Misconceptions of Executive Coaching

The concept of coaching is something that people tend to understand, or at least most people seem to think they understand. People instantly think of sports coaches or being taught how to do something and associate the term coaching with those experiences. However, when the term coaching gets brought up in a business sense, particularly executive coaching, it begins to get muddled in with other activities or practices. Furthermore, there are other common misconceptions regarding coaching that are prevalent. Below is a breakdown of a few of the most common misconceptions that I run across.

Training vs. Coaching

I commonly see coaching and training grouped together. It’s not hard to see why, on the surface. Both can be fit into a professional development bucket. When you are undergoing professional development, you tend to think of learning and personal growth, both of which could be associated with training and coaching.
However, beyond those similarities, coaching and training are quite different. Training tends to be a one-time event where learning objectives is the goal. Training is typically conducted by a Trainer, who is teaching a particular process or sharing specific knowledge.

Now, it’s important to know that training absolutely has its place. I’m not looking to disparage training and the value it brings. That said, training has its flaws. As an example, have you ever went to a conference that spanned multiple days, attending multiple workshops and sessions that got you excited about all the changes you’re going to implement only to get back in the office, realize that days of work is piled up when the day-to-day typically has you stretched anyway, and those things you learned in those workshops and sessions end up just fading into the ether? Or think about the last hour-long training you attended. How much did you learn that stuck with you in a meaningful way into the next day?

Coaching still involves learning but is an on-going process that challenges an individual to strive to meet goals and unleash an individual’s potential in a co-creative relationship with foundations rooted in accountability. It’s about progress. It’s about Getting Better, because Getting Better Matters.

This process is typically one on one, but team building and group coaching is common as well. The focus is behavioral and performance-based in nature. The goal is to facilitate critical thinking and decision making, while creating a road map of small wins on the journey towards a larger goal. While training is a one-time knowledge dump, coaching is an on-going process of self-improvement that weaves in learning and accountability. Coaching helps individuals define Winning, whatever winning means to them. This is important, because in a world that loves to give out participation trophies, Winning Matters.

Who is Executive Coaching For?

By nature of the term Executive Coaching, there is a misconception that Executive Coaching is only for C-Suite Executives. Well, certainly that demographic is going to be top of mind for Executive Coaching. By nature, most individuals that are C-Suite Executives are Self-Actualizers and have risen to a particular stature because they care about learning, growing, and have a hunger to continue getting more from themselves. Steve Jobs famously had an Executive Coach in John Mattone. Often the coaching process is about focusing on one’s strengths and learning how to maximize those strengths. Steve Jobs clearly had many strengths that were worth maximizing, as do most high-level leaders. I could spend a lot of time talking about why these individuals utilize Executive Coaching, but the misconception here is that it is only for these individuals. In reality, Executive Coaching is for:

Leaders – Any individual(s) who have the potential of making a significant contribution to the mission and purpose of the organization.
Rising Stars – Every organization has individuals that are brimming with potential in which the sky is the limit if given the tools to develop. Executive Coaching focuses on developing the ability to influence, motivate, and lead others.
Self-Actualizers – Self-Actualization is the top of the pyramid in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. These are people that yearn to achieve their full potential, both professionally and creatively.

In the world of Inside Sales, it has been my experience that the bulk of the attention is put on ensuring the front-line agents have the tools they need to be successful. Additionally, the Executive team is typically given opportunities at professional development. But what is also common is that the front-line Supervisors and Program/Operations Managers do not always get those same opportunities.

Often, I find that a Supervisor was promoted to that position because they were smart, ambitious, and they were identified as having leadership potential. They may even climb another rank quickly after excelling in the previous role. They also have the potential to run the company someday but flame out at some point because they woke up one day and the water was over their head. It’s a shame because it’s a scenario I have seen countless times and often could have been avoided.

Internal Vs. External Coaching

It’s been my experience that when organizations buy into the process of Executive Coaching, then this question tends to take care of itself. Most companies don’t have the organizational bandwidth to properly do Executive Coaching with their internal staff and will look externally. However, large corporate companies can sometimes hire dedicated coaches to support their organization. The misconception here that I have seen is a belief that hiring an Executive Coach for members of their team is actually subverting the authority of the managers of those being coached. I haven’t come across this often, but when I have it has been seeded deeply. If I was sugar-coating my response to this thinking, I would tell you that once you have experienced Executive Coaching and truly understand the benefits you would know it is absolutely not subverting a manager’s authority and is a highly tactical tool to help improve individual performance. If I wasn’t sugar-coating it I would say that the manager is highly paranoid and is probably not secure in the job they are doing as a manager. Here are some of the top advantages of using an external coach:

Coaching Skill & Experience – There are a lot of people out there that think they are coaches or are just pretending to be coaches without having been through an accreditation process.
Coaching Skill & Experience – There are a lot of people out there that think they are coaches or are just pretending to be coaches without having been through an accreditation process.
Coaching Skill & Experience – There are a lot of people out there that think they are coaches or are just pretending to be coaches without having been through an accreditation process.
Can more easily offer sensitive feedback that is crucial for performance improvement.
Strong objectivity and confidentiality.

These are a few of the misconceptions around Executive Coaching. We live in a world right now that is ever-changing and often filled with uncertainty. Survival can easily overtake initiatives in helping individuals and the organization thrive. Now is the time to provide your key people with the support to continue growing, because Getting Better Matters and Winning Matters.