ccmc-mba tab 1 coaching foundations 2012-11 · tab!1! unit!1,!page!...

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© 2001-‐2013 Susan Britton Whitcomb For exclusive use by participants in the CCMC-‐MBA Track Program. Reproduction or transmission of any part of this work by any means including photocopying, without express permission of publisher, is prohibited.

Coaching Foundations Unit 1,

C O A C H I N G F O U N D A T I O N S

KEY POINTS

• Coaching uses a unique communication style to increase awareness and action that maximizes people’s potential for success.

• The International Coach Federation, the world’s leading association for professional coaching, advocates 11 core coaching competencies as essential to professional coaching.

• There are distinct differences between coaching, consulting, and counseling.

WHAT IS COACHING?

DEFINITIONS OF PROFESSIONAL COACHING FROM INDUSTRY LEADERS

International Coach Federation (ICF)

ICF describes professional coaching as “an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Ultimately, coaches help people improve their performances and enhance the quality of their lives. “Coaches are trained to listen, to observe and to customize their approach to individual client needs. They seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client; they believe the client is naturally creative and resourceful. The coach's job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has. “A coach should:

• Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve;

• Encourage client self-‐discovery;

• Elicit client-‐generated solutions and strategies; and

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• Hold the client responsible and accountable.”

(Note: although the ICF definition uses the term “client” for the “person being coached,” since the majority of people you work with are students, we’ll use the term “student(s)” to describe the person being coached, recognizing that you may also be coaching an alumnus, or perhaps even colleagues, direct reports, and so on.)

In short, coaching moves people forward faster. It accelerates progress by providing greater focus and awareness of choice. It concentrates on where students are now and what they are willing to do to get where they want to be in the future. Results are a matter of the student's intentions, choices and actions, supported by the coach's efforts and application of the coaching process.

Madeleine Homan Blanchard and Linda J. Miller of The Ken Blanchard Companies

Blanchard and Miller offer this definition of coaching from their book Coaching in Organizations: Best Coaching Practices from the Ken Blanchard Companies: “Coaching is a deliberate process using focused conversations to create an environment for individual growth, purposeful action, and sustained improvement.”

Laura Whitworth, et al., Co-‐Active Coaching

The authors of Co-‐Active Coaching note that “Professional/personal coaching addresses the whole person—with an emphasis on producing action and uncovering learning that can lead to more fulfillment, more balance, and a more effective process for living.”

PROFESSIONAL COACHING

The experience of being coached is often life-‐changing. Coaching shifts people from a “problem state” or a “status quo mentality” into a “possibility perspective” where awareness, curious exploration, the power of choice, and intentional action lead to the claiming of new and meaningful territory—a win!

The International Coach Federation (ICF) Coaching Credentials: ICF has designated three levels of coaching credentials for those pursuing certification in professional coaching:

• Associate Certified Coach (ACC): requires 60 hours of ICF-‐approved coach training, 10 hours of mentor coaching, and 100 hours of documented coaching (not counseling or consulting) time with individuals or groups (1 hour with a group equals 1 hour of coaching time and is not tied to the number of people in the group).

• Professional Certified Coach (PCC): requires 125 hours of ICF-‐approved coach training, 10 hours of mentor coaching, and 750 hours of documented coaching (not counseling or consulting) time with individuals or groups.

• Master Certified Coach (MCC): requires 200 hours of ICF-‐approved coach training and 2,500 hours of documented coaching (not counseling or consulting) time with individuals or groups.

Note: The program you are currently taking from The Academies/Career Coach Academy counts toward 30 hours of ICF-‐approved coach training. Those who complete mentor coaching with an Academies’ mentor coach also receive 5 hours of mentor coaching credit toward the 10-‐hour mentor coaching requirement.

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External and Internal Wins

Students typically approach coaching in order to change some external circumstance, whether that be clarifying a career direction, strategizing a job search campaign, making connections with networking contacts, preparing for interviews, negotiating salary, or preparing for a promotion or advancement. They may also appear when they’ve encountered a setback—an internship didn’t go the way they thought it would, an offer didn’t come through, their networking efforts are stalled, or the marketplace is giving them feedback that they are not as competitive as they’d hoped they’d be.

Interestingly, what students often end up taking away from coaching is not only the external “win” they were after originally, but much more. That “much more” is internal—where there is an increase of their awareness of choice, knowledge of how to get what they want, and capacity to become all (or more than) they hoped they could be.

The internal win is then built on, and leveraged over and over again, so that they know what to tap into when the next challenge comes up. These wins create a sense of wellbeing that can spill over into every area of life. There

can be euphoria in the wins, as well as peace and a quickened sense of optimism and resiliency when life brings challenging times.

