2011

CONSTANTA COACH - COACHEE MATCHING TOOL [CCCMT]

2011 2012 TM DEPARTMENT AIESEC CONSTANTA 9/5/2011

Contents

Chapter I. A match made in Heaven II. CCCTM Outcome: Creating lasting impact II.1. Building trust II.2. Managing the dynamic II.3. Sustainable success

Page 3 5 5 6 7

III.

The matching process III.1. Constanta Coach Coachee Matching Process

9 10

IV.

How to know if you have found the right coach

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Bibliography

PART I A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

Organizations are demanding a high return for their coaching investment. Accordingly, best practice coaches must deliver levels of productivity, effectiveness, innovation and impact which could not otherwise have been obtained. Selecting the right coach for the organization's specific needs is the basis for producing those superior results. But, the power of that coaching engagement flows from: The structure of the relationship; The coach's skill in moving the coachee towards high impact goals; The coachee's commitment and willingness to change. All coaching is about bringing out your best self so that ones life is both successful and rewarding, personally and professionally. Coaching facilitates clarity, goal-setting, prioritization, planning, and action in a holistic way. While certain coaching skills could be considered somewhat standard or uniform, many coaches today choose to specialize in a particular coaching niche that embraces their own personal interest and experience as well. The goal of this Constanta Coach-Coachee Matching Tool (CCCMT) is to match up client and coach based upon the clients goals and objectives. For example, a coach with professional expertise in the area of career management is of particular value to a client whose objectives are career related. Or, an executive seeking leadership or management skills would likely be served best by a coach who intimately understands the corporate environment with its practices and politics. The coach-coachee relationship is best described as a partnership, one in which both sides work together to reach an agreed-upon destination. Obviously, neither coach nor coachee could get there alone. From such mutual reliance confidence, trust, and even friendship develops along the way. The relationship is not one of equals, however. The coach, not the coachee, is in control of the pace and direction of the journey. It is within the coach's realm of responsibility to set the ground rules, collect the necessary information, asses, analyze and judge the situation, define the right action plan, push or prod accordingly, monitor progress, adjust approach as required, and deliver the goods. All of this needs to be done openly and with the full cooperation of the coachee but the coach's skill, experience, and adaptability is driving the process.

The coachee has his or her own responsibilities. As in any form of counseling that is oriented around change, the coachee must commit to the hard work, risk and awkwardness that are part of real, sustained impact. In other words, the coachee must take ownership over his or her own progress, working at it consistently and with commitment, while trusting the coach to be there with all necessary support and expertise. Further, it is important for everyone to understand the risk of a person taking on change and the subsequent fear of failure that can result. If the coachee is not willing to make that level of commitment, or, as sometimes happens, if the organization is not truly willing to be supportive, then it's up to the coach to identify that problem, clarify expectations and continues or abandons the project as need be.

PART II CCCTM OUTCOME: CREATING LASTING IMPACT

Best practice coaching is a combination of empathy and structure. Coaches develop the structure by setting the stage, assessing the current situation, creating alignment around needs, focusing on objectives, laying out a future plan and executing it with sufficient follow-up. The art of coaching lies in the human dynamic, however. It encompasses the means by which the coach builds trust, adjusts the coaching process to meet the coachee's personal strengths and pace, and fosters the conditions necessary for success. Personal style has a lot to do with how best practice coaches create lasting impact, but describing that dynamic can help coachees and clients know what to expect.

II.1. Building Trust

Trust is both a foundation and an outcome of the coaching partnership. Best practice coaches are able to create the foundation of trust from the outset, by the end of the first meeting. How do they do it? Self-Awareness Coaches are people with a high degree of self-knowledge, gained over time. They are not without ego, but they are humble and open, and can project these qualities clearly. They have a strong personal ethic and set of values which they demonstrate in their behaviors. Empathy Coaches are skilled at listening, questioning and empathizing. They develop an understanding of the coachee's position and personality very quickly, focusing keenly on that person's needs. They adjust their own style to fit the coachee. Credibility Coaches have a level of experience which provides them with instant credibility. They can communicate in a language and style with which coachee's are familiar. They have a knowledge base, which is now at the disposal of the coachee. Real Relationship Coaches do not just give, they receive. Coaching is a journey of learning and growth for both coach and coachee. If the relationship were one way, it wouldn't foster the highest levels of trust.

The coaching partnership achieves its impact because of the foundation of trust. The more trust the coach can generate, the more the coachee can achieve.

