A red flag has been raised on unchecked poor coaching practice, prompting Coaching at Work to join forces with professional bodies to look at this area.
The dilemma of what to do when faced with poor practice came up at a recent assessment of coaches by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (NHSIII) and i-coach academy for the NHS coach register.
“We came across some evidence of poor practice – and where is the boundary of keeping that confidentiality to the process? It was a dilemma,” said Susan Mortlock, head of board development for the NHSIII, speaking at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s Coaching at Work conference in London on 24 September.
Caroline Horner, director of i-coach academy, said: “On a coach education programme, my contract around giving coaches feedback would be different. This raised a wider concern. If you see practice you have concerns about, where is the boundary? Do you go to the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), for example, and say this coach is not demonstrating practice that is helpful?”
Coaching at Work and professional bodies, including the Association for Coaching, British Psychological Society’s Special Group in Coaching Psychology, EMCC UK and UK International Coach Federation, are to launch research into the area.
AC Global CEO Katherine Tulpa said: “There has been little work done in the area of poor practice. No coach wants to do a bad job, as they have the best interests of their client at heart.
However, providing further clarity on some of the circumstances and indicators of what to look out for when poor coaching practice occurs can help raise awareness levels for the coach, buyers, and users of coaching, in our continued aim to raise the bar of what we do in this evolving profession.”
The NHSIII has 25 coaches on its preferred coach register who took part in its induction process in September. Some 1,154 coaches initially expressed an interest “but by the time they’d got their head round the document, this went down to 300”, said Mortlock.
Only half of the coaches on the original register were accepted (eight). This was not because the bar had been raised but that they didn’t fit current needs, eg, supporting people in transition.
The assessment design contract was first held by Clutterbuck Associates which “sent ripples through the marketplace because it was so rigorous”, said Mortlock.
Coaching sees the sunny side
Coaching is weathering the financial storm, according to two surveys. Seventy per cent of organisations are spending more or the same on coaching, reveals CIPD research.
More than a third of coaches say they have more business and 36 per cent the same amount, according to research by three professional bodies.
More than 90 per cent of organisations use coaching, reveals the CIPD’s research, Taking the temperature of coaching. Only 10 per cent reserve coaching for executive and board levels while a third offer coaching to all staff.
“Mostly, everyone is getting mentored or coached in some way,” said John McGurk, CIPD adviser, learning and talent development.
Volume 4, Issue 6