COVER STORY

ht buflesye
wth coaching
Executive coaching impacts organizational transformation in terms
of minimizing the learning curve, and empowering not only the
current leaders, but, even the leaders of tomorrow... thereby
accelerating business results!

he situation goes.. .Are you

T
an executive? Do you have
a goal, but, don’t know how
to get there? Get an
executive coach is what the
popular advice given and
approach taken by industry
professionals since coaching is
designed to improve the thinking and
behavior of senior/top leadership
talent and even high potentials and
managers on the verge of taking a
leadership position. In fact, today,
coaching is sought after by even the
most successful executives in their field
- those who want to equip themselves
with highly specialized leadership skills
needed for meeting today’s business
challenges and also to get better at
their business game.
The question is ‘hat are the issues
where coaching is required, how does
it help leaders, managers and high
potentials in acquiring highly
specialized skills as leaders, which not
only builds a coaching culture in the
organization, but, gets the expected or
desired ROl turning it into a tool for
organizational transformation.
Executive coaching is a specialized
form of development coaching. It has
evolved over the years. Sometimes it
is seen as a separate field and

20 • January 2011
 COVER STORY

the
matter projects. Thus, she changed her personal PR with
sometimes it is seen as a form of consulting. No influen ce future promo tions.
ng people who could
how many interpretations come up executive coachi is
ives who want to develo p as Apart from several leadership issues, coaching
is a useful tool for execut for exam ple, like
many of effectual in times of change,
leaders. Some of the issues that challenge for
discus s with promotions, new assignments, projects that go on
todays top-performing leaders that they perio ds and have lots of ups and dow ns,
d on longer
their executive coaches includes remaining focuse new
; esca latin g respo nsib ility for follow - economic slowdowns, and so on. In case of
key priorities tions while one is confid ent of his!
res like assignments/promo
through; developing skills in specific sphe take on new tasks, but, before plungi ng
politics her skills to
communication or decision making; handling them one may need an inde pend ent sounding
with into
in the organization; thinking strategically; dealing of
keep ing away from burn out; hand ling board that would aid in achieving a new level
stres s and larly when close confid ants have
yee performance, particu
different teams and coping with sensitive emplo sion to
people ; negoti ating; inspiri ng new started reporting to the executive. Also, succes
situations; influencing require d earlier;
work! a new role needs skills that were not
ideas/creative thinking; personal career planning; in bringin g out those skills and
to so here a coach aids
life balance concerns, or dealing with issues related
me and sharpens them.
personality. To ensure that executives overco
any or all these aspects , coache s establi sh a
excel in
series of steps in defining clear goals and lead execut
ives
ent
Building a coaching culture
design and implem and
in the direction where they can
For Organi zations are made of collective (conscious
action plans need ed to accom plish their goals. es, values , and behavi ours
in a unconscious) beliefs, attitud
example, a star performer at the director level that define how are things done in the organization.
ng
multinational company would be pissed off on anythi Leaders of the organization, therefore, set the
tone,
ected ineffec tivenes s, som eone missin g a provid ing role
like susp
’, pace and expectations for the culture
deadline by a few minutes, a colleague who is ‘dense models of what is expect ed, desired and tolerat ed in
n,
or a team member who disagrees with him. In additio the organization. Thus, to create a coachi ng culture
‘the
he would refer the management as ‘them’ or coaches provide companies with leverage to
shift the
agem ent bozos’ even though he was a membe r of ual behavi ours to
man
is not a organizational culture and individ
the senior management team acting like he create an adaptive workp lace culture dedica ted to the
first
part of the decisions being made. The coach constant proc ess of learn ing and deve lopm ent.
the directo r’s usual hot butto ns quickl y cultu re. Srid har
identified Coaching thrives in such kind of
that
following up with effective strategies for extending Ganesh, the director HR of Murug appa Group says,
calm
nano-second of anger to a five-second silence for “We have adopted a two pronged appr
oach to
the
thinking. Also, the coach helped him in learning coaching -one aspe ct is aime d at putti ng in place
tion betwee n the brief pleasu re of pulling down resourc e and the
distinc appropriate beliefs about our people
age of
people with anger and the longer-term advant way we manage and inspire them as beliefs deter mine
and
winning people over with understanding behaviour and hence this is a pre-req uisite before we
e of
perseverance. And to even appreciate that patienc coachi ng into play.” Second ly, the compa ny develops
spite of put
his organization was probably much lower, in its own internal capabilities in coaching like in some
of
directo r’s beha vior may be a r
his intelligence. The their businesses the com pany has identif ied senio
keeps
manifestation of childhood learning that anger people and got them train ed formal ly and accred ited
and
danger away and striking out first with blame as coaches for coaching leaders. Gane
sh, says,
things, but, realizin g this
anger is the way to deal with “Coaching is an integ ral part of our Lead ership
mes
behavior is counterproductive, as an adult, someti Developm ent Prog ramm ers. We belie ve, for the
er
becomes painful. In another case a marketing manag organi zation and the individ ual to move toge ther in a
she
had set an ambition of becoming a CEO before journey of symbiotic growth, we need to provid
e a
unable to do anythin g in reachin g
was 40 years, but, was robust support system . At Mur ugap pa this supp ort
ed
towards her goal. The problem was she was perceiv syste m is built on two legs one is throu gh the
in
to be ‘too good’ by everyone and she had trouble
-

