In every organization there is a "problem child", usually the manager of the employee in question requests someone from the HR department to help this problem employee through executive coaching.
Often the HR manager or an external expert does the executive coaching. Naturally, there is some anxiety about how to approach these sensitive situations and how to give feedback to these people. How to overcome this fear and anxiety? What are the characteristics of a good coach? What is effective coaching?
Let's start with the four keys to executive coaching:
- Trust:
Without trust you have no credibility. Trust is based on relationship building, personality, confidentiality and your reputation as a skilled coach.
- Authority:
Unless you are the employee's manager, you need authority and support to coach. The employee needs to know that they are accountable to you for development and that you will report to their manager.
- Evaluation Tools:
Using performance appraisals, 360-degree feedback and employee survey results leads to a more objective perception of performance, facilitating quality coaching and development. Coaching is great, but in order to coach, you need some data.
- Training:
Undergoing some form of executive coaching training enables you to acquire effective skills and techniques that will strengthen your reputation as a coach. More importantly, executive coaching training builds your confidence and a significant part of your success depends on how confident you are as an executive coach.