The Value of Executive Coaching

Angela Mulvie

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317704041
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

The explosive growth of coaching over the past decade has been accompanied by comparable growth in coach training as well as in membership of professional bodies representing the industry. Yet philosophical and intellectual debates over executive coaching and its measurable value and outcomes appear limited in much of the existing literature. Many practitioners appear uncomfortable with the hard measurement of real return on investment, preferring softer, more qualitative approaches to evaluation.

To challenge the self-perpetuating myth of value which has grown up around executive coaching, The Value of Executive Coaching critically explores the discourses surrounding this aspect of leadership development and considers different ways of thinking about its growth, development and application outside its established functionalist perspective. Using case study evidence, this exciting new text enhances our understanding of how and why the value proposition of executive coaching is perceived and perpetuated, and provides readers with the opportunity to explore some of the issues which influence perceptions of value.

This book will be valuable reading for practising coaches and students on postgraduate coaching courses.

1 Enhancing managerial capability

The nature of executive development and the role of executive coaching

Introduction

Executive coaching has emerged as both a field of academic study and professional practice aimed at helping executives deal with transitions and underperformance of both themselves and their organisations. Transitions such as promotion, lateral moves or international assignments are all coaching opportunities (Watkins, 2003; Underhill et al., 2007) that provide individualised support very often to help ensure the organisation retains the person. Executive coaching is also perceived to have a strong personal developmental focus (Zeus and Skiffington, 2002; Grant and Cavanagh, 2004; Jarvis et al., 2006; Jackson and McKergow, 2007; Grant et al., 2010).

Much of the practice-based literature on coaching suggests it helps to facilitate change within both individuals and organisations, enabling clients to ‘gain insight into the underlying dynamics of the challenges that they face, and guide them to apply the insights in the real world, to create the desired change’ (Anderson and Anderson, 2005: 20). Whilst change is often the implied outcome, several different agendas may be at play in the coaching interaction, however. My own definition of its role and therefore value is that it provides an opportunity for a dialogue to occur and an ongoing relationship to be established between two people, one seeking help and support to find solutions to issues and problems (the coachee), and the other (the coach) facilitating this activity to achieve an agreed outcome. However, the nature of that outcome may not be prescribed until the assignment is well underway, and the initial agenda may then be modified. The rationale for the executive coaching will therefore vary from one coaching assignment to another and may itself change during the lifetime of any coaching project.

In the introductory chapter we argued that the credibility of executive coaching as a management learning and development tool may be enhanced when justifiable results ensue from an informed investment, and specific measurable outputs are achieved. Given the apparent limited focus on establishing the value proposition of executive coaching, despite phenomenal growth in the coaching industry, there is merit in exploring why such a situation exists. For example, it may be that those engaged in delivering services are not overly concerned with evaluation, which may be too difficult to do, or is not seen as an important dimension as long as the recipient of the service – i.e. the coachee – is happy with the process. Such potential reasons beg the questions of who should be responsible for the measurement of outcomes, and if this responsibility is built into coaching assignments in any way. In looking at what influences if and how organisations measure their outcomes of executive coaching in terms of ROI or other means, and indeed if such measurement is feasible, it should be possible to formulate propositions on where executive coaching makes its contribution, if any, and at what level to both individuals and organisations.

Many problems stand in the way of achieving satisfactory measurement of coaching outcomes (Kearns, 2006), including the lack of a sound ‘theory’ of executive coaching to provide a framework for analysis, as well as variability of evaluation methodologies being applied. In defending the legitimacy of executive coaching as a management development process it will be helpful to provide a conceptual framework in which to place not only the activities undertaken during the coaching process, but also to explain the phenomenon and its explosive growth, by exploring its context and applications with the wider framework of executive development. In this first chapter we therefore consider:

• the nature of executive development;

• the different learning methodologies that can be used for this particular group and why;

• how executive coaching fits into that continuum;

• some of the reasons for its growth as a specialised field; and

• some of its expected outcomes, in broad terms.

What is executive development?

The development of executives has long been a key priority for many organisations needing to meet the demands of their operation by ensuring they have requisite managerial and executive talent in place. This implies having a range of people with the necessary skills and knowledge to define and take forward strategy as well as managing the business. Our understanding of the growth of managerial roles and what these might entail can be linked to business expansion and economic conditions throughout the twentieth century. Cappelli (2008) suggests that by the mid-1950s the importance of developing managers and executives was clearly understood. In the post-World War II period many organisations began to address the need for management development to enable them to move ahead successfully and ensure a pipeline of talent was available to ensure competitiveness in a changing marketplace.

