Executive Coaching Process
Beginning
The beginning has 5 key steps:
1. Introductory meeting with sponsor.
2. Follow up meeting with sponsor to establish expectations and to discuss the client, his/her development areas and the process in more detail.
3. Initial meeting with client with four purposes: establish expectations; is there any “chemistry”; where does the client see his/her development areas; how will the coaching work?
4. Establish outline goals for the programme.
5. Refinement of goals following assessments like 360˚ assessments and values questionnaires.
Middle
The “middle” of the process is the bulk of the programme. The coaching uses several models.
Whilst each session may have specific sub-goals, the overall thrust of the programme is guided by the main goals agreed at the outset.
At the half way stage, at least part of a session is devoted to an assessment of progress so far. Three questions are considered:
1. What progress has been made towards the programme goals?
2. Is the progress satisfactory and if not what can be changed?
3. Are the goals still valid?
Ending
It is vital to ensure that the client is well prepared for the end of the programme.
In the final sessions, we discuss the tools and techniques that the client has developed and how he/she can continue using them. This ensures that the changes are sustainable.
Assessment
After the final session, the success of the coaching programme is measured. If a 360˚ assessment was used before the programme started, it can be repeated to assess what progress the client has made. Alternatively we may use a “hard” goal, such as profitability improvement in a business unit.
Find out how this works in practice - read some of Create the Future's coaching success stories.