11. MYTH: Executive coaching is just the latest FAD
FACT: Certainly not! It is true to say that coaching has been the subject of a remarkable trend since the turn of the millennium but fads come and go. Executive coaching has been around for over twenty years. Popularity and demand for executive coaching has increased in the last ten years or so mainly due to the accelerated rate of business change. This rapid rate of change has forced organisations to reconsider the business models that they have operated within for many years. As a result organisations are now understanding the need for continuous learning that remains adaptive to the current and future needs of the marketplace.
This new model shift has also brought about the need for a new type of leadership where emotional intelligence and collaboration are more highly valued. Executive coaching provides these new leaders and organisations with the tools to operate more effectively in the ever changing business environment, something that traditional training or business schools are failing to deliver. Executive coaching is here to stay and will continue to go from strength to strength as more and more executives and organisations discover its power and potential.
12. MYTH: Executive coaching is Expensive
FACT: Expensive is a relative term so let’s compare the cost of coaching to training. Firstly finding space in the busy executive’s diary for training is a task requiring much patience and tenacity on the part of the training organization. Once the training has been delivered, one of the major challenges facing the executive is they are left to apply the knowledge learned from the training on their own. The result is that little, if any, of the training is applied when the executive returns to their day to day role.
Research has shown that potentially up to 90% of an organization’s training budget is wasted because it is rarely applied. Executive Coaching on the other hand, provides a tailored form of continuous education and learning which enables the executive to immediately apply the learning’s from the coaching and discuss their observations about the application with the coach at the next session. This ensures value is derived from the coaching. Studies have also shown that coaching can provide enormous return on investment so coaching can actually make money for your organization and thereby become less of a cost and more of an investment.
13. MYTH: Mentoring is another word for executive coaching
FACT: This is not the case and arises from a misunderstanding of the differences between an executive coach and a mentor. While there are large overlaps among the skills of a mentor and an executive coach, there are some fundamental differences that you need to be aware of to determine whether mentoring or executive coaching is the most appropriate course of action. The first major difference is that a mentor tends to be someone in-house who is qualified to act as a mentor because they model the ideal work behaviours, attitudes and beliefs that the organization places value on. A mentor acts as a role models for their mentee (a person being mentored), instructing them on ways to behave and think in certain circumstances. Executive coaching as a process tends to be less directive than mentoring and relies heavily on the executive coach bringing the best out of the coach, by assisting them in finding the answers within themselves rather than supplying them the answers. This does not mean an executive coach never instructs or provides answers.
In the instances where the coach has hit a plateau or a brick wall, the executive coach may offer carefully framed suggestions or advice that facilitates the forward movement of the coach. In mentoring, there are always right or appropriate answers and the mentor knows them. With executive coaching, the only answers are those that the coach offers and these are not judged by the coach as being right or wrong. The job of the coach, as stated earlier, is to facilitate the coach’s access to their answers from within themselves. In this way, coaching fosters independence in the coach whereas mentoring can foster dependence on the mentor.
Another difference is that mentoring relies heavily on the mentor’s expertise of the subject matter, whereas executive coaching relies on the coach facilitating the advanced learning and/or the improved performance of their coach. The agenda of the mentoring relationship is mainly set by the organisation. The agenda of coaching is mainly set by the coach, in collaboration with their organisation and coach.
In summary, mentoring is a valid tool for directing the learning of individuals so that they behave, think and communicate in a way that is aligned with the mentor. If you require creativity and free thinking to provide an extra edge in performance and effectiveness, then executive coaching is a more appropriate tool for this outcome
Executive coaching is a remarkable trend that continues to grow globally. It can deliver enormous benefits to justify the investment of time and money. Executives and HR professionals are becoming convinced it can bring long lasting and tangible benefits to their organisations.