The Coach and The Coachee

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Dick Huiras, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

The article was written by Dick Huiras, President/Senior Partner

“ All opinions are expressly those of the clients, coaches, and myself and are not intended to dictate if or how you should use a coach or market your coaching.”

Part I – From the client’s point-of-view
Part II – From the coach’s perspective

The discussion post was as follows:

Do you see value in business or personal coaching?
One of the many things successful people have in common is a business and/or personal coach. If you see value in a coach, what would you want from- and how would you use your coach?
I was amazed at how quickly the responses started pouring into my email box. The responses are broken down into two categories, those written by clients and those written by coaches.
The clients using coaches have expressed the importance of the coach being familiar with their industry. They felt that in a coaching environment too many questions or issues may be posed to the coach that was industry-specific. They also indicated there is a big difference between coaches who are coaching an executive on the company and an executive in a company. The latter is an executive who is getting personal coaching rather than being coached as the CEO.
Other studies have shown that companies overall are not paying for coaching, but are putting an importance on the individual to seek out coaching. Movement up the organizational ladder can be accelerated by the individual’s initiatives to seek out professional growth through training and coaching.

Part I – From the client’s point-of-view

Yes, I believe there is value in coaching if you are: Looking for something to be different or better. Ready to become more aware of your strengths and development needs. Ready to take action. What I have found has worked with a few coaches is that when seeking a coach, I am looking for someone with expertise who can also act as a mentor for whatever challenge I want to work on. The bottom line in my view is that people need to be clear about why they are hiring a coach.

Dick, you asked: “If you see value in a coach, what would you want from- and how would you use your coach?” Absolutely see value in a coach. No question about it. What I want from a coach is feedback, i.e., positive and specific input on my performance so that I can play better.

There are 2 questions here. The headline questions value and the body asks what one would want. What is the question? Regarding value – yes, for some situations providing the coach is properly experienced and qualified in that area and recognizes his/her limits in knowledge and calls in professionals with more experience in some areas. The answer is not necessarily ‘within us’, but might be found with more research and with input from other professionals. It may not be a developmental issue; rather, it may be an information issue. It does separate people management and development from workflow so the responsibilities are clearer, and in some cases, it’s not the person being coached but the ‘boss’ who is the problem and can be told so by the independent coach. For Independent Professionals working alone, coaching acts as a sounding board, an arm’s length mirror/advocate and we all need one of those if we don’t have a water fountain to visit regularly. How would I use a coach? If I had some issues where I needed independent feedback for values or self-management issues, but not for day-to-day business decisions and development because it’s not a coach’s area of expertise. I have seen a lot of damage done by coaches who tried to be all things, far beyond their knowledge.

I think it depends on how the coach works. If they can bring genuine value, then naturally it is worthwhile. However, if they state the obvious then, it is far more limited. I also think the rapport and trust between the coach and executive are crucial. Personal and business coaches may be useful if the person does not have a mentor, in particular, if times are difficult and decisions, which are tough and complex, needs to be taken. This does require the coach to have prior experience from these types of situations/decisions. One can draw a parallel between the value of coaches to the value of management consultants.

Here is my opinion- As the saying goes" Wisdom is in having all the right questions and not having all the answers", I believe a coach’s inherent quality should be of a student rather than an expert. I definitely see a huge value in personal and business coaching in today’s environment where it forces all of us to keep focusing on improving our skills and making each other “sack proof”

Obviously, there are cultural differences in the way ‘values’ are perceived, even if they are said to be universal. At least as far as the Indian corporate environment is concerned, the term value is largely applicable to the individual, although, again, all corporate bodies claim to live by values (it is sad to admit that there is a good amount of cynicism on this side of Planet Earth). My take is that coaching can and should add value to the individual first, and then to the business he/she is in.

There is tremendous value in business coaching. Unfortunately, many coaching schools tell their students “you don’t have to know anything about someone’s industry or what they do to coach them”. I guess that’s true if you’re focused strictly on personal coaching, but bad advice if you want to work in a business environment. When I review coaches I always look for someone who knows about whatever issue I’m facing (or the client is facing) as well as knowledge of that individual’s work environment and/or role.