At the same time the field of management education began to develop with research into management practices growing as a specialist field of study. Many universities began to offer programmes to teach managers about how to be effective in their job role and how to develop an appropriate skill set. Indeed, the 1960s and 1970s were a period of intensive empirical research into finding answers to what makes an effective manager, what skills and behaviours he/she would need to demonstrate, and how these could be developed. This in turn resulted in a stronger focus on what managers should learn to make them effective in their role. Much of this research focused on examples from organisations, including the armed forces, which were highly successful in the immediate post-World War II period. Cappelli (2008: 55) suggests that after World War II, the practices of talent management based on internal development were firmly in place in most corporations.

More recently a distinction between management and leadership skills has been made in much of the literature demonstrating a refinement of thinking and application, in part as a result of changes in economic conditions and the need for a different skill set amongst those managing businesses. Increasingly, senior leaders and potential leaders are seen to need strategic thinking and planning skills, innovation and creativity, emotional intelligence, mindfulness and so on to be able to transform the organisations employing them. By the 1980s many organisations were focusing on excellence and best practices to enhance their competiveness in their marketplace, which resulted in a greater focus on the application of quality management tools to ensure efficiencies and best ways of working. At the same time many companies began to recruit their executives externally and in some cases place less focus on internal development activities. Greater mobility amongst executives became the norm, with many managers moving across several organisations in the lifetime of their careers. The concept of the ‘portfolio career’ developed by Handy (1989) began to take hold with the realisation that a job for life was no longer guaranteed, or indeed required. Coupled with changing economic conditions and a push towards globalisation, as well as the rise of much outsourcing of services, the focus of management development began to change.

The theoretical foundations of executive development

For some time academics have recognised the lack of a theoretical and conceptual focus for understanding the nature of management/executive development (Johnson and Duberley, 2000; Mabey and Finch-Lees, 2008) and for defining the scope of the subject. A variety of conflicting definitions exist (Lees, 1992) and in themselves may provide some insights into the way in which this arena can be divided, both in terms of management writing as well as practice. The term management development implies both an internal focus on activities to enhance performance in the managerial role, and a set of externally driven and provided activities which may expose the manager to different ideas and methodologies to extend knowledge, experience and skills. Yet it can be argued that within this spectrum lies an ongoing debate surrounding differentiations between education, training and learning (Harrison, 2009; Mabey and Finch-Lees, 2008). Executive coaching can support some or indeed all three.

Since the 1990s much of the literature on leadership development has focused on drawing distinctions between managers who operationalise and deliver planned activity (transactional management) and leaders who strategise and provide clear direction to that process (transformational leadership). However, organisational change, as a result of more recent economic requirements to de-layer, downsize and restructure (Carnall, 2007), has led to such distinctions becoming less clear. Development activities and support may be provided to enhance capability at both individual and corporate levels. In addition, recent concerns at a government level have led to some national strategies being put in place to improve the quality of management activity overall. For example, the current changes to the Investors in People Standard and its focus on achieving business ambition through manager development amongst other strategies, are evidence of such a focus.

The language of executive development

The word development itself requires some explanation. It implies growth and change for a purpose, with a focus on moving someone’s thinking and skill set to a different level. Both historically and currently training attempts to do just that – i.e. enhance the ability of the employee to undertake the job role successfully. Training is usually provided for the current role but planned training may be also about enhancing skills and knowledge for application to a different job role in the future. During that training process learning will occur – i.e. the acquisition of new knowledge, new or improved skills, or adoption of new beliefs and values in order that people can perform more effectively at work (Taylor and Furnham, 2005: 6). Law (2013) suggests that to achieve successful outcomes from the learning process there will need to be some kind of exchange within a ‘purposeful relationship’. This lies at the core of successful coaching. The psychology of learning is a key element of the coaching process itself whereby clients are supported in the changes that are made to their thinking and behaviour. Helping clients to learn on their coaching journey may often become a key priority.

The term performance is also used extensively in both management literature and practice. In an employment context managers will work to agreed standards and targets in a way that is defined by both job requirements and their ability to fulfil that job role. Performance standards will be set as a guideline and outcomes measured against these. Managers may often enter coaching to enhance their performance in their work role, at either an individual level or corporately. As we shall see in Chapter 4, locating the outcomes of executive coaching within a wider framework of evaluation of learning and development of managers, which is related to their performance both individually and organisationally, is one way of helping to measure and therefore understand the value of this type of intervention.