CAREER COACHING

Career coaching pairs two disciplines—professional coaching and career management—in the context of a powerful and productive relationship. Coaches use deliberate conversation to increase the student’s awareness, options, and actions that will lead to the student owning his/her career success. Although each student will have his or her own definition of career success, the essence of success is typically related to being “radically rewarded and enthusiastically engaged in work that adds value to others.”

Mindset + Mechanics: The M&Ms

We’ve all experienced the rush of an “ah-‐ha moment.” Although the insight can create a high, it doesn’t produce results. Awareness must be paired with action. Awareness without action is like a car that’s fully gassed but has no driver to press down the accelerator.

Success requires both mindset + mechanics, or the M&Ms. The mindset is the awareness and beliefs; the mechanics is the type and frequency of strategic action.

For example, if a student is shy about networking to boost her career, the new, empowering mindset might be:

• “I didn’t realize it but I’ve already started my networking in the way I talk to my classmates and professors … and I can use that approach now when speaking with alumni”; or

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• “I am committed to finding a way to bring value to this relationship.”

The mechanics might be strategies to increase “natural” networking, for example:

• Serving in a leadership role in a group/association that requires reaching out and inviting business leaders from the student’s target industry to speak at upcoming events; or

• Participating in an industry-‐relevant LinkedIn group that allows for starting discussions, joining discussions, asking questions, sharing relevant items of interest, and so on.

THE ESSENTIALS OF COACHING

COACHING CORE COMPETENCIES

International Coach Federation (ICF) lists 11 core coaching competencies at its Web site (www.coachfederation.org). These competencies are used as the foundation for the ICF credentialing process. The core competencies are grouped into four clusters (shown in items A., B., C., and D. below).

INTERNATIONAL COACH FEDERATION’S

11 CORE COMPETENCIES AT-‐A-‐GLANCE

A. SETTING THE FOUNDATION B. CO-‐CREATING THE RELATIONSHIP

1. Meeting Ethical Guidelines & Professional Standards

2. Establishing the Coaching Agreement

3. Establishing Trust & Intimacy with the Client

4. Coaching Presence

C. COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY D. FACILITATING LEARNING AND RESULTS

5. Active Listening

6. Powerful Questioning

7. Direct Communication

8. Creating Awareness

9. Designing Actions

10. Planning and Goal Setting

11. Managing Progress and Accountability

In addition to the ICF Competencies, you will find the ICF Code of Ethics at this URL: http://www.coachfederation.org/about-‐icf/ethics/icf-‐code-‐of-‐ethics/

Note: Each of the 11 competencies will be reviewed separately in the weeks to come.

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COACHING AND OTHER DISCIPLINES

THE VIEW OF THE COACH, CONSULTANT, AND COUNSELOR

Although lines sometimes blur between these disciplines, in general, the following table highlights some differences between coaching, consulting, and counseling.

Coaching Consulting Counseling

Professional’s Role

• Coach is a partner and acts as facilitator/guide

• Consultant is an expert

• Counselor is specialist

Professional’s View of Student

• Student is naturally creative/resourceful and has his/her own answers

• Student is in need of help, advice, answers

• Student has issues that need resolved

Perspective • Possibilities perspective

• Problem perspective

• Pathology perspective

Orientation • Progress-‐oriented; exterior & interior knowledge*

• Problem/solution-‐ oriented; exterior knowledge

• Problem-‐oriented; interior knowledge

Process • Coach inquires • Consultant assesses • Counselor delves

Student’s Role • Student journey of personal discovery & increased capacity for learning & action

• Student acceptance of consultant’s findings & advice

• Student relies on counselor’s interpretations & clinical knowledge

Professional’s Focus

• Coach creates environment for student’s independent ongoing change

• Consultant is needed for solutions as new problems arise

• Counselor is needed to resolve past issues

Responsible Party

• Student has personal responsibility for future

• Student or others partially responsible for past

• Others partially responsible for past

Primary Time Orientation

• Present & Future • Past & Future • Past & Present

* Exterior and interior knowledge: Exterior knowledge can be described as the tangibles that we can experience with our five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Interior knowledge can be described as intuition, reflection to create new ideas, and subconscious thought.

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THE VIEW OF THE STUDENT: EXPECTATIONS

In coaching, the mantra is “The student has the answers, the student has the answers, the student has the answers!” The student, however, typically approaches the career coach expecting answers! How do you reconcile this?

• Set Expectations: Some options for setting expectations include talking openly about expectations, or creating a written agreement that both coach and student sign off on. The “pledge” that follows was adapted from Career Coach Academy forms by Career Services Coach, John Hutchings, of North Carolina State University.

• Remind the Student: The student may ask you at times, “What should I do?” It may be appropriate to respond first with something like this: “What’s your thinking been around that?” If the student can share thoughts, start from those. If not, consider offering ‘best practices’ or ‘sequencing’ (e.g., “Most students do X first, then Y, then Z … let’s talk about X”). It’s fine to share resources, industry insider info, best practices, or potential new ideas to pursue; just be cautious to not make choices for the student. For example, “My pledge to you is to share all the resources and wisdom appropriate to this situation. Your work is to trust your instincts and analysis in order to make choices that are right for you. So what’s the courageous and capable part of you nudging you to do?”

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A BLENDED APPROACH

Although “The student has the answers,” there will certainly be times when the coach has the resources, experiences, and ideas that will be of value to the student.

THE SANDWICH TECHNIQUE

In the “sandwich technique,” as the name implies, your resources/experiences/ideas are sandwiched within the framework of the student’s ideas, as follows: start by asking the student what ideas they have; if they want or need additional ideas, then sandwich your suggestions/resources/advice as warranted; and finally, ask what the student wants to do with the information, whether it be ignore the information completely, incorporate it, or modify in some way—this way, the student “owns” the ideas and will be far more likely to take action on them. For example,

This pledge will help you understand our obligations to each other so that we may work well together.

Your career coach pledges to…

1. Be committed to you, your career, and your best interests. Your coach will offer a wealth of strategic resources to help you be the architect of your career, as well as challenge you and encourage you to explore new avenues of thought.

2. Support you in clarifying your goals and what’s right for you at this juncture in your life, providing cutting-‐edge career resources, helping you craft personal marketing materials (e.g. resumes, letters), structuring action, and inspiring commitment and motivation.

3. Communicate clearly with you. It is extremely important that we both “get it” and completely understand what is being said. If there is a lack of clarity over any issue, that needs to be questioned immediately. Your coach will be direct, as well as respectful of you in making observations.

4. Make requests of you. It is your option to accept or reject those requests, or modify to make them work for you better.

5. Keep our communication confidential between us. However, in certain circumstances, you understand and agree that your coach has the discretion to share with other MBA staff and faculty when appropriate.

6. Honor the “coaching alliance.” Power is granted to the coaching relationship, not the coach.

I pledge to…

1. “Own” my career success and take responsibility for choices that will make my career and life better. I am a self-‐reliant MBA. My coach is a strategist, a resource, and an encouraging presence, but I am not dependent on him/her and am ultimately accountable for my decisions and actions and results.

2. Pursue a “world-‐class” career for ME – one that is perfectly suited to my strengths, personal values, and needs… one that will give me the recognition and rewards that I desire.

3. Make a serious commitment to this process, do the work necessary between coaching sessions, and provide myself with adequate time and a sense of urgency to progress. Time devoted to my career is an investment in ME! The benefits multiply themselves for a lifetime.

4. Remember that networking—one of the cornerstones of career management—takes time to develop trust, and will apply the “givers gain” motto to my networking with alumni, fellow students, colleagues, and others.

5. Honor the “coaching alliance.” Power is granted to the coaching relationship, not to the coach.

Coach: _____________________________ Student: ___________________________________

Reprinted with permission from Career Coach Academy.

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• Inquire About Student’s Ideas: “What ideas have you had about ______________ (which options would be a best fit; how to network into a company to uncover the hidden job market; how to prepare for a case study interview; how to negotiate salary; etc.)?”

• Share Your Ideas: After the student shares her ideas, if you sense that there is additional information that might support the student’s agenda, say, “May I offer some additional ideas/resources?” (If yes, then) “It’s been my experience that ______________ (x, y, z have been effective; or, a recent trend in job search is _______________; or, a website you might want to check out is www.fillintheblank.com).” Or, you might say, “As you say that, something else that comes to mind is the possibility of ___________.” Or, “We often see that recruiters from those marquee companies are looking for ______________ (candidates who have x, y, z to be most marketable).”

• Inquire About Student’s Thoughts Relative to Your Ideas: After sharing your ideas, then ask, “As you think about that, what additional ideas come up for you?” Or “How might those resources/ideas be woven in with the things that are already working for you?” Or “Which of these ideas would give you better momentum?”

If the student suggests something that might harm her job search (e.g., the student shares with you that she plans to ask the hiring manager what the salary is for the job she’s interviewing for right up front before learning anything else about the opportunity; or, the student shares that he wants a list of alumni contacts and you suspect his approach will be inappropriately ‘transactional’ as opposed to ‘relational’), offer your insights and then ask about other possibilities for handling the concern.

For example: “I hear your need to get the specifics on salary. We get complaints from our employers that when that question is asked too soon, it’s interpreted that you only care about the salary. How might you get some salary info without jeopardizing that all-‐important first impression … whether it be via a salary website or networking contacts or other ideas that come to mind?” Or, in the second example: “You’re right that networking is fundamental in the search. How you approach those contacts is also crucial. Our alumni tell us that when they receive calls that start with ‘do you have any openings or leads,’ it makes a bad impression. That then makes the alumni hesitant to take calls from you again, as well as your classmates. So how can you protect your reputation and approach with ‘open hands,’ offering some form of value?”

INTERLACING CONVERSATION

ICF advocates a model that believes students are “creative and resourceful.” Part of that creativity and resourcefulness is manifested in the student’s wisdom to reach out to you as an experienced career services professional. In your commitment to honoring the ICF competencies, don’t hold back your own creativity and resourcefulness.

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Interlace your conversation with appropriate ideas, experiences, and intuition. For example, this first interchange below between coach and a part-‐time student demonstrates how the coach is holding back his wisdom when working with a student:

Student: I want to use my MBA when I’m finished to shift into a corporate marketing role but I’m having trouble getting my managers to introduce me to our company’s corporate marketing contacts. I get the sense that they don’t really want me to shift from my sales role, most likely because I produce like the proverbial “Golden Goose” and it will hurt their numbers if I move into a marketing role.

Coach: What do you want to do about that?

Student: I’m not sure.

Coach: What ideas come to mind?

This type of interchange on the part of the coach may end up frustrating the student.

Next, review the following coaching excerpt where the coach interlaces the conversation with her ideas, experiences, and intuition.

Coach: So your manager’s hesitant to help. Understandable, given your “Golden Goose” status! [smile] Kudos for being such a contributor. [pause] So what are some other ways to connect with marketing people at your corporate office?

Student: I’ve tried looking them up in the corporate directory but it doesn’t give me much information other than their names and titles.

Coach: How many of them are on LinkedIn or using LinkedIn groups?

Student: That’s an interesting thought. A lot of my colleagues are on LinkedIn. I should check that out.

Coach: Right, so jot that idea down and we can come back to it. Where else would you have a chance to meet them, whether sales meetings or…

Student: They don’t normally come to the sales meetings.

Coach: And, out of curiosity, just as another potential idea, what kind of projects will you be doing in your upcoming marketing classes … something where you might be able to involve them and be of value to them and the company in some way?

Student: I will be needing to do a group project… perhaps I could …

In purist coaching circles, some of the coaching questions immediately above might be considered suggestive questions (sometimes referred to as “que-‐gestions”) and judged inappropriate. With a blended approach, you can ask these types of questions, provided you also remember two important factors.

Notice the relevancy of this first question: “What are some other ways to connect…?

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• Never Insist on Your Ideas Being the Silver Bullet: Hold your ideas loosely, as springboard material to further the conversation. Let them go if the student doesn’t warm to them.

• Leave the Decision Up to the Student: The student is the one who then decides what he/she is going to do with the ideas you bring up.

WRAP-UP & APPLICATION

• What hesitations, if any, do you have about the statement that “students are naturally creative and resourceful?” On a scale of 1-‐10 (1=low, 10=high), where would you rate your belief that students are “naturally creative and resourceful”? How might your rating be impacting your relationships with students, whether positively or negatively?

• When it comes to the Mindset + Mechanics (The M&Ms), where do you see your students typically focusing most of their time and attention: mindset or mechanics? How would you help increase their awareness to find the right balance?

• Which of the models discussed on page 5 (the table with the grey and white rows) are you most familiar with: coaching, consulting, or counseling? From the table on page 5, choose one of the items under the Coaching column that catches your interest, and jot down some ideas about how you will increase your awareness of this item in the coming week. For example, if you choose from the Orientation row, “Progress-‐oriented; exterior & interior knowledge,” your action item might involve asking students questions that increase their ability to tap into interior knowledge.

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• Again, working for the table on page 5, describe 3 differences between coaching and consulting that stand out for you.

• Review “The View of the Student: Expectations.” How might this affect the way you will set expectations with students in the future?

• Review the Sandwich Technique. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-‐10 (1=low, 10=high) with respect to the “bread” in the sandwich, meaning the opening question that first inquires of the student (one side of the sandwich), and the wrap-‐up question that hands control back over to the student (the other side of the sandwich). How will you experiment with this technique this coming week? In what student situations might this technique be especially helpful?

ccmc-mba tab 1 coaching foundations 2012-11 · tab!1! unit!1,!page!...

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