Vanessa runs HR for a large division of a technology firm. The COO asked her to organize a coaching program, noting that, “There are coaches all over the place here, and I have no idea if any of them are any good or adding any value.”

What’s your hypothesis?

I think there are some great coaches here who are doing very good work. And I suspect there are also some coaches who aren’t top notch, don’t have a clear assignment, and/or are focused on under-performers. I don’t think we’re assessing progress anywhere.

What do you want to accomplish?

We need to be more strategic and thoughtful about where and how we use coaching. The work is important, and the investment is huge.

What specifically will success look like?

We need to get clear on when we use a coach: what level of leader and what kinds of leadership needs qualify for coaching. It shouldn’t be just about leaders who are getting derailed. We need to focus most of our attention on our top leaders who are tackling huge new challenges: leading new teams, taking on new roles, shepherding new projects. That’s where I want to invest.

We also need to be clear on the skills and capabilities we require in our coaches, and what we want the selection, contracting, and review process to look like. We need to be more intentional about all of this.

Setting up a new coaching program or evaluating and improving an existing program can be a big undertaking. The potential impact is critical, so it’s worth getting this part right.

In addition to providing individual leader and team coaching, we also help clients set up new coaching programs and evaluate existing ones. We can help

  • Clarify objectives, including how coaching fits into your overall leadership agenda
  • Define criteria and parameters for using coaches
  • Articulate requirements for coaches, such as background, training, certification, and supervision
  • Define a process for requesting coaching and being matched to a coach
  • Build processes and tools to assess coachability in leaders
  • Evaluate coaches and coaching outcomes