through
re perform ance. Also, she would supervising manager directly and the other is
challenging medioc the coach. The employee with potenti al to he unlock ed,
h
seek a consensus every time for everything. Throug the superv ising manag er and the coach work toge ther
fear
coaching, the lady learnt to recognize and face her in a triadic relationship in unison to ensure that
growth
to see that she was depend ing on
of being disliked and goals are met and an actiona ble develo pment plan is
ng
only one way of managing conflict. In the coachi put in place. This proces s helps high potenti als, i.e.
did
sessions she thought hard at whether she really es to be able to perform bette r and also realize
have coache
want the top job and what it would cost her to
practic ed variou s meth ods of dealing with their potential.”
it. She even The book ‘Riding the Tiger: Leader Through
into a top positio n
conflict and understood that being ept of
t it to Learning in Turbulent Times’ speaks of the conc
was not as a big mission she had earlier though from codify ing the
this a “conscious culture” which comes
be and she did not really want that role and that en, and unwrit ten behavi ors
even written, spoken, unspok
ambition had been shaped for her by others. She come abou t over time in an organi zation.
key that have
realized that her real strength was in directing

January2011 • 21
HUMAN CAPITAL U wvw.hurnancapitaionJine corn
COVER STORY
Leaders must continuously influence what to retain,
eliminate, and add to the culture. “In the absence of
this conscious effort, organizations end up suffering
from ‘accidental cultures’. Coaching helps leaders to
recognize their influence on the culture and to shift
the culture. For example, in a culture that ‘accidently’
spends most of its time telling people what they have
done wrong, coaching influences leaders to consciously
reverse this to gain the tremendous benefits that comes
from strengths,” says, Priscilla D. Nelson, president &
CEO of Nelson Cohen Global Consulting. Thus, she
feels it is important for the leader to realize that culture
is fluid and how much impact each individual has on
the culture.
Also, an organization is a way to achieve business
results through people, in the present context,
organizations are more interconnected than they were
ever before. People from diverse backgrounds
(continents, credentials, competencies, choices and
complexities) are now connected to perform complex
tasks and what they need to succeed is one unifying
challenging yet enabling environment for them to thrive
and grow. “This is accomplished by creating a sustaining
coaching culture in the organization. A true coaching
culture across the organization renders it more dynamic
to respond to the ever changing business climate. Hence
successful organizations realize the power and potential
of ‘coaching as a tool for organizational
transformation’,” avers Bhaskar Natarajan, principal
organizational transformation at Infosys Consulting.
In order to build a coaching culture the coach has
to know the different models and which model will suit
which organization. For example, a behavior-based
coaching approach is significant in setting up a coaching
culture. Through this coaches remove certain
behaviors, habits or attitudes that are restricting personal
or organizational potential: they vigorously endorse
some existing or absent behaviors, habits or attitudes
that work to enhance achievement; escalate the
probability of effectively applying continuous changes
in the organization, either in the context of a new
process like knowledge management initiative company-
wide, or reorganizing a division of the organization.
Also, this approach decreases the learning curve and
time to roll out any new system thereby enhancing the
return on investment radically. It also takes employees
buy-in ahead of normal understanding towards an
expressive and sustainable behavioral change that will
generate efficient results and will have fulfilled
employees.
“Yatha raja-tatha praja” which means a leader who
is future focused, solution oriented, who can co-create
vision, overcome his self limiting behaviors, empower
his team can actually create a coaching culture. S.V.
Balaji, the head of South, agency and alliances, IDBI
Federal Life Insurance Co. Ltd. prefers to adhere to
the GROW model. Like any model of coaching it is
focused on getting the coachee see, believe and work
towards the future he/she wants and in that context a
discussion structured around GROW model is very
impactful feels Balaji. Even Symphony Services
22 • January 2011
Corporation follows the GROW model where G stands
for Goals, R stands for Reality, 0 stands for Options
and W stands for Will. C. Mahalingam, executive vice
president and chief people officer of Symphony Services
explains how the model works: “Once a coaching
contract is established, the coach helps the coachee to
determine what he or she intends to accomplish from
the coaching relationship (Goal phase). Then, the coach
and the coachee investigate the current situation
(Reality phase). In the next stage, the coach and
coachee explore alternative courses of action/
behaviours (Options stage) and finally, they invest time
in converting the discussions into decisions (Will stage).”
Further he says, “Organizational transformation takes
time. He expects that over the next few years he and
other coaches will have created a climate of coaching
in Symphony and institutionalized coaching as a
leadership competence across the company.” Coaching
in Symphony started four-five years ago when identified
internal coaches were trained in coaching practices as
-
an exclusive initiative offered for development of top
talent. “When one creates a ‘leaderful’ organization, it
impacts other capabilities such as speed, execution,
focus and learning across the organization. Hence,
coaching is a transformation enabler while other
capabilities listed here become transformation drivers,”
elucidates Mahalingam. Coaching impacts the culture
of an organization in many ways. “Firstly, it makes
- helping relationships strengthen. Second, it makes a
big picture visible to everyone; third, people strengthen
their people management capabilities; fourth, it
removes the hurdles for implementation through
infusing a dose of bias for action. Therefore, the impact
comes in many forms. Basically, coaching when
practiced consistently it delivers a “purposeful
organization”,” says Mahalingam.
Also, coaching as a culture makes people solution
focused than problem oriented; they tend to look at
what they can do to find solution instead of waiting to
be told. Every individual approaches his work with
absolute clarity, since the onus is on the individual to
be effective in his work as coaching empowers them
and leads to an energizing atmosphere in the
organization.
Natarajan on the other hand uses ‘Coaching the
Who’ (Who/What/How coaching model), the 123! coach
model and Timothy Gallwey’s formula. He says, “These
three have worked in most of the situations. In the
Who/What/How coaching model ‘Who’ is the real
person or organization. It is the inner spirit that truly
motivates one’s life and the life of the organization.
One of the best ways to help a coachee become more
successful is to expand who he or she is. The ‘What
is typically comprised of what the coachee says he or
she wants. It is the story that is told and where that
story leads. The coach helps a coachee clarify what he
or she wants. And the ‘How’ is about how the coachee
will get what he or she truly wants, once his or her
wants are aligned with who he or she is, and what is
the clearest, more expeditious path for the coachee to
take. The key to the most successful coaching is
wwwhumancapitalonhnecom • HUMAN CAPITAL
 _____

Ii

COVER STORY

developing the how strategy,” points Natarajan. full potential”. Gallwey suggested a formula,
The 123! coach model involves Listen -Learn Performance (P) = Potential (p) Interference (i).
-

-Empower-R ecap-Action: Explaining this Natarajan Performance (P) in any activity from hitting a ball to
says, “When we listen to the coachee, we actively listen solving a complex business problem was equal to one’s
to what is being said and what potential (p) after the
isn’t being said. We allow our interference factor (i) had been
coachees to fully
themselves. Then thoroughly
express Ilecent Ifindin subtracted from the equation.
Performance rarely equals
explore the current situation or > A study by the CFI’s Mumbal chapter found potential. A little self-doubt, an
The client feels that coaching has been on the senior management erroneous assumption, the
issue.
empowered and supported and radar for some time now and 75% of the people fear of failure, was all it takes
then the coach summarizes and surveyed said coaching was discussed at leadership to greatly diminish one’s actual
confirms that both are on the meetings, but everybody wanted proof that worked. performance. I see that it is
same page. It is now the time A study by CFI’s Chennai chapter discovered true in many of the top leaders
for sound course of action. The that among the most needed skills for a CEO are today and their second layer.
third one is inspired from the interpersonal skills followed by leadership skills, work- Coaching helps them to
book ‘The Inner Game’ by life management, time management, change understand their interferences
Timothy Gallweywhich says: “In management and thinking skills. The coaching and play to their potential. This
every human endeavour there impact should reflect increased self-awareness and results in superior team
are two arenas of engagement: self-esteem, improved role effectiveness and team performance and directly
the outer and the inner. The effectiveness and heightened clarity about contributes in building an
outer game is played on an developmental goals. effective organization,” opines
external arena to overcome Natarajan. Describing further,
external obstacles to reach an (Source: Nurturing ,a culture of coaching) Natarajan says, “In my
external goal. The inner game previous organization, we had
takes place within the mind of the player and is played a dedicated team of trained in-house coaches, who
against such obstacles as fear, self-doubt, lapses in were readily available for successful executives. This
focus, and limiting concepts or assumptions. The inner team was ‘run like a business’ with clear mandate of
game is played to overcome the self-imposed obstacles providing coaching services for successful leaders. The
that prevent an individual or team from accessing their idea was to make them even more successful. Hence
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COVER STORY
coaching was a strategic tool for leadership
development and never a remedial one. We spent a lot
of time, efforts and money on building a competent
team of coaches who could demonstrate visible
difference in those whom they coached. For the first
year, the impact was measured by client’s testimonials
and not by business results. We also ran programs to
equip our HR teams with coaching skills, so that they
can handle their units effectively. We built and
distributed various success tools for managers to learn
the subtleties and nuances of manager as a coach.
(Table tops as ready reference tool kits, illustrations,
case studies, videos, list of questions to ask under
various situations, etc.) Even many face-to-face
workshops were conducted to demnystify coaching and
its application in a team setting. We explained coaching
during the leaders ‘on boarding’ programs (laterally
recruited or promoted from within). We enrolled many
into the program ‘Leader as a Coach’. This helped the
- agreement on the overall coaching goal. Sometimes
coaching team to create a large pool of trained coaches
within the organization. The coaching team was also
called in by the performance consulting team as one
of the interventions for moving the organization’s
culture from ‘order taker’ to that of ‘trusted advisor’
for our customers. The gestation period was fairly long
(2-3 years), but, a steady progress did capture the
hearts and minds of the top decision makers to invest
well in coaching.’
The key to success of any organizational coaching
initiative is choosing apt validated change models and
best practices to fit the organization’s exact
requirements.
The actual coaching
