Establishing Ground Rules
I provide executive coaching to leaders who want to get better. Research supports one-on-one coaching to be the most successful method for developing high performing leaders.
I typically meet with a leader for two hours in-person every other week. The client chooses behaviorally-defined goals that will help them grow professionally, and help the company, law firm or accountancy firm meet their strategic objectives.
Are you working with a coach and developing your talent as a leader?
How do you convince leaders to change? How can you optimize their talents and potential? Which best practices in executive coaching programs produce lasting results that drive business performance? What are the ground rules when beginning an executive coaching engagement?
Executive coaching offers a tremendous opportunity to leverage leadership talent and resources, both of which can steer an organization toward sustainable success.
Establishing Ground Rules
In the beginning, coaches must clarify the ground rules, calling attention to the following key areas:
1. Confidentiality, expectations and commitment: The coach must be clear about what will be shared with the leader’s boss and what will be kept confidential. Aligning coaching goals with the organization’s principal objectives is crucial, as coaching isn’t merely an exercise in personal improvement.
2. Reporting relationships: There must be clarity among the three key participants: the organizational contact (boss or HR representative), the coach and the leader being coached.
3. Methods of information gathering: Key stakeholders, team members, direct reports and others involved will be contacted by both the coach and the leader being coached.
4. Making judgments, setting objectives and monitoring progress: The coach helps the leader and key stakeholders maintain objectivity. Coaches must focus on one or two behaviors, without judgment, and facilitate honest sharing about progress.
5. How, why and when the coaching will end: Coaching parameters must be set at the beginning of the engagement, with milestones for assessing progress and a completion date (usually 12 to 18 months).
It is critical to clarify at the outset who the client is. When the coach and leader understand that the company is the actual client, then the ground rules are easier to accept. This is a vital step for gaining and maintaining trust. Once the ground rules have been established, they cannot be bent along the way. The coaching relationship requires discipline and boundaries for progress to occur.
Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become a more collaborative and enlightened leader. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.
Comments