Coaching Approach

There are a variety of elements that define, guide and inspire Business Model's approach to coaching.

• What is coaching?
• The coaching relationships
• What do coaches do?
• The coaching process
  

what is coaching?

There are numerous definitions as to what coaching is, but the following two are ones which we at Business Model strongly align with:

• "A goal directed, results orientated, systematic process in which one person facilitates sustained change in another individual or group through fostering the self-directed learning and personal growth of the coachee". (Cavanagh and Grant 2005)
• "Unlocking a person's potential to maximise their own performance". (Whitmore 1996)

Coaching is a comparatively new intervention within the learning and development environment although it has rapidly gained wide acceptance and recognition as one of the most invaluable and essential interventions of leadership development.

Its success in part relies on the acceptance that the individual already has within them the solution to their issues. However, over the years we at Business Model have seen first-hand that accessing these solutions is not always straightforward. The 'noise' and 'interferences' of increasingly fast paced, demanding and pressured organisational environments can get in the way.

Coaching differs from some of the other solutions we offer in that it helps the individual to learn for themselves by raising their self awareness and emotional intelligence, rather than focusing exclusively on transferring and embedding knowledge. It complements and is different to training, mentoring and consulting.

Although we tailor tools and techniques to each intervention and each client, in essence, coaching involves the skilled use of a robust methodology and framework, goal setting and action planning. Our aim is to enable the coachee and our client to achieve significant improvements in performance and business results as agreed in the contracting phase of coaching.

coaching relationships

Contracting with Stakeholders - Designing the Coaching Alliance

Within coaching, we at Business Model recognise a number of key relationships as critical to the success of any intervention. These include the coach and coachee dynamic and also the three-way relationship which exists between the Business Model coach, the coachee and the organisation / organisational sponsor.

When contracting with organisations, Business Model believes it is important to spend time prior to commencing the coaching relationship designing and agreeing the organisation's key measures of success for the coaching programme. In this way, all key stakeholders - the organisation, the sponsor, the coachee and Business Model, can evaluate the success of the coaching, during and after the actual intervention.

In order for coaching to be effective, a number of ground rules apply which are openly discussed between the coachee, the sponsor and the coach. It is vital from the outset to establish guidelines on confidentiality and the extent to which information will be shared in order to develop trust between the coachee and coach, and other stakeholders.

These and other matters such as;

• Confidentiality arrangements
• Arrangements for reporting on progress and results within the framework of confidentiality
• Duration and frequency of the coaching intervention
• Confirmation that accountability for progress and action lies firmly with the coachee
• Clarification that the coachee is willing and supportive of the coaching approach
• Clearly defined measures of success which may include organisational, departmental and individual parameters

are all included in the contract which Business Model design and produce in conjunction with all related stakeholders.

what do coaches do?

At Business Model we have extensive experience of working with organisations and their coachees to enable, promote and enhance high performance. Typically our coaches will support their coachees in a number of ways including:

• providing coachees with the time and space to think more clearly through complex problems, to anticipate obstacles, develop contingency plans and mobilise appropriate resources saving money, time and loss of motivation
• encouraging creative solutions beyond the immediately obvious
• helping the coachee action plan, create success strategies and setting and achieving challenging objectives more quickly than if working alone
• supporting the coachee in implementation, helping them to remain focused, motivated and on track to achieve and exceed their goals
• helping to clarify underlying personal goals and motivations for success
• working to limit the negative impact of any weakness and limiting beliefs
• encouraging self belief and confidence
• developing their awareness of the impact of their actions on others
• helping them understand how to get the best out of people and how to 'get out of their own way' when leading
• helping them transfer this learning to other elements of their work

coaching process

As coaching is such a bespoke intervention, the length of relationships will vary on a case by case basis and the coach and coachee will discuss and agree what is appropriate given the situation.

Generally the first discussion, often termed the intake session, will be of a 2-hour duration which will be followed up with a number of subsequent sessions. Whilst these tend to be held every 4-6 weeks over the period of the coaching engagement to ensure time for change, some clients prefer a greater frequency of coaching at the beginning of the relationship in order to 'ramp up activity' and make an early impact.

The length and frequency of follow-up coaching sessions varies. Some of our clients opt for 1 hour sessions whilst others prefer 90-minute or two-hour sessions, either face to face, over the phone or a combination of the two. This enables busy clients to continue benefiting from the support of their coach even whilst away on business overseas. At Business Model, all our sessions are under-pinned by e-mail support and short, focused, laser calls can be accommodated.

We find that many clients work with us for at least 6 months to enable time for lasting and significant changes to be made. However, some engagements may be shorter as they are very specific in their nature. Other engagements can extend to a 12-month period and a number of our clients work with their coach beyond this period, recognising and valuing the constancy, contribution and challenge which their coach brings to the dynamics of their evolving career. Notwithstanding, the ultimate aspiration for Business Model is to promote self-sufficiency amongst our clients and an embedded aim of each of our coaching assignments is to transfer to the coachee some of the tools and techniques and ways of thinking and questioning, so that once the relationship finishes the individuals and the organisation can continue to benefit from continuing performance improvements and enhanced results.