Different coaches coach in different areas of work and
even the level (executives, managers or people of high
caliber lined up for succession) whether they are
external or internal coaches. For example, Balaji
coaches mid-senior level managers and high performing
individuals on their performance aspects. He explains,
“The first step in coaching is to make the leader see the
need for coaching since most of the leaders are what
they are today because of their past actions and
behaviors, and the same actions and behaviors can act
as impediments for their future growth. 1-lence making
the leader to see the need for coaching is critical. So
Balaji starts building a coaching plan for leaders at the
time of appraisals. Then managers are put through a
three day workshop and are provided fundamental
inputs on what and how coaching is done? Thereafter,
a follow up is done in the form of fortnightly coaching
clinics where managers exchange experiences and also
a mock session is conducted with the rest of the teani
for contributing their feedback. Similarly, there is a
separate mechanism which identifies potential leaders
who are taken through coaching module to enhance
their performance. Currently, Balaji has helped in
addressing a difficult employee or overcoming a difficult
situation. Also, the company is in the process of
implementing coaching as a way of life at work. 1-le
shares one of his coaching experiences: “One of the
24 • January 2011
company’s high performing leaders was found
struggling for reasons when it came to set up a new
project. Having used to very high performance, the
failure here was leading to high stress for the individual.
Through a series of coaching conversions it came out
that the inability to delegate was his weakness which
was out of fear of failure. It also become evident he
was trying to run his agenda. Thus, in the coaching
intervention a plan was chalked out for co-creating the
objectives of his new project, involve the team in decision
making process and also loosen his grip on the situation
yet letting him remain on top of the situation by
I
identifying control mechanisms.”
Being an external coach, Natarajan, first signs a
contract which is an agreement between the coach
and his client to keep the conversation confidential
(unless it is harmful to the organization or to the other
stakeholders involved). In the second step he ensures
the HR and/or the client’s immediate ‘reporting
manager’ are involved in setting up the goal. They
make sure that the individual goals and the
organizational goals are aligned. The next step that he
uses is he decides on the frequency of the sessions.
The duration is usually 60 mm or less and the adequate
gap between two sessions for the client to take ‘action’.
Thereafter, periodic review sessions with the reporting
manager or the HR representative are conducted to
report the progress and discuss any issues relevant at
that point in time. The last step he says involves ending
the coaching relationship. After, say, six months
(depending upon achievement of the goal or contract
period) the relationship is formally closed and a report
is submitted to the HR person or the reporting manager
(the sponsor). Besides, the formalities of coaching he
shares his experience on coaching which was on
personal branding. Natarajan narrates, “One of my
clients was known as ‘Silent Subbu’ (name changed) as
he was seen more by himself, even during important
client meetings. The coaching sessions helped him to
see the pros and cons of this perception and his ability
as a leader in managing the team. He soon started
setting specific, achievable goals like, speaking up in
meetings, sharing his viewpoints during status update
calls, taking lead in brainstorming sessions and having
lunch conversations with different groups every day.
He reported back saying now people call him Super
Subbu and value his opinions/suggestions/comments
on issues they are stuck with.” The transformation that
occurred here was ‘Subbu’s’ clients and his reporting
manager saw a visible positive difference in his attitude
and the way he communicated with them.
Coaching seeks to maximize the strengths leaders
bring to work while it also focuses on making the
weaknesses irrelevant or harmless. At Symphony
coaching plans are put in place for identified leaders
and coaches, mostly identified internally. Most of the
senior leaders spend 5% to 10% of their time coaching
the promising young leaders. “While a coaching plan
benefits from scheduled hours of coaching at periodic
intervals, the key thing is to recognize that the daily
www nJrnancdpItaIonhne corn • HUMAN CAPITAL
 COVER STORY

