Coaching High Flying Corporates

Many Indian corporate leaders and senior executives are aware that in these times of rapid change what is required from them has less to do with their skills in the techno-commercial strategic areas and more to do with their skills in encouraging creativity, innovation and team-building. Often corporate leaders know what needs to be done to adapt to changing business environments and this is not their main challenge. Their main challenge is to get their teams, and themselves, to do what needs to be done. This involves working on their own mindsets as well as the mindsets of their teams through leadership and motivation. Yet few have received guidance on how to improve their skills in this area.

Like other skills these too can be developed through learning. However this learning cannot be acquired from short-term training programmes or from attending lectures, or even from reading books. Studies have revealed that any benefit from this type of training does not last. It lacks follow-up, direct application and continued guidance. The learning that is required needs to be focused on specific needs, followed up over a period of time and based on actual experiences. It is a learning which perpetuates itself on feedback. It needs to be on the job and experiential. This is where corporate coaching comes into the picture.

The Public Personnel Management Association Journal (Winter 97, Vol. 26 Issue 4,) quotes a study which showed that training alone increased productivity by about 22% while training plus coaching increased productivity by 88%.

Executive coaching as a specialised discipline has been flourishing in the United States for over twenty years. “For years, CEOs of some of the most successful and largest companies have relied on executive coaches. Henry McKinnell, CEO of Pfizer, Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, and David Pottruck, CEO of Charles Schwab & Co., are a few who rely on a trusted adviser." (The Business Journal, Nov. 2002.) Coaching is gaining popularity in the UK and other mature market economies where corporations face the full blast of international competition. Research studies in these countries show spectacular improvements in performance after executive coaching.

In India corporate leaders had been slow in taking to coaching, probably because it was (mistakenly) viewed as an admission that the management is lacking in some attributes. However it is now being appreciated that in fact coaching provides an opportunity to strengthen developmental attributes and hence performance. It is noted, for instance, that all top sports people use coaches to improve their performance, though they already perform very well. In fact where talent already exists the benefits from coaching are multiplied. With this realisation dawning in the corporate world here the use of coaching is catching on in India as well. Management training institutions and consultancy firms are now offering executive coaching. They have the expertise in different functional and behavioural areas; also through national and international networks they access the most relevant talent for the coaching exercise.

What is Corporate Coaching?

Corporate coaching, as opposed to executive coaching, is undertaken within the context of the mission and goals of the corporation, though it works through individuals. It involves one-to-one coaching of executives over an extended period. By working within an organisation and with individuals (or teams) corporate coaching creates the synergy required for improving performance; through leveraging strengths and strengthening weaknesses.

The coaching is done by trained and experienced experts who have intimate knowledge of business and appropriate skills in communication and understanding. The coach is a trusted, impartial and confidential friend as well as a sounding board. High personal and professional ethical standards are expected from the coach. The coach understands the business world and the needs of the corporation as well as the psychological, sociological, political and cultural needs of the individuals comprising the corporation. The coach asks pointed questions, challenges opinions and gives honest feedback on sensitive issues, which executives may be unwilling to discuss with colleagues.

A recent publication by McKinsey & Company consultants, published by the Harvard Business School, based upon five years of in-depth research and analysis, including case studies from 27 leading companies and surveys from 3,000 executives, concludes that “the vehicle for propelling a talented person to greater heights and greater performance, in much less time, is coaching – which enables people to stretch and grow in ways that hold them to the company.”

Coaching is most effective if it starts at senior levels in the corporate hierarchy because it then acts where it can generate change in mind-sets and influence behaviour throughout the corporation – leaders do often serve as role models for subordinates. The coaching is directed toward improving performance and effectiveness through introducing new mindsets and bringing about behavioural change.

How is it done?

The methods adopted for coaching are customised and tailor-made to suit the specific requirements of the client. So there is no generic method which will work in all cases. However there is an approach which would apply to most cases. This approach involves the following steps: