Executive coaching should be an investment in any business. It should deliver noticeable change, and there should always be a return on investment.
At The Leadership Coaches, we adopt a results focused approach. This means that from the outset our aims are clear: to make a difference. What that difference is depends very much on what the business and the individuals are looking for. But whatever the end goals, the steps on the journey are the same. And we know this journey drives results.
If your executive coaching is focusing purely on the coaching, then maybe you’re missing out. This is the journey our clients go on.
Discovery Calls
Being focused on results means being focused on goals, and that means starting off the journey with listening and understanding. The coaching process needs to be aligned with the objectives of both the business and the individual coaches.
That is why we begin every coaching journey with a complimentary discovery call. This discovery call is a safe space for the leader or the executive. It’s about having a conversation to explore if coaching is right for them at this point in time. It’s a judgement-free conversation to understand needs, readiness and expectations.
While more often that not, this will lead on to the next steps in the journey. However, just recently we were working with a potential coachee, and together we decided not to progress with the coaching.
This isn’t a negative thing. We celebrate that we made the correct decision here. This person wasn’t in the right place for executive coaching, and it’s vital to establish that from the outset. You won’t get the results you want if it’s not the correct solution, and purpose of the discovery call is to ensure that the investment won’t be wasted.
Coach Matching
When we know it’s the right move to go ahead, we then step into the coach matching part of the journey.
At The Leadership Coaches we spend a lot of time understanding what's important to each individual. And that's not just the corporate stuff. It's also things like their personality, somebody may disclose that they've got a neurodivergence, or that they've had a history of mental health challenges. It could be anything, but it has to be about them.
During the coach matching element, we know we have to listen in order to be able to help.
We will put forward at least two coaches that we believe are good matches, presenting a choice. Although more often that not we get told that it was very hard to choose. That’s when we know we’ve done our job effectively.
Onboarding
When each leader has their coach, they will then be onboarded onto our portal. Our portal provides a seamless approach for each coachee to be able to interact with their coach. They will get all relevant updates stored on the portal, such as recommended readings, Ted Talks, or psychometric results, and so on.
They can also have a conversation with their coach via the portal. It’s about getting really clear on where they're heading.
We also engage with the sponsor and get clear on what the sponsor’s expectations are too.
Feedback
Sponsored Coaching makes a massive difference in how to track results, and this is one of the key elements of the journey that helps to highlight the return on investment that has been achieved.
Sponsored coaching delivers the best value when the outcomes are clear and measurable. That’s why we prioritise setting objectives early, and we do this via a transparent triad meeting with the coachee, coach and sponsor.
It is in these meetings where we start to set those clear objectives so that the company knows what they're looking to measure and monitor in terms of change. The individual knows what good looks like, so they know what they're being measured against.
It is only at this point that we go into a series of one to one coaching conversations.
The Heart of the Journey
We’re now at the point where the stage has been set and the heart of the work begins.
It’s important to note that the success of the journey of executive coaching relies on psychological safety. Any coachee needs to feel as if they can say what they want to their coach. They can be vulnerable. They can be completely open. They can even throw in some judgments about how they feel about other colleagues. All of those different things are what helps to build that strong trust.
Through the journey, coachees usually describe themselves as having light bulb moments as they start to see changes. We then go back and check in with the stakeholders and the sponsor, and have those open discussions about what changes are being seen from their perspective and what still needs working on.
This provides triangulated data. This is where we're getting the data from, not only the coachee and the coach, but also the organisation and their view on what's happening.
This openness continues all the way until they finish their programme. And at that point we gather their feedback again.
The End
The final step is to produce an impact report. While confidentiality is always respected, we offer organisations a high level overview of progress, as well as any additional details the coachee is comfortable with sharing.
Interestingly, about 90% of coachees are happy to allow their organisations to see the progress they’ve made. This is an indicator of just how transformative and positive the true coaching journey experience can be.
Because we start with the end in mind, it gives the whole journey far more purpose, and it makes it much simpler to track success. Did you achieve what you wanted to? If you know what you wanted to achieve in the first place, that question is easy to answer.
Ultimately, executive coaching isn’t just a service. It’s a journey designed to deliver measurable outcomes for individuals and organisations alike.
If you’re looking to empower your leaders and drive organisational success, let’s start with a conversation. It could be the first step to unlocking your team’s potential. Get in touch to find out more.