work at office offers enormous “coachable moments” handholding. “I sit through their meetings to understand
for the coach-managers to deliver the ‘coaching’ to the their leadership styles as they manifest in their meetings
coachee-managers. Grabbing these coachable moments and use my observations to coach them for
is the key to executing the improvement,” says Mahalingam.
coaching plan well,” explains l-le shares an experience: A senior
Mahalingam. 1-le specializes in executive whose goal for coaching
coaching both line managers and
HR managers for widening
An insightful was to leverage his strengths
besides making his teams deliver
business perspectives, increasing
business alignment, dealing with
excerpt far superior results. His obsession
with quality in everything he did
some interpersonal challenges We shouldn’t forget to factor in cultural made him spend significant time
that impact their effectiveness differences, including diversity of thought, and with every single hire his growing
negatively, clarifying career goals the very real possibility that at some point in team recruited. During our
besides enhancing their ability to the near futures we will have five generations coaching session, we spent time
see the big picture. Mahalingam of leaders ranging from traditionalists down debating and discussing this
works with his coachee managers through millennia’s all working together in the challenge and over time, he
to establish goals and explore same organization. This will be a wonderful recognized that the quality of time
their current reality. He helps opportunity for all to maximize the diversity of he needed to spend should differ
them mobilize their resources one another! Additionally, the rapid as also the type of discussions.
including confidence and globalization of the business world and Now, he spends more time with
commitment and avoids being organizations will have more contribution of anyone hired as his direct reports
prescriptive. Further he explains, different cultural influences and lifestyles,” (a 360 degree review of the
“The choice of freedom of action perceives Priscilla Nelson. candidate including personally
is left to my coachee managers. doing the reference checks), and
At the same time, I discuss with less time with other levels where
them the need to confront the reality and come to his intervention may be selectively needed for selling
terms with itso that they can go beyond their limitations the ‘job’. This has helped him to recognize that focus
with appropriate learning goals.” Some coaches learn and time investment should be carefully determined.
through reading, some through doing or listening and Nelson’s expertise lies in senior leadership coaching.
some others through reflecting and still others through She works with CXO’s across the world and shares her

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HUMAN CAPITAL • www.humancapitalonline.com January 2011 • 25