A coach is a perfect resource to help successfully transfer learning from training back to the workplace. But it goes beyond that. When I first came to my current company, I was assigned a mentor, who was essentially a coach. He helped me adjust to the new culture, was a resource when I had questions, and generally helped me get up to speed with my new work environment. On top of all this, he was my first “friend” at the company, which made my transition go so much more smoothly.

Coach or mentor – yes I see a great deal of value in them. They can help us look at situations differently than we are accustomed to. They can also help us look at ourselves more deeply.

Unfortunately, there are too many ‘coaches’ out there. I think it has watered down the effectiveness of the endeavor as a whole, so I would probably answer no, I don’t see the value.

There are two types of coaching – so it would depend on what you are seeking. The first type of coaching – executive – works to fill gaps in knowledge, skills, and abilities by developing development plans and working to build an accountability network around the individual. This is often called coaching for results and involves a more directed approach based on the goals of the coachee. The second type is designed not to build skills or abilities, but to help individuals put the puzzle pieces together around an issue they are struggling with. This usually means most individuals have the knowledge somewhere inside them but need help seeing it from a different perspective. This type involves questioning, encouragement, and calls to action.

I would have to say that a coach asks powerful questions that lead to discoveries about self, behaviors, thought patterns, and other human conditions. “Those people” that want/desire coaching are people who are willing to think outside the box, take risks and look outside themselves for inspiration. It’s a good healthy sign of humility.

Absolutely! It doesn’t supersede the individual’s skills or expertise, but it allows that to unfold even more strongly since coaches have only one stake in the equation: to make you think more clearly about what you’re facing. As a marketer, I often act as a “coach” to keep things moving in the right direction and to help find the solutions that already reside within the individual or the company.

I think a business coach is excellent for keeping a business team focused on its overall goal. The sports analogy is over-used, perhaps, but true. A good coach can help identify each team member’s strengths and weaknesses, and create ways for each member to contribute to the team’s goals.

Yes, absolutely, as a solo performer in a niche business, residing in a rural setting, excellent coaching is a vital necessity for keeping on a productive, track. Especially during a time of change, a positive, experienced, and focused mentor has been invaluable to keeping my creativity high and my business vision alive. I owe a great deal to my present coach.

Yes, it can have great value depending on (1) the goals; (2) the coach; and (3) the client’s willingness to be coached.

Dick, I see a great value in coaching or mentoring in business. I use coaching and mentoring in my last three jobs in Iraq where I along with other team members mentored members of the Ministry of Defense/Logistics community and the same with members of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior’s logistics community. In both cases, we were trying to set up logistics organizations and teach the members the basic concepts of logistics as used by the military in the United States. It worked extremely well. Thanks.
I do agree that the key attribute of an effective coach is in fact experience with success and failure and not in just a single field. This is an important item that should be thoroughly investigated before engaging in a contract with any trainer or coach.

Hi Dick, I agree with Dick but let me go a little further. There are lots of people calling themselves coaches who have no coach-specific training or a background that brings value to the client. What happens is a nice conversation, but no forward movement on the part of the client. There are lots of counterfeit coaches who don’t have the necessary skills. Let me give you a sports analogy. Just because I coach my young son’s basketball team, that doesn’t give me the skills to coach an NBA team. Is coaching effective? Yes! Are all coaches competent? NO!

Dick, I noticed that your responses are thinly veiled advertisements from consultants. My experience as a recidivist entrepreneur, board member, and advisor to multiple CEOs is that the key attributes of an effective coach are experience, discipline, and forcefulness. The first – experience – is what most ‘coaches’ lack. I have written articles about this syndrome – the business failures acting as coaches. Here are some examples of my writings: I think that most coaches are disingenuous – they sell something that is far less effective than advertised mostly because they can’t think of anything else to do. But, when you look behind the facade, you don’t see evidence that they are successful. It is much like the promoter of a book that tells you how to grow rich doing something but when you ask about how rich they are they tell you how busy they have been spreading the word.

