on key relationships • And require awareness on your part of your personal preferences • Working out what’s really intended – are expectations mutually compatible?

28. There’s a lot to do • Start learning • Challenges and opportunities • Hit the ground running • Managing upwards • Address the system • Build and motivate team • Communicate • Strategic networking • Help everyone change and adjust • Manage your career • Source: Watkins

29. Executives who are less successful • Accept unclear expectations from senior management • Are too easily surprised…concentrate only on changes • ( “The New Boss” Peter Fischer) • Whereas…“The really effective leaders are the ones who know what to lean on other people for…they make sure they have a good network of people • (Prof David Sims Cass Business School)

30. Reflective Inquiry and Action • Embrace your confusion • Assert your need to make sense • Structure the interaction • Listen reflectively and learn • Openly process your effort to make sense • Jentz and Murphy

31. International assignees • Easy to support “obvious” needs internally • Issues around “fit” require a different approach • Self awareness • Who to talk to? • Family • Old boss • New boss • Contextualising differences

32. International assignees • “initially I saw the coach as someone who could help me sort out quite trivial things – what emerged were more deep seated concerns about my future”

33. Pension scheme trustees • Trustees can often find themselves in the difficult position of trying to balance the interests of the sponsoring employer with their responsibilities to members

34. Pension scheme trustees • Encourage trustees to arrive at their own solutions using a combination of: • Discussion of issues • The use of questioning to challenge beliefs or opinions • Looking at each situation from different angles • Exploration of alternative strategies

35. What the coach should bring • Global awareness • Organisational knowledge • Interpersonal sensitivity and knowledge: curiosity and empathy; willing to be supportive and challenging • An understanding of the dynamics of personal change • Appropriate skills: listening, questioning, feedback • A knowledge of one’s self • A rich source of anecdotes, narrative and models with which to illuminate issues • Tavistock Institute

36. “The quality of the coaching relationship is the single most important determinant of success in coaching” • CIPD 2007

37. Can the line manager do this? • The coaching “repertoire” • Managing boundaries

38. What all managers need • Expertise in performance management. They need to be effective coaches and committed to making it possible for people to perform effectively. Nothing in their job is more important than this • Expertise in talent management and organizational effectiveness. Make talent decisions with the same rigour as financial decisions • Ability to look into the future

39. Ability to create truth telling and open communication with individuals throughout the organization • Ability to develop leaders • Know how to and “walk the talk” • Ed Lawler

40. Participant owns Coach guides Sponsor supports The Bermuda Triangle and the coaching process What will success look like?

41. What about the Sponsor? Allow participant to own the process Avoid imposing solutions Make time available to review progress Get involved in agreeing progress measures

42. The advantages • Sparring partner • Neutral environment • Safety net • A space in which it is possible to play with ideas and test assumptions

43. The process • Reflection • Conversation • 360 degree feedback • Psychometrics • Practise

44. Role reversal • Diary • Semiotics • Master signifiers

45. Leading to… • Improving something • Changing something • A prelude to action or no action • “Guided self-exploration” • “It enabled me to hold up the mirror and look into it…the apparent lack of direction was a little disconcerting at the start; I had anticipated someone telling me what to do”

46. What can be measured? • Reaction • Learning • Skills • Behaviours • Results

47. ... • Bringing a results orientation…staying focused on how the participant can make the organization successful • Partnering the participant to greater effectiveness • Helping the participant face, not avoid his or her specific leadership challenges (Mary Beth O’Neill)

48. The 80/20 of Executive Coaching