COVER STORY
insights with respect to the
global mindset required for
communicating and
accomplishing their vision in
the global marketplace. This
often includes new skills
acquisition and collaboration
with other partners in their
organization to ensure there
are shared expectations and
outcomes. Another type of
coaching she does is with
emerging leaders and assisting
them with strategic planning
and change management
components which influence
the success of a business. Also,
she coaches leaders vho are
working across cultures to be
successful. “Leadership does
not happen through osmosis,
it comes from constant and
continual practice. When
leaders are working across
borders, I truly enjoy helping
them to see the value, benefits,
and ways to connect with
others authentically,” says
Nelson. She describes one of
her most difficult experiences
as a coach: “I worked with a
top executive in South Africa
who was overtly opposed to
women in leadership positions.
The company was adding
customers outside of South
Africa and they were seeing the
presence of women in
leadership positions in their
customer meetings. The
women, as well as their male
counterparts, were
understandably questioning
why their contracted vendor
was not represented by
women. This is a clear example
of how customers expect to see
themselves reflected in the
faces of their professional
service suppliers. However, it
was not enough to just make
this leader aware of the need
to have women in leadership
the coaching journey included
exploring ways to open the
leader’s mind to the
possibilities and value of
diversity within the
organization. We explored the
preconceived notions that the
leader had about women in
26 • January 2011
Voluntary participation: Executives need to have a voluntary commitment that converts into a
willing participant who is open to changing, enhancing, and exercise what is being learned, and
is willing to give information for assessing the coaching process.
Need for coaching: This is a dialogue with the executive to establish if coaching is required.
To do this, one can have a list to review the needs, matters, and concerns about the coaching
agreement with setting a requirement, the list discovering main performance aspects where
coaching would aid.
Self-assessment: It is an exercise that a coachee undergoes about himself, with his/her
immediate manager, and direct reports giving feedback on communication, openness, trust, and
other competencies essential for success in the company.
Promise for information: Executives need to concur to give information during coaching and at
suitable times subsequent to the engagement.
Roles and duties: It is important that both the coach and the executive clearly define their roles.
Like the executive needs to understand that the coach is there to listen, give feedback, and
assess, but, not to make decisions for the executive.
.1:6
Matching profiles: Profiles of coaches are usually presented to executives, and a tentative
selection is made. The respective coach is also given background information on the executive,
and then a match is made.
Induction: It is a good opportunity for the executive and coach to meet formally in an ohentation
session. Here, the coach explains the process, needs, timetable, and other administrative issues.
The engagement: Engagement is usually linked with a business need. Generally, coaching
engagements focus on behavioral issues (for example, an executive’s failure to listen to staff).
To link to the business impact, the behavior change must connect to a clear business result.
Coaching sessions: Depending upon the coaching goals the coach, the executive and the
sponsor can discuss the timeframes of coaching sessions (e.g. thrice a month for an hour
each). Most coaching sessions are either done face-to-face or in some cases over the phone.
Goal setting: Coachee needs to identify a few areas with the help of the coach that need
improvements like productivity/operational efficiency. retention of key team members, and customer
satisfaction. Now the executive has three definite goals that would need three action plans.
Action planning: This process allows executives to detail their action steps developed to drive
a specific result associated to a business impact measure.
Active learning: After the executive develops the specific action plans, many development
strategies are discussed and implemented with the help of the coach. The coach facilitates
the efforts by utilizing learning processes like reading assignments, self assessment tools, skill
practices, video feedback, journaling, and other techniques. Coaching is an active learning
process as the executive expedments, applies, and reflects on the experience. The coach gives
input, reaction, assessment, and evaluation.
Progress review: Mostly the coach and executive review progress and revise the action plan
if necessary on monthly basis. This is to continue making adjustments to sustain the process.
Reporting: After completing the coaching engagement, the executive reports improvement by
finishing all parts of the action plan.
(Source: Measuring the ROl of a Coaching Intervention)
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leadership, and his past experiences (which were few)
and I provided some steps for him to separate pre
judgment from reality and it worked! The results were
transformational and he went on to become a major
advocate for growing women leaders at his
organization.” This was a difficult coaching assignment
it Mahalingam. And executive coaching is a powerful
for Nelson as she herself was a woman leader and
took her a while to establish her own credibility while
not letting that intention overshadow the goals of her
ng relatio nship. Her use of asking powerf ul
coachi
questions, her high level of intuition for knowing what
path the coachee might be more receptive to exploring
and her approach of a healthy balance of “push and
for each
pull” paves the way to the best solution
coachee. Also, Nelson encourages coachable moments
like sometimes the coachee calls while he/she is waiting
he/
to catch a flight at the airport, or other times when
she has a few precious moments to prepare for the
next meeting. These “coachable moments” are most
powerful times for the coach and coachee as they are
happening real time.
Executive coaching has become one of the tools
for organizational transformation and growth. “Since
of the
coaching aims at raising the leadership bench
company, it helps in creating a ‘leaderful’ organization
besides a learning organization,” says Mahalingam.
Organizational transformations can happen from top-
down, bottom-up or even middle-out. “No matter what