II.2. Managing the Dynamic

Whether the coaching objectives are directed toward strategy, personal leadership, transitions or organizational change, at least 75% of that coaching is focused on the human dynamic over the more technical aspects of the challenge. In order to meet the coaching objectives in the desired time frame, the coach must be able to skillfully manage that dynamic, allowing the coachee to learn, grow and succeed at an optimal rate. This growth takes place at the very edge of the coachee's comfort zone, where creative possibility is just within reach. How does the coach produce such magic? First, the coach has a clear understanding of what needs to be worked on, in large part because he or she is able to think in terms of behaviors. For example, most people are quick to hold a person's personality at fault if they are not accomplishing some objective. Manager X is ineffective because he is not assertive or risk-taking enough, while manager Y is overbearing and closed off to new ideas. As personality traits, these can be intimidating challenges, but when viewed as behaviors, they are eminently changeable. As an example, a manager who is not assertive enough or who is too risk-averse needs to: Understand the context in which that behavior occurs Have the behavior pointed out when they demonstrate it Be trained to have an alternative behavior available to them for future occasions Be encouraged to continue practicing that behavior even when it feels awkward or meets with less than spectacular success Become a natural and skilled user of that learned behavior over time

A behavioral change or a strategy implementation will not succeed if the coach is only there to provide the initial push, no matter how solid and insightful the advice. Progress must be monitored at appropriately frequent intervals to ensure the change. The coach understands the coachee, the environment and the challenge well enough to know when to apply more gas, when to touch on the brake, and when to change direction. The coach is always trying to create the most powerful and sustainable results in the shortest time frame. How fast can the coachee be moved along? How is the

coachee doing emotionally and mentally with the changes taking place? Is there a danger zone approaching in which the coachee will be placed in a situation that mightjeopardize chances of success or reduce his or her willingness to take further risks? Is the organization providing sufficient support for the change? The coach modifies the approach as required, recalibrating it to optimize the pace of the coachee's development in a way that allows the coach to meet his or her commitments and agreedupon objectives. The coachee's best interests are kept in mind throughout this recalibration. Even though the organization might be the paying client, the coach is not going to be part of any vehicle operating against the coachee. The ethic of coaching requires the coach to manage the client's expectations just as skillfully as he or she manages the coach's progress.

II.3. Sustainable Success

Success isn't measured by how well the coachee performs with the coach's direct help; it must be judged by how well the coachee performs after the coach has left the scene. If the coach has truly done the job, the coachee will have the capabilities and tools to succeed independently. How does the coach create sustainable success? First, the coach must ensure that the coachee is actually anchored to the change they've experienced. It's easy to change in the short-term. It's more difficult to change permanently. In some ways, this is the difference between technique and understanding. In other words, just because the coachee is making a conscious effort to think or behave differently, that doesn't mean he or she won't go back to old habits when that conscious approach falls off the daily to-do list. That's the internal battle. There will also be a great deal of external pressure on the coachee to leave their new performance zone for the familiarity and comfort of the old zone. To manage the external pressure, the coach tries to create the conditions for success in the coachee's environment. That might involve preparing the people around the coachee for the changes that are taking place by enlisting their support and understanding. Not all of the coachee's reports and colleagues will be actively rooting for his or her success, especially if behavioral problems have been part of the mix. But if 80% of those people can be brought on board, the chances of that success being sustained are much greater. Creating sustainable success is part of the coach's exit strategy. The process of weaning the coachee from the coach's guidance involves checking in to ensure the change is still in place. It's the

coach's obligation to help the coachee prepare for the change, accomplish the change, and sustain the change. The occasional phone call to the coachee or the coachee's key stakeholders can evaluate how well the coaching impact has lasted. The impact of monitoring after the engagement is formally over cannot be underestimated. As coaching comes under more and more pressure to demonstrate its return on investment, demonstrating sustainability of success is becoming critical. Revenue for even the blue-chip consulting firms has fallen, in large part because clients were never actively weaned from consultant-dependency and capabilities were not sufficiently transferred. The business model of best practice coaching is clearly aligned with these new demands, but coaches must be able to demonstrate that they are living up to those demands through their results. Ultimately, the success of the coaching partnership is not measured by coach coachee chemistry or the satisfaction of the coachee; it is measured by the business results. Nevertheless, the partnership is one of mutual benefit and the satisfaction in that should be felt by both parties. The coachee has taken a journey from vulnerability to competence with a new base level of high performance. Along the way, he or she has received side-benefits of greater satisfaction in their work, more authenticity in their personal calling and increased creativity in their role. The coach has also taken a journey, though it is perhaps one more leg on an even longer adventure. By working closely with another human being and seeing that work come to success, they have gained a valuable experience while developing in approach, insight and self- awareness.

PART III THE MATCHING PROCESS

Mentoring and coaching programs match participants through a variety of means that require f different levels of resources. The various approaches have a different degree of success in matching he participants; for the most successful match, organizations should chose an approach that balances providing sufficient participant choice in the match while still overseeing the process enough to ensure pant effective knowledge transfer and participant development. Participant match choice increases retention, engagement, decision making ability, and self confidence in promotion pros prospects for participants. However, giving participants complete freedom in finding a mentor/coach lowers the success of the match by forcing participants to reply on their networks and resources to find and screen a mentor/coach.

III.1. Constanta Coach Coachee Matching Process

Step 1: Both coaches and coachees fill out the personaldna.com test and send their results to the Coaching Responsible in @Ct. Step 2*: Coaches also fill out their EURO PASS CV and send it to the Coaching Responsible.

CHOSING MY COACH
Step 1**: Coaching Responsible comes up with all the coaches CVs that correspond to coachees' Self Assessment. Step 2: Coachee chooses his own preferential Top 3.

