Call +61 403 600 248

International Coach Academy

Coach Training School

  • Regions
    • USA & Latin America
    • Canada
    • Asia
    • Australia & NZ
    • United Kingdom
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • India
    • Middle East
  • Language
    • English
    • Italiano
    • 课程选择
  • Contact
  • OUR SCHOOL
    • Training Methodology
    • Our Story
    • Faculty
  • PROGRAMS
    • Advanced (150hrs)
    • Professional (125 hrs)
    • Vocational (76 hrs)
    • Bridging (BYO prior training)
    • Short Courses (FlipIt)
    • Alumni Membership
  • STUDENT LIFE
    • Learning Online
    • Flexible Schedules
    • Your Coaching Model
    • Your Coaching Niche
    • FlipIt Coaching Framework
    • Business Building
    • Student Support
  • COMMUNITY
    • ICA Alumni
    • Graduate Yearbooks
  • RESOURCES
    • What is Coaching?
    • Certification & Credential Guide
    • Coaching Power Tools
    • Coaching Models
    • Coaching Research
    • Library
    • ICA Blog
  • Join Login

Articles, Case Studies & Interviews

You are here: Home » COACH PORTFOLIOS » Research Papers » Research Paper: Perception is Reality

Research Paper: Perception is Reality

2014/08/08

research-paper_post_Kimberly-Parrott Research Paper By Kimberly Parrott
(Executive Coach, UNITED STATES)

How has the portrayal of executive coaching evolved over the last decade?

Background

Executive coaching is a young industry still taking shape. It derives from sports coaching where athletes achieved significant performance gains when the coaching focus was on the athlete’s “inner game”, or psychological mindset. The business world took notice and hired savvy sports coaches to work with their executives. Over time, executive coaching became its own niche.[1]

How have perceptions about executive coaching evolved over the last decade? How is it currently being portrayed in the business community? What better source for gauging that evolution than the Harvard Business Review (HBR), which has positioned itself as

the leading destination for smart management thinking.

I have selected five articles from the HBR magazine and five blogs from the HBR website that span the last decade as a way to assess if there has been a noticeable shift in how executive coaching is portrayed and perceived in business. I will briefly summarize each article and blog in chronological order and then present any patterns that I have observed. I will also describe what I think are the implications for executive coaching based on these trends.

Synopses

1. Article: The Very Real Dangers of Executive Coaching, Steven Berglas, June 2002

Steven Berglas is a doctor in psychology as well as an executive coach. He sounds the alarm about the difference between “problem executives” whose behaviors can be modified and “executives with problems” who would best be served by psychotherapy. Berglas’s concern is that too many executive coaches don’t have a background in psychology and therefore may fail in identifying clients suffering from serious mental health disorders. He argues for psychological screening for prospective executive coachees as well as a review of coaching outcomes by independent mental health professionals.

2. Article: Behave Yourself, conversation with Marshall Goldsmith Oct 2002

Marshall Goldsmith, widely considered a guru in executive coaching, discusses the most common behavioral issues he sees in executives: an obsession with winning coupled with a focus on winning oneself vs. making others winners. He provides pointers on what to look for in hiring an executive coach. Good coaches specialize but at the same time are facilitative rather than consultative. It is the executive’s responsibility to make the change, not the coach’s. The “real” coaches are the people surrounding the executive. The measurement of coaching success is in the perception of behavioral change as seen by those people—customers, colleagues, friends and family.

3. Article: Coaching the Alpha Male, Kate Ludeman & Eddie Erlandson, May 2004

Kate Ludeman and Eddie Erlandson lay out the challenges and opportunities of coaching alpha males. The very qualities that led to their success (i.e. confidence, intelligence, action oriented, direct, unemotional) make these individuals difficult to work with. Alpha males can be excellent midlevel managers where they are managing processes, but as they move up into the executive ranks, they need to transition into leading people. Coaching the alpha male requires a focus on results, an analytic orientation and a direct style of communication. 360 feedback reports are an effective way to get the alpha male’s attention. Feedback should be hard hitting both quantitatively and through verbatim quotes. Ultimately the client’s curiosity and competitive instincts need to be engaged to get his commitment. While there are many successful female leaders with strong personalities, their profiles don’t generally include all of the alpha male attributes; they are more likely to use the “velvet hammer” vs. direct intimidation. Coaching can help the alpha male grow as he learns to admit vulnerability, accept accountability, connect with underlying emotions, balance critical with positive feedback and become aware of behavioral patterns.

4. Article: Wild West of Executive Coaching, Stratford Sherman & Alyssa Freas, November 2004

Stratford Sherman and Alyssa Freas describe the landscape of executive coaching in 2004 as

chaotic, largely unexplored, and fraught with risk, yet immensely promising.

Solid data regarding outcomes was lacking since companies had only started working with executive coaching in the 1980s. The authors continue on to describe why executive coaching works as a customized way to engage senior leaders as individuals. Sherman and Freas describe the “coaching triangle” which reflects the relationship between the coach, the coachee and the client that pays the bills. A rigorous contracting and iterative action-planning process that includes all three parties helps to ensure quality results. The authors stress the need to qualify each part of the triangle. Successful coaches embody

acute perception, diplomacy, sound judgment, and the ability to navigate conflicts with integrity.

The coachee needs to be motivated, coachable, supported by the organization and worthy of the coaching investment cost. Finally, the paying client needs to command top-level support for the coaching process. The authors  stress that quality results depend on being able to measure coaching goals. They describe how they have created custom mini-360 assessments particular to specific coaching goals. They close by advocating for the value of coaching an organization’s entire senior executive team, with individual coaching relationships serving that larger strategic objective.

5. Blog: Political Correctness and the Executive Coach, Gill Corkinday, March 21, 2007

Gill Corkinday describes facilitating a feedback session between five executives from five very different cultures. To her surprise the exchange went from a collegial conversation to a minefield on account of metaphors that crossed the lines of political correctness around gender, ethnicity, looks, age and religion. Corkinday found herself intervening to control the damage by substantially rephrasing the feedback. She recalls the definition of PC: “a term used to describe language or behavior which is intended, or said to be intended, to provide a minimum of offense, particularly to racial, cultural, or other identity groups.” She realizes that despite her earlier resistance to the censure of the PC movement, it has its place, and must also be balanced with the need to honor cultural differences.

Pages: 1 2

Filed Under: Research Papers Tagged With: executive coach, Kimberly Parrott, United States Coach

Search

How We Train

 

Read More About e-Learning at ICA

Course Guide

Fill out my online form.

Categories

International Office

PO Box 3190 Mentone East,
Melbourne AUSTRALIA, 3194ABN: 83 094 039 577

Contact Us Online

Ask Us A Question

Click HERE

Terms

Terms and condition
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · International Coach Academy ·

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT