Hit & Miss Coaching
Paul Gretton-Watson
Director
 
Executive and management coaching has been adopted with gusto in recent years – often with great hope and promise – and with the occasional hint of desperation.  
 
For some time, coaching has been a relatively undefined craft.  This is evidenced in the range of approaches and practices which have exploded onto the top end of the consulting market.  Some coaches work from a philosophical base that blends ‘new age’ mysticism with gentle humanistic exploration, while others draw on hard-nosed strategies and axioms more commonly encountered on the field of an elite sporting team.  Indeed, the variety of approaches to coaching is almost as diverse as the managers and issues that present at coaching.  
 
Here at ResolutionsRTK, we work with many client organisations that have adopted coaching with passion and purpose.  Over time it has become clear to us that the management of coaching referrals and programs should be driven by two primary factors: the impetus for and the goal of the coaching.  When consideration is given to both, a single model or linear approach may be a ‘hit’ some of the time, but invariably ‘misses’ for the range of stakeholders with a vested interest in the coaching process and eventual outcome.  
 
To counter this reality we offer three types of coaching which are summarised below.
 

 
Coaching has a time and a place, depending on the needs of the referring party and the individual receiving the coaching.  Seasoned line and HR managers will not be surprised to hear that there is a high degree of interest and take up of Management Coaching for managers who need additional support and guidance (more a mentoring term), and Workplace Coaching for managers who are struggling, or whose future career with their employer may be in jeopardy unless they improve their performance.  Most of the challenges experienced by managers that we see are related to their experience of trying to manage their relationship with others; whether it is a difficult board, frustrating CEO, overly political peers, or most commonly, difficult staff.  Conflict in one form or another is often being overtly expressed and almost without exception covertly experienced.  It is therefore crucial that coaches be well equipped to deal with people management issues in a sensitive manner and also be highly skilled in the various strategies for resolving conflict.  
 
Yet coaching can be perceived and experienced as an undisciplined and ineffective practice.  Given the variety of motivations for engaging coaching as a development and support strategy for managers, no single approach can necessarily suit all the scenarios and potential applications.  At ResolutionsRTK, we have found that our three streams of coaching allow both the discipline and room our consultants and clients need to gain value from the process.  Anything else tends to be a little hit and miss.