Step 1***: Coachee and Top 3 coaches meet up in a "speed dating" context. They answer a short set of prepre established questions. Step 2: Coachee chooses 1 coach and the matching process is over.

SELF ASSESSMENT

SPEED DATING

* Coaches fill out their EURO PASS CV mostly with focus on their Coaching experience, but the whole AIESEC Experience is also relevant and important. ** Coaching Responsible along with VP TM chooses most relevant CVs in terms of: Area to be assessed by TM Dept CV Area that helps Measurement
No correlation whatsoever of coachs experience with coachees areas of interest Medium correlation of coachs experience with coachees areas of interest (Coach has minimum 2 experiences on those areas) Strong Correlation of coachs experience with coachees areas of interest Coachs conferences & seminaries participation No Coaching Preparation RED Not a valid choice ORANGE Possible choice GREEN Strongly recommended choice RED Not a valid choice GREEN Possible choice

Expertise in the required coaching issues

Coachs AIESEC Experience

Level of Coaching

At least a basic Train the Coaches

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Using this information, coaches are selected based on their match with the coachee requirements and the CVs sent. Best practice suggests that coachees should be asked to identify the coaching style which they feel would be most beneficial to them, we do this using the following five continuums: Directive: Coach readily shares own views, coach leads and directs the discussion Challenging: Coach frequently challenges and questions the coachees thinking and approach to situations Reflective: Coach encourages early reflection and thinking with a focus on mentally rehearsing and preparing for situations Structured: Coach encourages a structure approach, adopting a planned approach to addressing issues Conceptual: Discussion focuses on broader issues and themes that underpin success by asking why vs. Facilitative: Coach encourages coach to arrive at their own conclusions and to lead and direct the discussion Supportive: Coach provides support and acts as a sounding board for coachees to describe their planned approach Action oriented: Coach encourages early experiments and a quicker pace with relatively less emphasis on reflection Fluid: Coach encourages an exploratory, flexible approach where agenda evolves and focus changes Practical: Discussion focuses on providing practical solutions and strategies by tackling challenges and asking how

vs.

vs.

vs.

vs.

To help candidates make the right decision it is advisable to inform the coachee on the relative benefits of working with a coach who is both: Very similar in style to them: for example, rapport may be more immediate, communication and perspectives more similar and therefore can be one less thing to think about Different in style: for example, this presents an opportunity to learn and be challenged by someone with a very different perspective. Experience has shown that this is an important aspect of the matching process to avoid any misconceptions. Ultimately, the decision on coach selection rests with the coachee. TM role is to offer carefully vetted coaches who will deliver what is required.

*** Pre established short set of questions for Speed Dating: What are you looking for in a coach? What are you looking for in a coachee? What 3 characteristics do you most values in a successful leader? What 3 characteristics would you most want to acquire immediately to improve your career?

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After each conversation, participants rank the quality of the interaction on a scale from one to five. At the end of the full event, mutual fives are paired. Where no pairing occurs, the TM Department uses a follow-up assignment mechanism, which begins with an understanding of what types of concerns might have arisen in the five-minute conversation.

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PART IV HOW TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE FOUND THE RIGHT COACH OACH

Coachee feels confident that his/her coach has the experience and the skills to help reach his/her goals. Coachee feels his/her coach really gets where he/she is at and where he/she wants to go. Coachee hears sincere interest in coachs voice when he/she discuss own goals discusses and aspirations. Coachee feels listened to when he/she speaks. Coachee is motivated and energ tivated energized about his/her goals and life. Coachee feels respected and appreciated for who he/she is. Coachee trusts that his/her coach can support him/her when he/she stretches out of his/her stretch comfort zone. Coachee is more focused and alive in his/her life.

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Bibliography

Triple Creek Associates, Benefits of Self-Selection Mentoring, Triple Creek Associates (2007). (Obtained through http://www.3creek.com/resources/booklets/SelfSelection.pdf) Corporate Leadership Council, Bell Canada's Online Mentoring Program, Washington: Corporate Executive Board (January 2003) Corporate Leadership Council, Tools to Assist Mentees in Selecting and Assessing Mentors, Washington: Corporate Executive Board (September 2003) Corporate Leadership Council, JPMorgan Chase: Launching a Diversity Reverse Mentoring Program, Washington: Corporate Executive Board (January 2004) Corporate Leadership Council, Mentoring: From Theory to Action, Washington: Corporate Executive Board (March 2005) Corporate Leadership Council, MENTORMOTO: Frequently Asked Questions, Washington: Corporate Executive Board (June 2005) Corporate Leadership Council, Bell Canada's Online Mentoring Program Corporate Executive Board, The Next Generation: Practice #10: Coach-Assisted Mentoring, Washington: Corporate Executive Board (June 2000) Author Unknown, People Search, Hoovers (2007) (Obtained through www.hoovers.com) Blue Edge Consulting ltd., Chemistry counts the coach matching process (Obtained through www.blueedge.eu.com) Howard J. Morgan, Creating a powerful coach coachee partnership

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