the approach is, organizations need leaders across all
levels to make the transformation happen. Be it the
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COVER STORY
total quality management movement of the 1990s or
six sigma fervor of the 2000s or the current focus on
creating investor intangibles such as brand, employee
engagement, customer loyalty, execution culture and
the like, we need leaders at all levels (a ‘leaderful’
organization) to make this happen,” explains
tool that can prepare leaders for this focus and
execution.
Additionally, how coaching leads to organizational
transformation is extremely important and Natarajan
delves into the top six ways.. .First, he says is the
resultant ‘feedback-orientated’ culture since leaders use
coaching behaviour as a means of managing,
influencing and communicating with each other.
Further, improvement in leadership effectiveness and
executive decision-making as there is a strong alignment
between individual goals and organizational objectives.
Next is leaders (coaches) drive accountability and are
positive role models by displaying/demonstrating true
collaboration and development mind-set (breaking
ty
‘silos’); their commitments and values; and integri
and consis tency (‘walk the talk’). The fourth one is
which becom es easy and results
organi zation change
in higher productivity as change is at the heart of
coaching and it ensures that the organization develops
the capacity to generate and sustain timely change and
builds competencies for constructing and sustaining
powerful and committed relationships. Moreover,
coaching promotes more open communication, is
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COVER STORY
transparent, and builds trust and mutual respect. Lastly,
teams become passionate, energized, focused on
organizational results and more ‘customer-centric’. For
example, at Symphony, says Mahalingam, “We have
had our coachee managers reap benefits like becoming
more appreciative of contributions team members make
and recognizing them on time and in style; becoming
more adept in managing their meetings (which if not
managed, become a nightmare for teams!); learning to
prioritize and focus on the ‘important’ rather that the
‘urgent’ a trap many managers fall into; deepening
-
the sense of big picture as opposed to deciding things
with a myopic perspective; an ability to relate to peers
better without getting too judgmental; and the benefit
to the organization, therefore, is a highly enlightened
bunch of managers who deliver superior value to the
clients and the teams they manage.”
ROl evaluations
Like coaching models various methods of evaluating
the return on investment on coaching are also
conducted. Some use a ROT scorecard for measuring
the impact of coaching on the bottom-line on business
activity, production and profitability of their work. For
example, Nelson says, “While leading the coaching
program at Satyam, we measured a return on
investment of more than $15m a year. We tracked this
through our monthly scorecard. We looked for
noticeable shifts in key measures and because we were
also providing “coachable moments” in real time at
customer sites, we were able to readily observe and
measure outcomes. In another example, where we
were leading learning and development at Booz Allen
Hamilton they documented an astounding 700% return
on investment when they aggregated all their coaching
assignments for just a one year period. The fact is
coaching provides a return on investment faster and
larger than most other learning interventions.”
Still many employers are inundated with the
challenge of creating sustainable, measurable coaching
28 • January 2011
programs, and some feel that the key to ROT is through
behavioral-based coaching as it can collect data on
particular, targeted behaviors impacting the use of a
professional skill. Since by utilizing suitable
authenticated, behavioral change instruments, these
targeted behaviors can be measured in an accurate
way. Besides, it is vital to demonstrate an association
between coaching and improvements in an executives’
performance. For instance, Nelson documents the
starting point and the desired end result and then
measures how close her coachee and she gets to it
through coaching. Some of the more common
measures she has used are employee retention,
customer satisfaction, enhanced relationships, and
enhanced performance. Some coaches measure
coaching success on Kirkpatricks four level evaluation
model, which measures the reaction of what the
coachee thought and felt about all areas of the coaching
program accomplished through dialogues and online
feedback forms. For example, Natarajan uses
Kirkpatrick evaluation lvels 1 to 3. Coaches like Balaji
measure coaching in the form of feedback from
immediate supervisor, demonstrated change in behavior
of the concerned employee backed by quantifiable
improvement in his performance. Where leaders are
concerned, “The ROI on coaching is basically a more
competent and confident bench of leaders who deliver
the business strategy,” opines Mahalingam. He adds
that immediate coaching benefits include enlightened
people management practices, engaged employees,
adhered commitments to clients and employees and
so on.
There are several steps in measuring ROI. For
instance, the business objective of a company is to
enhance profits by 20% in 24 months, at the same time
key behaviours that can affect outcomes could enhance
the average scores on the employee survey on
management behaviours by 40%. Next calculation is
the possible impact of coaching, bearing in mind other
organisational variables such as initiatives for boosting
profit require setting up superior IT systems, hire more
marketing executives and enhance delivery, then
see the probable impact that coaching could have
on these. Is it 20% for each one or is it 30% for
one, 40% for another and 50% for the other?
Utilize this data to describe a general percentage
impact of coaching (in general, it is anywhere
between 20% and 100%). The lesser the
organisational variables, larger will be the impact
of coaching. Once the program is executed,
calculate the cost-benefit ratio of coaching. The
formula for this is: percentage impact of coaching
multiplied by the year-on-year profit in turnover,
divided by the cost of coaching, like if the
percentage impact of coaching is 50%, the year-
on-year rise in profit is Bs I crore and the cost
of coaching is Rs 10 lakh (50% x 10,000,000 /
1,000,000= ROT). The collective effects of coaching
take time to sift through a company, thus,
measuring 1101 one year after the end of the
coaching program and then consequently for
wwwhumancaoralor,Iine.curn • HUMAN CAPITAL
 COVER STORY