The connection between these different elements, highlighted in Figure 1.1, is discussed below.

Figure 1.1 The contexts of executive development

Executive development and management training

Traditionally the field of training and development has grown from a very practical base, and from a pragmatic response to identified commercial needs, resulting in the application of a range of techniques to enhance employee capability. As noted above, much of the focus on manager development throughout the 1980s and 1990s was on specific training in new skills and approaches. Such development will often take place in the classroom environment, either off-job or within an organisation’s own training facility.

Executive development and management education

The growth of management programmes offered by the university sector has also been a feature of the last twenty-five years, with an explosion of offerings from a variety of institutions. In the late 1980s, following concerns from both industry and government about the quality and quantity of provision in the UK, and the competitiveness of UK companies in a global marketplace, several reports into the state of management education led to an increase in programmes provided by higher education. Delivery modes for management education can be taught programmes, self-study, blended learning, online programmes and so on. Many larger companies have introduced their own in-house university, offering programmes accredited with existing academic institutions and professional bodies.

Executive development and management learning

Whilst specific training may be part of a wider educational programme for managers, the broader context of how managers learn (and by implication develop) is of particular interest for those engaging in executive coaching. The development of management learning, both as an area of professional and vocational practice and of academic enquiry (Burgoyne and Reynolds, 1997) has influenced the acceptance of HRD as a specialist branch of HRM in recent years. Whilst some practitioners, and custodians of the professional body representing them, have struggled to close the separation of HRM and HRD into distinct specialisms, academics have sought evidence of a body of knowledge and understanding, underpinning the investment in the development of an organisation’s human capital, as well as its management.

Often the political and cultural dimensions of organisations are ignored in the design and implementation of management learning initiatives. Whilst we might assume that a strong unitarist perspective of learning activities predominates in management literature, Burgoyne and Jackson (1997) offer their ‘arena thesis’ as a pluralist paradigm to guide both theory and practice. They see management learning as an arena for social action where conflicting values and purposes meet to be reinforced, reconciled and proliferated. They argue that organisations have become overly concerned with behavioural aspects of management at the expense of ignoring important cognitive and symbolic elements. Yet much of the change taking place within and as a result of executive coaching activity is behaviourally based.

Where practices in the field of management learning and executive development are underpinned by a theoretical framework, this will support both a critical analysis of the reasons for such development, and the establishment of acceptable norms. The search for the ‘best’ way of doing things is ongoing, however, both in terms of generalist management and leadership development activities, and specialist executive coaching within that field. Described as a meso-level discourse on management development (Mabey and Finch-Lees, 2008), best practice is just that: a description of what is considered the most appropriate way of doing things. As we shall see in Chapter 7, one of the current issues for executive coaching, in its search for acceptability as a professional field of activity, is how to establish acceptable norms and define best practice in its field.

The search for credibility by those engaged in the field of leadership and management development and management learning as distinct specialisms within HRD, and their concern, or lack of, with justifying the value of such activity (Reed and Anthony, 1992), mirrors this concern around executive coaching and how it operates within that arena. Existing wide variations in the way in which the training of coaches is undertaken suggests that no definitive view yet exists within this nascent profession (Kearns, 2006) of what core skills, knowledge and experience coaches should have. That situation is changing, however, as purchasers of coaching services become more selective by seeking to work with only accredited coaches, and the coaching professional bodies themselves seek clarity around and acceptance of the need for their membership for both accreditation and coach supervision.

Even before the preliminary contracting activity to explore and set an agreed agenda, a coach will need...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgement
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. Enhancing managerial capability: The nature of executive development and the role of executive coaching
• 2. The dominant discourses of executive coaching: Some influences and issues
• 3. The value proposition of executive coaching
• 4. Qualitative versus quantitative outcomes of executive coaching
• 5. Some methods of measuring the value of executive coaching
• 6. Building the case for measurement: Some key issues
• 7. The professionalisation of executive coaching: Its impact on measurement
• 8. Putting the measurement debate together
• 9. Sense making and claims making: Some final thoughts on the value proposition of executive coaching
• Appendix 1: Examples of different types of ‘helping support’
• Appendix 2: Executive coaching: client information form
• Appendix 3: Example of post-assignment completion questionnaire
• Index