Corporate Coaching
Does coaching really work in the corporate environment? A recent study in the Journal of Public Personnel Management found that training improved managerial productivity 22.4% while training plus coaching improved productivity 88%.

David A.Fitzhugh, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, believes the quality of the relationship between boss and subordinate is a major predictor of success. Talking with subordinates about their developmental needs absolutely affects that relationship positively and there’s a big potential payoff.

A corporate coach takes into consideration the vision, mission and culture of an organization and the values and professional goals of an individual. The goal is to make sure that both are in alignment.

When the vision, mission and culture of an organization are in alignment with an individual’s values and professional goals, the employee is committed to the organization, more productive, effective and happier at their job. This handles the retention and productivity issues that many organizations face.

The Goals of the Corporate Coaching Culture:

1. Articulate the organization’s vision, purpose, direction, strategies, major goals and actions.
2. Involve/include members to acquire understanding, connection, commitment, passion and ownership.
3. Align member goals, actions and expectations with those of the organization.
4. Remove barriers and provide resources.
5. Follow up and hold people accountable.
6. Promote feedback, input and idea-sharing from members.
7. Challenge and inspire the organization and its individual members to stretch for greatness.
8. Develop and grow people through meaningful work.
9. Increase work/career satisfaction and personal fulfillment.
10. Create a positive, productive community of members who volunteer their best and fulfill their potential.

Why is the word member used instead of employee? Think about it…the word member implies a person is a part of an organization because they want to be; they understand what the organization stands for and are totally on board! This creates a win-win environment. “Win-Win” is a belief in the third alternative. It’s not your way or my way; it’s about creating a better way!

What You Need to Know To Be a Corporate Coach
There are different areas of expertise in Corporate Coaching: 1-on-1 Coaching, Internal Coaching, and Training. A person can choose to be a 1-on-1 Corporate Coach who offers their services to professionals. With this type of coaching, the “coachee” finds a coach they trust and are comfortable confiding in. They meet with their coach on a scheduled basis. They want to improve and reach professional goals and want an objective person to hold them accountable to their goals.

This coaching is more “holistic” in approach and focuses on overall growth and development of the whole person. This includes addressing personal challenges as well as professional barriers. Typically, the coachee pays the coach out of their own budget.

A 1-on-1 Corporate Coach Needs to Know:

• The Skills of Coaching – Listening, Questioning, Empathizing, Clarifying, Summarizing, Responding Intuitively, Challenging,
  Seizing the Coachable Moment, Support only Systems (goal setting, strategizing, planning)
• Marketing - must know how to market themselves as a corporate coach to attract clients.
• Understand the Corporate Climate – a corporate coach must understand the challenges, needs and desires of corporations.

There are some organizations that have coaches on staff to optimize performance and implement specific action
plans for professional development. This type of coaching is more geared to professional development, not personal development. With this type of coaching the organization pays for the coach to be on staff.

An Internal Corporate Coach Needs to Know:

Whatever the organization requires as skills, certifications, qualifications, etc. Each corporation will have different criteria for their staff coaches.

There is another type of Corporate Coaching. This is where an organization hires an outside coach who is also a professional speaker/trainer/facilitator to educate the staff about the coaching culture in a group environment. The end result depends on the goals of the organization. Sometimes organizations want a specific group of employees to be certified as coaches. This is a long, intensive training program.

A Corporate Training Coach Needs To Know:

• The Skills of Coaching – Listening, Questioning, Empathizing, Clarifying, Summarizing, Responding Intuitively, Challenging, Seizing the Coachable Moment, Support only Systems (goal setting, strategizing, planning)
• Understand the Corporate Climate – A corporate coach must understand the challenges, needs and desires of the specific organization.
• Professional Speaker/Trainer/Facilitator
  It is one thing to be a coach; it is another to teach coaching. This is a practiced skill all by itself that requires the ability to create a training program as well as present it. The trainer must be able to recognize if the trainees understand the material presented well enough to implement the skills, techniques and strategies learned.

All Corporate Coaches have:

• The ability to connect with the organization
  and the people they are coaching.
• An understanding of the mission and vision
  of the organization and individual goals.
• The courage to tell the truth to both the
  organization and their coachees.