Kennedy and Company - Coaching, Leadership and Career Development, Presentations

Attract and Keep Your Best People with Coaching

By Dan Kennedy
(Written for The Washington Executive, a publication of The Washington Society of Association Executives)

There are many innovative ways to draw in and hold onto key employees and volunteers today. One of the most powerful is coaching. Described in Newsweek, Fortune, The Seattle Times and other major publications, coaching is a trend at work in organizations across Puget Sound and the nation. Managers at the University of Washington are learning coaching skills to grow their employees while companies like Starbucks are bringing in executive coaches to keep their key people energized and on track. Coaching is also starting to be used in various volunteer organizations to keep the volunteers longer while helping them become even more productive.

Why is coaching catching on? For many reasons. For managers, coaching saves time by encouraging team members to take more control and responsibility. It also increases productivity by decreasing "have to" activity and increasing "want to" proactivity and performance. For the employee/volunteer, coaching promotes loyalty by showing that the organization is invested in her development.

In other words, coaching is a key attraction and retention strategy.

But what is coaching? Simply put, it is a powerful way to assist your people to achieve their learning and performance goals. The first thing that sets coaching apart from standard management techniques is that the focus is on the individual and what he wants to accomplish. The assumption is that people know what is best for themselves and their performance on the job. (As a perk, some organizations allow coaching for people's personal lives, as well.) By giving control to the individual, he "owns" the results plus the process and is more likely to do what needs doing and be happier in the process. This doesn't mean that people are never told what to do, but it does mean that you can coach them when you want them to act more independently and to learn along the way.

Another thing that sets coaching apart is that it relies on the coach asking questions versus telling people what to do. Usually, the questions focus on goals, obstacles, options, making a plan, and finally, a commitment to action.

Coaching is also often employed to leverage training dollars. How often have any of us attended valuable educational sessions only to leave and never apply what we've been told? Such a scenario is much less likely with coaching. As a follow-up strategy, it becomes a powerfully effective tool to help trainees to actually implement what has been taught.

Coaching is simple, but it isn't easy. If you want to do it yourself, then reading, training and practice are important. For starters, an excellent book on coaching is "Coaching for Performance" by John Whitmore (Nicolas Breally Publishing, 1998). Several individuals and companies now provide coaches training and can be located through The International Coach Federation (888/236-9262 or www.coachfederation.org).

The ICF is also a good place to start if you are looking for a coach for yourself or your staff. As you shop, here are some things to keep in mind:

Experience: How long has the person been a coach? What kinds of people and organizations has he or she worked with? Can you get referrals?
Approach: There are several schools of coaching. To which one does your coach subscribe? For the most part, they differ in how directive they believe the coach should be.
Certification: Is the coach a member of and certified through the International Coach Federation or an ICF accredited school? Many people are calling themselves coaches today with no formal education in the field.
Connection: Most important, how do you feel about this person? Do you think you can work together? Is he or she someone you can grow to trust? How well do the two of you communicate? What is the quality of your connection?

However you decide to bring coaching into your organization, by doing so, you will be taking a significant step toward making your workplace a more inviting place for the people you want to attract, and those you want to keep.

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For more information, please contact Kennedy & Company at:
206-783-6829 or info@ResultsThatMatter.com