Posts from — August 2009

Coaching has been around for some time now. I am not talking about the sports coaching, but coaching in business and as a profession to help other people. Though we are stills struggling to come up with common definitions, we can clearly state that it has established itself as a professional service available to individuals and organizations, for profit and non-profit alike.

Opportunity

For those people who are already coaches, like me, it is always a goal to become a better coach, gain more knowledge and provide a better service to the clients. At the same time, when coaching is the activity that put money in the wallet and bread on the table of the family, it is important to explore how to increase fees, find new combinations of services, potentially through webinars, teleclasses, group, coaching, etc.

When we explore part of the ever growing literature, here is some of what can be found:

As corporations recognize the need to retain good employees, the ability to develop coaching skills in managers becomes a necessity (Ellinger, Ellinger, & Keller, 2003; Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002; Hunt & Weintraub, 2002).  Three empirical studies have explored the role of a coaching manager in an organizational setting.  Using critical incident analysis to determine triggers and outcomes for coaching, Ellinger (1999) explored these incidents with managers within a learning organization to assess the overall impact of coaching as a performance improvement strategy

Olivero, Bane and Kopelman (1997) found that coaching when augmenting a training program increased productivity by 80%.  This finding supports the contentions made by Conger and Benjamin (1999) and Goleman et al.  (2002) that training alone is ineffective in sustaining behavior change.  While there were a number of potential explanations for the dramatic change in productivity, Olivero et al. (1997) contend that two coaching aspects contributed most to the change–goal setting and public presentation.  The coaches supported clients in setting goals that were challenging, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-bound.  There was also a feedback loop for providing guidance to behaviors that were addressed in the training. 

Possibility

The benefits from coaching relationships are endless.  Though it may not happen instantly, those who have been in this life changing, but challenging, working relationship can attest to it.  The success of the coaching relationship may take months to establish, as well as gain the trust (Osborne, 2008).

However, the benefits of training programs are sometimes difficult to sustain when returning to work.  Managers return to their jobs and are confronted with the challenges and the day-to-day obstacles that prevent the application of the new skills. Issues can also arise when managers return to work and are faced with new or unexpected situations. 

 Admittedly, we want to be better than pure training programs and want for our students, clients, and coachees to have lasting changes in their life, their behaviors and their professions. To achieve these goals it would be wonderful to have a place all coaches could call home, could find what they need to improve themselves and use as a forum to discuss cases, get to know new approaches and tools and generally improve the profession. Some schools and organizations like ICF offer these forums, but they don’t really take care of the members because their focus lies in different areas. A partnership of professional and certified coaches has come together to develop and offer such a place for all coaches. The company is called Innovision Global. Though the new home for coaches is still under construction, you can already take a peak at what will be at http://www.innovisiongloballlc.com

Unlocking the Future

What we also recognized it the fact that coaching has been moving, like many tings, form the United States into the world, reaching the shores of Asia and especially Europe. The concept is better known and many individuals interested in coaching have taking certification classes with US coaching schools. In some cases some offerings are also available in the countries of the European Union.

With the transfer of the profession should come a transfer of modern technologies and the application of local languages. To make this possible, a team of certified coaches has come together and created “The Coaching Academy Europe”, one of the first organizations to offer interactive, online coaching certification training with Master Coaches present every minute of the training. Importantly, the system is licensed by one of the most successful coaching institutes in the United States and offered in local languages, beginning with English, German, and Spanish. In the long run the goal is to expand to man more languages. The developing website can be reviewed at http://www.coachingacademyeurope.com.

Classes will start in early October and allow established coaches to decide if they like to become master Coaches in the system. At the same time people interested in coaching can become certified for extremely affordable fees. Even the in-person option through traditional onsite training is offered in a compressed format, keeping cost low while quality of training and systematic consistency are high.

Togetherness

The graduates of ‘The Coaching Academy Europe’ are invited to join the new home for coaches at Innovision Global and learn for the best coaches and the best materials and tools as they build their businesses. At the same time the diversity and cultural mix will provide a global home for all coaches, rather than a place for US nationals. Together in training, certification, and through a common membership, we will be able to take the next steps in the development of the coaching profession.