engagement,” opines Nelson. Further, she points at

three years is useful. ROT increases in years to come
another significant challenge that comes up when the
because then there is no cost of coaching involved.
There may be more of ROT in terms of figures leader wants to shift, but, the organizational culture is
not there yet. The leader has to demonstrate more
when one talks globally, however, coaching process
strength to be able to role model the right behaviors
may have started off in India some years back, but,
organizations here are yet to see it in terms of figurative for the right outcomes. Since the recession there have
ROTs over some years. many departures of people from the organizations as
leaders were forced to cost optimize without
considering the impact on long term retention. Now
Issues in coachi ng there are many coaching situations where leaders are
A lot of myths surrou nd execut ive coachi ng. One of nervous about the increasing attrition rates. It’s
them is that top leaders believe that coachi ng is not for unfortunate that they did not realize this as they cost
them, but, for people who have trouble perform ing optimized, and the challenge becomes helping them to
their roles, points Balaji. Furthe r, he says that people see a path towards regaining their relationships with
I
feel coaching is a journey and it takes time for people their people so they will stay, says Nelson.
to let go of their behavi or and beliefs . Of course , Also, coaching if not taken seriously can become a
coaching can’t be seen in isolatio n, and the organi zation ‘do-when-you-have-nothing-else-to-do’ activity or ‘do-
should be willing to be a part of this journey like when-something-falls-through-the-crack’ activity.
supported by training and development, HR practices “Making this clear upfront is critical as coaching is a
etc. to give it a good start and make it succes sful. serious activity and needs focus,” says, Mahalingam. In
There are different challenges that coaches face in pockets, Symphony did have some challenge, but,
coaching. For example, Natarajan faces a proble m in persistent efforts started to pay off to bring about
attendance of the coache e like many of his clients were necessary commitment and focus. Willingness to invest
succes sful leaders and they would find it challen ging to time and establish goals and follow through to delivering
keep up with the mutually agreed coachi ng schedu le. those goals is the secret sauce of coaching success.
Either they cancelled the appoin tment at the last Murugappa Group, on the other hand, have
moment or did not turn up for the session . Thus, encountered two types of issues in executive coaching-
Natarajan started educating them on how import ant it one is about review and transformation of one’s set of
is to keep up with the commitment of time and what ‘beliefs’, the fundamental driver of behaviour. “The
impact it may have on themse lves and on him as their ability to let go and adopt in place a new/modified set
coach. Also, he helped them to see this as an of beliefs has been very challenging,” reveals Ganesh.
opportunity to prioritize their import ant vs. urgent The company is working on this continuously and it is
activities resulting in better time manag ement. The its belief that this will take time, but, will in the longer
other challenge that Natarajan faced was sponsorship term establish a robust foundation with very
as the coachee’s reporting manager at times would not appropriate mindsets! The second issue relates to how
show much interest in their coachi ng session s. The Murugappa prepares its managers with capability to
manager would give the coachee tasks that interfered distinctly see the different roles they have to play and
with the coaching schedule or goals. Natarajan believe s help them make the time commitment for playing the
that it is important to get commi tment from the inter-related roles. Today’s managers have to play the
coachee’s bosses on their availab ility and coachi ng roles of manager, leader and coach to be able to
goals. One more challenge that Natarajan faces is the effectively lead a team and deliver superior
changing business priorities as the business goals change performance. “We have to deal with how the manager
depending on the market condit ions and the goals would delineate his time to ensure that he plays these
articulated during the first coaching session may no three roles effectively. This is easier said than done,
longer be relevant. Therefore, the coach and coache e because this requires training and practice to be able
have to have periodic reviews to stay curren t. Some to identify clearly, the issues under each head and
more coaching challenges include dysfunctional develop a strategy to deal with them. This is a larger
personal life of the executive starts impacting on his issue and we are approaching this as a group level
work, and most of them do not work on that side of initiative for cross learning and sharing. We believe this
life least accept it; HR someti mes limits its role to is an evolutionary process and will take time to get
linking the coach to coachee and allowing them to embedded within an organisation,” says, Ganesh. The
fend for themselves; lack of appreciation of senior learnings and experiences on coaching are coming from
management and HR as to what coachi ng can actuall y the west and culturally Indians upbringing is different
do; inconsistent coaching engagements, peaks and from the western countries and hence coaching in
channel of involvements, lack of follow through, deficit India will need some time on localization by maintaining
in resolute to work on agreed goals, etc. “The best way the spirit in its existing form.
coachi ng a way of life at “Coaching is about maximizing performance,
to overcome this is to make
work,” views Balaji. breaking harriers of limiting beliefs and building hope
Today’s executives are working harder and faster and possibilities. And the more clearly someone sees
than perhaps any other time in history. “Thus, time is the future the more confident they work in the present,”
the number one challenge regardless of the coaching believes Balaji.

January 2011 • 29
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