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Colleagues generally feel uncomfortable pointing out issues with an individual’s personality, despite the fact that most managers have internal mentors and appraising managers. Subsequently, the feedback from internal employees can be unspecific and unhelpful to the recipient; it will tend to focus on minor improvement rather than major development.
A decent external coach would begin with interviews and questionnaires to collect thorough feedback on you. Experience shows that people are much more likely to open up to trusted outsiders, although junior colleagues may sometimes be reluctant with their honesty for fear of retribution. The coach would then report back to you in a way that would keep specific people anonymous.
Coaches can be used in different ways. Senior people such as directors tend to use theirs as someone to bounce ideas off. For example, who would you talk to if you received an intriguing call from a head hunter? Your coach is more than an impartial judge; they are on your side. By talking to your coach you can discuss ideas away from internal politics and conflicts.
Coaching is only useful if it is fresh in your mind; you must be able to remember the detail of particular events. Therefore it is much better to have a half-hour coaching session twice a month rather than a few hours quarterly.
Choosing the right coach is vital. You should look at track record over their qualifications. What is important is listening skills and the skill of understanding why you behave how you do, ignoring any excuses. The coach’s purpose is to improve your performance rather than be your best friend. They need to be capable of diagnosing the situation and advise a continuous process to aid your passage of improvement. You need to be challenged and directed towards issues that you may have tried to avoid, and therefore your coach needs to have a direct manner, rather than beating around the bush. |
