Executive Performance Coaching via Structured Methodology

Elevate Executive Performance – Coaching For Your Organization

What should you look for when you want to grow your superstars? Joel’s coaching succeeds because it is a customized, personal experience for the executive who is being coached. Objectives are realistic, implementation is immediate, and feedback is continuous.

What do executive coaching services involve? Through coaching sessions and just-in-time feedback, Joel works one-on-one with each coaching participant to help them achieve the highest possible level of performance in the workplace. The primary focus of the coaching engagement is to achieve the goals and objectives for the participant. The secondary (yet still important) priority is to ensure that the needs of the organization are being met.

Joel’s coaching has delivered realistic and immediate results that have impacted my company’s bottom line. He has a unique ability to quickly cut through personal clutter and focus on root challenges that lead to professional growth. My increased ability to direct and lead people has amplified the respect, influence, and working relationships I have with others.

Andrew Peters, Manager, Enterprise Marketing,Cisco Systems

Effective Employee Performance Coaching by Joel Garfinkle

Use Coaching to Improve Employee Performance by Applying this 7-Step Methodology

Joel’s coaching process involves seven steps. Together, they ensure you understand what executive presence is and how to radiate it in your own leadership. This systematic methodology provides a structured model to measure and evaluate performance coaching results. Besides the structured model, Joel spends an extensive amount of dedicated time with the coaching participant. This provides the flexibility to adjust and customize the program to meet the specific needs of each participant.

Step 1: Establish coaching agreement.

Performance coaching involves active communication between the coach, the coaching participant, and the stakeholders. Therefore, the terms of the coaching contract, agreement and guidelines are agreed upon at the very beginning. Two things happen at this point:

• We establish commitment from the organization and from the person who will be coached so that clear guidelines are understood by both partners.
• We discuss the importance of confidentiality in the coaching relationship. The information shared between coach and coaching participant is to remain private. The coach will sign a confidentiality agreement.

Step 2: Determine key stakeholders.

The stakeholders are identified and ongoing support for the coaching program is clearly agreed upon. The key stakeholders can come from the Human Resources Department, senior management, the participant’s immediate manager or sponsor. These stakeholders will:

• Show public support for the coaching program.
• Understand their specific roles in the coaching engagement.
• Be extra attentive to the coaching participant’s growth and performance.
• Be actively involved and demonstrate commitment to the coaching program, the coach and the participant.

Step 3: Collect Assessment Data & Feedback.

Information gathering involves collecting feedback from the coaching participant, sponsors, 360-degree data and performance reviews. This comprehensive process will help design a developmental plan that is customized for that particular executive. Information is gathered from:

• Existing and past performance reviews.
• Interviews with key stakeholders, direct reports, supervisors, immediate boss, peers and Human Resource Department
• Customized 360-degree feedback interviews (with coaching participant’s manager, senior management, direct reports, and/or peers).
• Shadowing and observing the leader in his/her work environment.
• Coach’s welcome packet filled out by the participant. This includes questions designed to understand him/her better, including goals, objectives, expectations, career history.

Step 4: Identify coaching objectives.

We identify the most important objectives and specific performance goals for the coaching relationship. A measurable action plan is developed identifying the key behaviors to be changed and outlining specific metrics to be achieved. Designing objectives and metrics at this stage assures that the benefits are clearly achieved and the return on investment is known. We do this by:

• Identifying the three highest priority objectives.
• Developing a concrete, measurable, outcome-based action plan.
• Agreeing on expectations, commitments, timelines, ground rules and alignment of goals and objectives.

Step 5: Implement Action Plan.

At this stage we implement the required actions and behavior changes so the desired results will be achieved.

• The coach provides the necessary support through formal coaching sessions and daily e-mail check-ins between the scheduled telephone sessions.
• The coaching participant commits time to the agreed-upon assignments and action items.
• Bosses and/or key stakeholders are involved when appropriate and are kept informed of the progress.
• The coaching participant fills out a post coaching form after every session in order to facilitate direction, clarity of action, and next steps. These post coaching forms provide an excellent method of tracking the value and benefits gained from the coaching program.

Step 6: Provide progressive review and feedback.

A monthly informal review of the coaching process is conducted. The coaching participant meets with his/her manager to:

• Share progress, outline areas still in need of improvement and ask for support.
• Gain feedback from the manager and discuss solutions to meet the coaching objectives.
• Provide feedback on the coaching program and success with the coach.

Complete informal reviews are conducted during the third and sixth months. During these informal reviews feedback is collected from follow-up conversations with the key stakeholders to identify what changes have taken place and what still needs improvement.

Step 7: Deliver post-coaching follow-up.

At the end of the coaching engagement, a review of the entire engagement takes place.

• During the last formal coaching session, the coaching participant will prepare and discuss a one-page overview of what has been learned and key action steps to continue the progress achieved.
• After the last session, the key stakeholders, immediate boss and human resources will participate in a close-out meeting. They will review the success achieved, create a future action plan, and identify the type of support and resources necessary to continue the executive’s development.
• After the formal coaching sessions have ended, continued and less frequent sessions may be scheduled.
• One free post coaching follow-up meeting will be scheduled to check in with the progress of the participant. This follow-up occurs 6-8 weeks after the completion of the coaching engagement.

The Business Case for Executive Performance Coaching: Investing in Talent

Many of the world’s most admired corporations, from GE to Goldman Sachs, invest in coaching. Annual spending on coaching in the US is estimated at roughly $1 Billion Dollars.

Harvard Business Review

This Seven-Step Performance Coaching process is a structured, clearly defined and methodical program. The financial value of the program can be easily documented. Funding for an executive coaching engagement comes from either the participant’s department budget or from Human Resources. These stakeholders expect to see specific, visible outcomes that produce business results for the company.

The process starts with an analysis of the current state of performance for the coaching participant. After this information is gathered, the objectives and action plan are created. Next, we determine the key stakeholders who will show support and be actively involved in the employee’s talent development. This creates an accountable and dedicated community around the participant which will accelerate reaching the stated objectives.

To achieve the maximum amount of impact and value from your executive coaching program, the objectives must be linked with senior management and the company’s overall organizational needs. The most successfully executed coaching engagements work in partnership with the organization, its stakeholders, and the coaching participant. Tangible results occur and the outcomes impact the bottom line of the organization.