Senior talent professionals find it frustrating trying to identify external executive coaches with the right mix of skills and experience.
This was a key finding of a study by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) UK and the Institute of Business Consulting (IBC).
Coaches must distinguish themselves with greater precision and buyers must show greater finesse in drawing up specifications for coaches and in their approach to selection and recruitment, says the report, External executive coaching: a joint study of sponsors’ experiences and perspectives, by Paula Roberts, a member of the EMCC and the IBC’s Steering Committee for Coaching.
Diane Newell, managing director, EMCC UK, said, “It is clear that in selecting coaches buyers are looking for surety around their practice and ethics as a base line, through qualifications and accreditation. To find the coaches who really meet the organisation’s need they also want to be able to differentiate at a higher order, for example, around a coach’s general business acumen, sector- specific experience and the ability to work credibly and effectively at a senior level.”
The study set out to gain a better understanding of corporate buyers’ perspectives on coaching and the profession through interviews by experienced coaches with 20 senior decisionmakers.
The most significant benefits of external executive coaching are structured reflection, raising self-awareness
and confidence.
The IBC was created by the merger of the Institute of Business Advisers and the Institute of Management Consultancy, both from the Chartered Management Institute.
- For a copy of the report email paula.roberts@felicitasassociates.co.uk
- See “Coach selection”, News, pages 12 and 13
Coaching at Work, Volume 5, Issue 6