I’m sure there is great value in coaching. Certainly, most successful athletes have coaches. But I question whether it is fact that most successful people in business have a personal coach (unless we stretch the definition to include spouse, best mate, and or business colleagues.) If I were to get a personal coach I would be looking for someone to help me improve my business performance (i.e. lead, manage, use time, etc. better.) A great book on coaching – The Inner Game of Tennis – (and not just for coaching sport) suggests that the best way to coach is to let the coachee observe best practice and absorb it without too much feedback. I can see this being difficult to implement in a business environment, but it does talk to the point that one of the best things that you can do is get a boss who is great at what she does and that you want to emulate.

All successful people have a confidant (or two) from whom they can learn and soundboard. I see it as a long-term relationship – someone who knows me, my strengths and weaknesses, and who can tell me the bad news. My primary coach is my wife! Very vital for a CEO because they have so few people they can trust and are not supposed to show any weakness.

Part II – From the coach’s perspective

We are all about Sales Force Development, Training, and Coaching. Our clients generate more revenue within the first 90 days. Most clients tell us that the program more than pays for itself in that same period of time. Our coaching/training is not “off the shelf” it is reinforced throughout each month for a year at a time. Some clients have been with us for 10 years! They attribute their success to the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques that they learn to use with us; their Trainers and Personal Coaches.

I have been playing in this sandbox for many years. My perception is that a long time ago I was an external consultant, then a performance consultant, then a productivity partner, then a just-in-time advisor, then an independent team member, then back to business consultant, and now a behavioral performance coach. The name may change and the work stays the same. The only difference is that today, more clients are using my coaching services and paying as individuals and not via their organizations. In general, the value-added is help for the organization or individual from an independent, qualified, external professional.

It appears that it depends on how one practices consulting and how one practice coaching. As has been pointed out in this thread, approaches to coaching range from being strictly focused on process (as in enabling a client to discover her/his solutions), to a combination of process and advisory services couched in specialized industry expertise. A similar spectrum is present in consulting. So I’d suggest that the difference (or similarity as the case may be) has more to do with the way one defines the respective disciplines and her or his corresponding approach to the practice. At the end of the day, it may not matter as long as the client is deriving value from the process.

I am a career coach and offer that what clients ask for may not be what they need. Often someone will say they just need to get the team in shape to get productivity up when in fact, they need to communicate in a more empowering manner. Do this, don’t do that are substituted with “this is our objective, what do you think is the best way to get there” and other such dialog-inducing conversations. One client needed, for example, to learn to discuss solutions rather than problems to keep morale up and engage senior management. What he asked for was help becoming promoted…It’s all a process. Search Coach. To avoid confusion about my title, clients sometimes come to me to help them get promotions, and others, once I help them land the job, keep me on board as a career coach.

I have been a business consultant for over 20 years and most recently have worked with CEOs and business owners in getting their businesses to the next level of success. I have never been a coach, but want to learn more about this discipline. I would appreciate having a coach explain the differences between a business consultant working with individuals and a business or personal coach.

A coach doesn’t tell a person what they need. On the other hand, they do help them see things from different perspectives and become clearer about what they want so that they make decisions from a different place. When we try to do things from what we think we “should” do – it usually doesn’t work as well as when we are “inspired” to take action. The other big thing that a coach can do is help a client see what their limiting beliefs and repeating patterns are. Regarding leadership and business, it is often difficult to find someone to talk to confidentially and to be challenged truthfully. They can then respond to conflict or challenges in a better and more confident way. These are just a few of the many benefits of coaching.

As I’m sure you know, the term “coach” often leads to misconceptions about what we as executive coaches do to help our clients…The term conjures up images of sports coaches that tell their players what to do, with a playbook even, and how to do it.

While I have done a lot of personal coaching, coaches have a wide variety of experience (and sometimes lack thereof), and therefore might not have what you need. First ask yourself, what do I want from a coach? How will I know that he or she is delivering value? What skill sets do I need to develop? After you know exactly what you want, then look for a coach who can help you develop those particular skills. I have run several small businesses, and departments in large corporations, plus I have an advanced degree in psychology, so I usually coach small business owners or department supervisors who have personal issues that are currently preventing them from becoming better managers. Other coaches have other niches. Coaching is like any other product: Decide what you want to accomplish, what you need to accomplish, then find the coach with those skill sets.

