KAREPO

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It gained popularity in the 1990s when the term was appropriated by a wide range of consulting companies, often in the outplacement or recruitment areas, who wanted to broaden their services.

What is executive coaching?
Executive coaching is often poorly defined, however Richard Kilburg, in his book Executive Coaching: Developing Managerial Wisdom in a World of Chaos, describes it in the following manner:

• a helping relationship between a manager and a consultant;
• who uses a range of behavioral methods to help the client achieve a mutually identified set of goals;
• to improve professional performance, personal satisfaction and organisational effectiveness;
• within a formally defined coaching agreement.

In summary, coaching is about formally using a set of behavioral methods and tools to help executives improve performance and reach goals.
What, then, are the steps in executive coaching? While frequently poorly defined, executive coaching often occurs in seven stages:

1. Relationship building, where the coach, manager (and often the 'buyer' from the organisation) meet to decide if they can work together;

2. Relationship building, where the coach, manager (and often the 'buyer' from the organisation) meet to decide if they can work together;
3. Assessment, often using 360 degree feedback and psychological testing to understand the coaching needs of the manager;
4. Feedback, when the manager reviews the assessment and a mutually agreed set of coaching needs are defined;
5. Planning, when a set of agreed actions and a time-frame for the coaching are agreed;
6. Implementation, where the agreed actions are put into place;
7. Evaluation, when interviews and questionnaires are used to assess the outcome of coaching;
8. Follow-up, when the results of the evaluation are fed back to the manager and often the organisation.

1. Meet the coach before you start paying for sessions to ensure you can establish rapport with the person;
2. Have specific goals you want to achieve, preferably measurable performance goals—so at the end of the process you have a good measure of success;
3. Devote the time to the process—like all forms of learning it does require effort and persistence.,

How do you pick an executive coach?
Identifying a good coach is a similar process to identifying any professional. We suggest the following:

1. Ask around and find out who has a good reputation and who does not;
2. Find a coach who has a clear logical coaching process that makes sense to you;
3. Ask to check a range of reference clients that the coach has worked with and be sure that their executives are happy with the service;
4. Check the price of sessions—professional executive coaching sessions can run from about $100 per hour to over $300 excluding GST—you need to understand what you will pay;
5. Be sure the individual has relevant qualifications and experience in psychology, business or other important areas.