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Archive for the ‘Executive Coaching’ Category

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Without a doubt, coaching is the hottest approach to enhancing the performance of the people in an enterprise—whether its teams of coaches working with managers in a Fortune 500 company, transition coaching for new C-level executive hires, or coaches working with the owners of small businesses or sole proprietorships. It is clear from the increasing acceptance and investment in coaching, among the broad spectrum of business in many countries, that we believe coaching works.

But how well does it work? And how hard is it to measure?

In recent years, there have been a couple of detailed, well-documented studies that put the ROI of major coaching engagements within Fortune 500 companies between 600% and 700%, depending upon how improved retention was calculated.

But studies of this precision—funded by the corporate clients—are generally too costly to be meaningful as a sustained way of assessing the business benefits of coaching even at the level of large corporations.

Moreover, the issue of the benefits of coaching is, if anything, even more relevant to small business. For many firms considering hiring a coach, the notion of funding a major study to assess the results is laughable, yet it is critical that they be able to associate the benefits they are deriving from their investment in coaching.

To a certain extent, the challenge of measuring the benefits of coaching depends upon why the coach has been engaged in the first place. In some cases, the goal of a coaching engagement can be fairly easy to quantify—improving meeting management skills, for example. You can measure how many meetings start on time, how many end on time and survey meeting attendees for their evaluation of the effectiveness of the meeting. With a little imagination, such measures could be converted to hard dollar savings or productivity increases and an actual ROI developed.

Often, however, the connection between the behavior and the result isn’t so clear.

“One of the biggest challenges in measuring coaching is that tangible, behavioral change is usually linked to intangible mindsets and beliefs,” explains researcher Terry Bacon, of Lore International Institute. “Effective measurement strategies require that we make those intangibles measurable.”

Is it possible to capture all of those intangibles in some concrete, meaningful metric? The answer is generally “no, not precisely.” However, there are techniques that can be employed to evaluate the effectiveness of coaching and often to achieve a realistic estimate of the ROI. More importantly, setting up an evaluation process up front not only helps set performance expectations, but it can also make the coaching more effective. For example, coaching can be refocused to deal with issues or to ensure that business priorities will be met. In this way, the evaluation of coaching becomes more than just a measuring stick—it becomes a key approach to deepen the business value of coaching.

For large firms, coaching consultancy Marshall Brown & Associates suggests seven critical steps for measuring ROI from a coaching engagement:

1. Set objectives for the coaching session that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound. Establish a benchmark for performance from existing appraisals and reviews.

2. Ensure that coaching objectives flow from overall project objectives and/or business objectives.

3. Communicate the methodology for measuring the monetary value of the coaching program before the program begins.

4. Identify the opportunity costs of the client’s time for participating in coaching.

5. Capture the monetary value of the coaching in tandem with the intangible value.

6. Validate the calculation with the managers being coached.

7. Communicate the results of the coaching program to key stakeholders in the organization.

Smaller firms, on the other hand, often cannot spend the time and effort to achieve the same level of measurement precision. In that case, there are several steps they can take to come up with quantifiable measures, if not quite ROI metrics. Among them are:

•  360-degree surveys
• Climate surveys within the organization
• Employee performance metrics
• Customer surveys

However, such broad measures can be disconnected from the effect of specific behavior changes that the coach and the executive are addressing. The challenge is to figure out the connections between the executive’s behavior and the behavior of the organization. Lore International Institute’s Bacon suggests these possibilities:

•  Improvements in productivity
• Reductions in absenteeism and employee turnover
• Reductions in cycle time
• Improvements in quality and/or reduction in waste
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Increased value of the opportunity pipeline

Several of these measures can even be translated into dollar values if the goal is to determine an ROI number. In every case, however, they provide a benchmark against which to measure the effectiveness of coaching.

Thus, though challenging, the business effectiveness of coaching can be measured, or at least closely approximated. And if coaching is to prove its worth, it ultimately must stand up to the same test as any other investment in the business.

If you would like to schedule an introductory consultation to see if business coaching might work for you, contact me today and let’s talk.

Coaching as a profession has not been around that long, but in the short time of its formal existence it has had an undeniable impact both on business performance and the quality of individual people’s lives. But what kind of ROI can a person expect to achieve when they hire a career coach or an executive coach?

Because coaching is extremely personalized for each specific situation, in order to really measure ROI the coach and the client must take a look at the current state of affairs, establish a benchmark and then set specific goals that they would like to achieve. As the coach and the client work together towards achieving those goals the gains will be clearly measurable.

By taking advantage of the knowledge and expertise of a coach, the client gains several advantages that will save them time, help them to improve their career, give them guidance as they transition from one job or career to another, or even support them during a job search. Coaches help their clients improve their performance, which is a tangible result in exchange for the investment of buying access to their time and expertise.

The ROI for coaching has been studied extensively and studies have reported a return on investment of anywhere from 5 to 7 times the initial investment.

“The results tell us that corporations commonly identify their best and brightest and use coaching to turn them into more effective leaders. Coaches improve executive behaviors by pinpointing blind spots, altering management styles, and keeping careers on track.” Source: carolrossandassociates.com

Some of the benefits of coaching can include:

Individual benefits from career coaching

• Set and achieve goals
• Work through challenges more effectively
• Increased confidence
• Achieve better work/ life balance
• Improved decision making skills

Organizational benefits from executive coaching

• Increased productivity
• Better conflict resolution
• Higher employee morale
• Formalized grooming of new leadership
• Increased stakeholder loyalty

Coaching can help both individuals and companies stretch themselves and achieve much more than they ever thought possible. Having the guidance of an experienced coach can give you the confidence to attempt challenges that you might otherwise never take on. The return on investment when you hire a career coach to help you move to the next level, or when you hire an executive coach to help your company work through a challenging time can be both tangible in the measurable results you will achieve, but you will also gain many intangible results such as increased confidence and belief in your own ability.

If you are ready to consider working with a career or executive coach to help you overcome some of the challenges you are facing, contact me for an initial consultation to discuss how I can support you as you pursue your goals.

Marshall Brown, President of Marshall Brown & Associates, was recently selected as the new career coach correspondent for The Washington Post “The Career Coach Is In” blog.

“Whether someone is in the midst of a job search now, “between successes,” or considering a career change in the future, I hope each person will gain invaluable resources from reading this blog,” Brown explained.

The subscribers of “The Career Coach Is In” have expressed their excitement in corresponding with Brown and have made it quite clear that they are hungry for insight to their burning questions on interviewing, resumes, networking, and the overall job search.  Brown plans to offer just that–specific solutions and details on these topics and others.

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics just reported the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was 6.8 million,” Brown declared. “These people can use all the advice and resources they can get, and I plan to give them all I can.”

Brown is a certified career and executive coach, an entrepreneur coach, and a personal brand strategist. He is also the past board president of the Washington, DC Chapters of both the International Coach Federation and the Association of Career Professionals International.

Brown also publishes his own monthly e-newsletter called “It’s All About You!” He also writes a monthly career column for Association Trends called “Ask the Coach,” and has published articles in leading association management magazines and newsletters.

As an industry expert, his speaking engagements have attracted hundreds of association and business professionals from across the country. He can be seen on Business Week Online regarding the benefits of hiring a business/executive coach.

 “Those who are looking for unbiased, professional advice on changing careers, managing the job search as a project, or have just been laid off will definitely want to subscribe to ‘The Career Coach Is In’ to get in on the conversation,” Brown says.

For more information about Brown’s programs, visit www.mbrownassociates.com

No one has to tell you that we live and work in competitive times, and because we do, now more than ever you might want to have the guidance of someone like me who can take you from point A to point B quicker and easier than you thought possible.

• An Executive Coach is there to guide you and help you get recognized for the hard work you do.
• An Executive Coach can be a sounding board (outside of your company) for your ideas. They can objectively tell you if something is working or not working.
• An Executive Coach can brainstorm and help you come up with ideas, strategies, and techniques you can use right now to help you reach your goals at your present job.
• An Executive Coach can help you leap ahead in promotions.
• An Executive Coach not only helps you focus and takes your strengths to another new level— but also fine tunes your strengths.
• An Executive Coach can help you get through personal roadblocks that are holding you back from reaching the goals and dreams that burn in your heart!

This is why I am writing to you today… so I can help validate what is going on with your career. You see, as an Executive Coach it’s my life’s work to help show you how to “shine” within your industry and STOP being a rat on a wheel that’s not getting you where YOU want to go. Allow me to personally help you get there! Isn’t it time you invested in YOU!

Click here to read more.

86 percent of companies say they used coaching to sharpen the skills of individuals who have been identified as future organizational leaders. They also understand the value of an investment in executive coaching.

IBM has more than sixty certified coaches among its ranks. At the executive level, development feedback becomes increasingly important, more infrequent, and more unreliable. Many executives plateau in critical interpersonal and leadership skills.

An Executive Coach it’s my life’s work to help show you how to “shine” within your industry and STOP being a rat on a wheel that’s not getting you where YOU want to go. Allow me to personally help you get there! Isn’t it time you invested in YOU! Click here to find out how.