Good discussion. Some people may perceive the consultant engages in episodic assessment, evaluation, and training activities, whereas the coach provides ongoing support to brainstorm, identify, and implement change. When I coach clients, I use the same skill sets as I do when consulting. The difference is that as a coach, I provide more guidance and serve as a sounding board for executive directors to explore management options. Another difference is that I work with the client to address personal skills and leadership development.

I am a coach – but I also have a coach. What I value is her understanding of me and of the business, I’m in. She sees what I’m capable of when I don’t and pushes me to accomplish it. I don’t think I would be where I am if not for her.

A Personal Coach could provide valuable insight in networking; resume writing, interviewing techniques, career path (progression), etc. A Personal Coach can show you how to work the room regarding networking events help with personal branding and career assessments. It seems that business coaches are in demand for outplacement services and they are also utilized on college campuses in Career Service Centers.

As a Business Coach, I can confirm that my clients are looking to either deal with a current dilemma they face or find ways to maximize their long-term business performance. In either case, they are focused on the future and need help in planning to set and achieve goals.

I believe that coaching is a valuable tool for people in general (although you would probably expect me to say that, wouldn’t you). In my experience, I have found that those people who invite me to coach them in business later report the benefits of our sessions to their personal lives and vice versa. I am intrigued by the suggestion that I need to know about a client’s business environment to successfully coach them. I believe that, as a coach, I am helping them identify the trigger to their issue or challenge and then enabling them to access the resources that they have in them to change their behavior when that trigger occurs again. I am not offering my solutions to their issue or challenge (how does my solution help them become more resourceful) and I am not providing business advice to the person (that, in my opinion, is the role of a mentor who does need to be business knowledgeable).

I take a “holistic approach to business” so I see there is added value to knowing and understanding the business sector and environment that the client is facing, as this will have an impact on how you coach/mentor/consult the individual or organization. I have been working in the HIV sector for several years, primarily nonprofits, substance abuse shops, and departments of health. Recently I started working as a coach with a young woman who was working as a manager in a department of the health union shop. While many of the other factors remained the same, the fact that she was in a union shop changed my approach, due to the culture of unions. Motivational Interviewing is focused on understanding the client and their situation so that the work that coaching has a greater level of relevance. How important it is for the service provider to understand the sector/environment will inherently depend on several factors, i.e the nature and urgency of the engagement, the degree to which the individual is seeking personal vs professional assistance, how much does the culture of the organization dictate behavior, etc. For example, working with someone in the military would necessitate understanding some of the nuances of military life. The more we understand the situation facing our clients the more informed our interaction is.

Dick, I conduct business coaching and have found the most important piece of my engagement is Accountability. That is, holding the business owner accountable for what “they” have agreed to do before we meet again the following week. Most business owners enjoy having someone to be accountable to (after a few weeks, that is!)

As a recently trained supervisor of coaches whether it is supervision or coaching so much depends on the rapport built at the outset so that challenging questions can be asked in a positive environment. Coming from a line management background far too many people struggle with issues owing to the fact they think it is a sign of weakness to have a coach. In fact, the opposite is the case as with the right focus and support people move very quickly with the aid of a coach. Coaching makes a tangible difference to people and managers if the people want to be coached in the first place. It is good to see coaching having a platform and being debated.

I work as a coach for both personal and professional development and I agree with Cora and others about the role of the Coach. When people have asked me what coaching is all about, I think of it as “helping people to help themselves” and I have LOADS of questions in my toolkit to help people to understand their own patterns of behavior, what is stopping them to change, and importantly, what it will take for them to transform their life. Once individuals recognize that they are often “standing in their own way”, it is amazing how quickly things can change and start putting their focus and energy in a direction that is less stressful and more enjoyable.

This article is provided by :

Dick Huiras, President/Senior Partner, Edge 2 Edge Business Consulting,
dick@edge2edgebc.com