Sutherland Consulting Group

Coaching FAQs

What is Coaching

Over the last decade coaching has emerged as one of the most powerful methods for developing leaders, enabling them to achieve better results and work more effectively with others, especially direct reports. A recent survey by the Ken Blanchard Company noted that the most common benefits reported by the majority of coaching clients and their organizations were:

So if this is what coaching can achieve exactly what is coaching? Let's start with what it isn't. It isn't training, consulting, mentoring or teaching. A coach guides and supports rather than teaching or telling. There are many different definitions of coaching - here is the one that best describes my approach to coaching:

Coaching is a one-to-one relationship that focuses on the development of skills and improved performance through a series of conversations that include questions, supportive feedback and observations by the coach that enable the client to develop insights that lead to change.

Coaching is a confidential, collaborative relationship that fosters self-awareness and builds on individual strengths to generate possibilities. Integral to the coaching experience are the coach's questions which enable new insights to move clients beyond self-imposed constraints and limiting beliefs. Because coaching is supportive and personal, an environment is created that enables clients to take the risks that help them achieve significant goals.

Performance is optimized by examining the issues and competencies important to each person's role. Focused conversations address the goals set for the coaching engagement as well as the daily issues and challenges inherent in today's high-demand workplace. Coaching succeeds because it calls for effective action. At each session a specific action plan is created. Personal accountability and regular progress reviews during subsequent coaching sessions keeps the focus on results.

Is coaching just for executives?

Coaches work with executives as well as managers and leaders at all levels of the organization. The goal of coaching is to create meaningful and measurable outcomes that impact the business. Some clients want to acquire new skills and competencies. For others, coaching is an opportunity to enhance strengths and prepare for more senior assignments. Promoting positive changes to produce results relevant to the business is the primary aim of every coaching engagement.

In the past, companies have used training programs, a one-size-fits-all approach for learning new skills and new ways of thinking. The problem with training programs is their limited impact on productivity - about 28% while coaching has been shown to achieve an increase of up to 88%. And that's why coaching is rapidly being accepted as one of the most powerful and effective methods of improving business, workplace and personal performance.

Why is coaching the best method for supporting a change in behaviour?

The effectiveness of coaching is based on neuroscience and what we know about how our brains respond to change. How we think influences what we feel and in turn our emotions drive our behaviour. What we do drives the results we get. Each one of us is different in unique ways and so are the motivations that drive our intent and thus our behaviours. If we want to change, we must change the way we think. If we want others to change we have to help others think, not think for them.

Science tells us that our brains change as a result of the focus of our thinking, creating new patterns and connections in the brain. We also know that insights we achieve as a result of thinking for ourselves create neural pathways that support change. The 'a-ha' moment we experience as a result of an insight is accompanied in the brain by a burst of neurotransmitters which make us feel good and help create new pathways. These physical changes don't occur when someone tells us what to do or when someone else does the thinking for us.

And that's why coaching is so effective- you generate insights as a result of being asked powerful questions that help you work out solutions, rather than being told the answer. Because the solutions are ones you generate, they are easier to implement and you are more likely to be committed to the actions than if you had been told what to do.

How much does coaching cost?

Coaching is cost-effective, with a documented return-on-investment of more than 500%. Six months of coaching is less than the cost of attending a 3-day training program, doesn't require travel and achieves far greater and longer-lasting results. Sessions are usually conducted via phone; three 45-minute sessions per month fit into even the busiest of calendars. Dependent on the package you choose, phone-based coaching can start at around $500 per month. Coaching programs that include face to face meetings can also be arranged.

What's included in a typical coaching engagement?

The first step is a review of where you are and what you want to achieve as a result of coaching. Sometimes this discussion includes your supervisor or someone from your HR department. Next we conduct assessments that help us understand more about you, your leadership and communication style, strengths, values and motivations, as well as the expectations, accountabilities and relationships that are important to your role at work. These assessments include inventories as well as surveys such as 360 evaluations.

Once we have taken a good look at where you are currently we review what you want to achieve with the help of a coach. Together we create meaningful and measurable outcomes that impact your business - goals that are sustainable over time. One or two areas are chosen for development that will help you move with purpose from where you are now to where you want to be. These will be the underlying themes that will guide our coaching relationship.

What happens during a typical coaching session?

Every coaching conversation is shaped by the agenda set by the client. The client is responsible for bringing to each session an issue, problem or observation that is the focus for discussion. The coach is responsible for ensuring the client is always in action and moving toward the goals set out for the coaching engagement.

A session may start with a review of what happened as a result of the actions taken during the previous week; a problem that was encountered during the week; or an upcoming situation for which the client wants to prepare.

The coach helps the client to narrow down and focus on a specific goal for the session, linking it to the larger plan for the coaching engagement. During the session the coach might support the client to view different perspectives, identify patterns of behaviour or limiting beliefs to uncover how the client may be getting in their own way. The questions the coach asks help the client to reflect on the issue, clarify the situation, challenge assumptions and facilitate action.

Each session concludes with the client reviewing what they learned during the session and what actions they will commitment to taking as a result of the coaching conversation.

How do I know if I need a coach?

Coaches can help you:

How do I choose a coach?

There are literally thousands of coaches, all with different skills, backgrounds and experience so choosing a coach can be confusing. Given that one of the most important success factors for coaching is the match between the leader and the coach here are some things to keep in mind when selecting a coach: