Coaching as a Growth Cycle

Coaching as a Growth Cycle: From Transition To Transition

“You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him to discover it within himself.”― Galileo Galilei

Coaching, when done well and right, is a growth cycle process for both the client and the coach. The cycle we propose starts in transition; an impulse, compulsion, or recommendation to seek change. From there it moves to transaction; the coach/client agreement on the “business” of the coaching process. From transaction, the relationship moves to the real job of coaching; the transformational work toward the client’s goal or objective. Working in close collaboration, the coach and client create a shift in the coaching dynamic from “I” to “We” through the evolving dialogue.

If both the client and the coach do their work well, the resulting leadership transformation in the client – improved skills, enhanced competencies, behavioral changes – should naturally lead to a new transition to a higher level of leadership capability and, perhaps, even promotion. On the other hand, transformation for the coach may be a new insight into the use of intuition in their questioning methodology, a deeper sense of vocational purpose, or perhaps a new, or renewed, sense of accomplishment and pride in a job well done. The coach’s transformation, therefore, can become his or her next step, or transition, toward greater effectiveness and efficiency in his/her practice.

In short, not only is the leadership coaching engagement a cycle of growth, from transition to transformation and back to transition, but that it also can and should be a reciprocal one for both client and coach.

Transition

Transition is defined as ‘change or passage from one state or stage to another; the period of time during which something is changed from one state to another.’ The leadership coaching growth cycle begins at some point of transition for the client. Typically, the client finds him or herself stuck in an uncomfortable place or stage in their career. They may be stagnating in their position, or they may have lost their initiative or sense of purpose for the work they have been doing for decades or merely a couple of years. They awake one morning to the hard reality that they need to make a change. Sometimes the need for change is recommended by a boss or HR. In these cases, coaching has to be owned by the client for it to be meaningful. We, as coaches, always find our clients at some level of transition, eager, sometimes desperate, to move from somewhere, to somewhere. The destination may not always be crystal clear for the client, but the impulse to begin the journey, to change, is strong and motivating. The coach’s job is to be a catalyst for effective and actionable change for each individual with whom he or she engages. Coaching is not mentoring, nor is it counseling or training. Occasionally, in the client development process, a coach may act as trusted advisor or counselor. That, however, is the exemption and not the rule. The coach’s primary objective is to facilitate the client’s transition.

On the other hand, what a coach is can be summed up as someone who rigorously practices self-awareness – personal transformation. Great coaches are continually assessing and evaluating their skills, challenges, strengths, and personal goals through a reflective practice, such as journaling or routine discussions with another or other coaches. Great coaches are emotionally intelligent and genuinely curious about the world around them. They are non-judgmental, caring and compassionate, build strong relationships, listen acutely, know their own boundaries and respect those of others. More importantly, they use their intuition to help guide the incisive questions they ask their clients. These qualities are a result of their keen and constant focus on their own personal growth and development. Additionally, it is incumbent on the coach to be clearly aware of not only the discrete differences between clients, but also between each session with the same client. In other words, even though we begin to identify and develop a history with the client – opinions, insights, assumptions, educated guesses about him or her – we must be careful not to fall into a coaching routine that recycles old questioning and methodologies that may be of no further practical use. Each session has the potential to be a breakthrough experience with a transformative quality, transitioning the client and the coach, perhaps, to a whole new level of engagement.

Client Transformation

Transformation is defined as ‘a change in form, appearance, nature, or character; a change or alteration, especially a radical one.’ Clearly, the heart and soul of coaching is realistic and sustainable change. The coach and the client begin the process by exploring the local habitation of the client: “Where are you right now, in your career, in your mission, in your vision, in your professional cycle as well as your personal life?” “What is the pain point, frustration, apprehension, fault or flaw, or aggregate of some or all of these that compel you to seek change? Or, “Why the change now?” “Where, through this journey of change, do you want and need to find yourself?” Once the client has decided that she can no longer accept the status quo and answers the questions with honesty, candor, insight, and integrity, the transition towards transformation begins.

Good coaches ask probing questions. Questions that help them to gain insight into where the client has been, where they are now, and where they wish to be. Coaches explore their clients’ professional personas, their achievements, their promotions, their political gains and sacrifices. The details are always different, but the situation is overall the same. Everything that encompasses who the client is – his/her beliefs, values, aspirations, dreams, hopes, fears, and challenges – are brought to the coaching experience for deep and meaningful exploration. Therein lies the power of coaching and coaches have a tremendous amount of influence on clients’ lives (not to mention organizations) because it stimulates clients to deeply reflect, reframe, and adjust behavior to the realities of the current situation.

The coaching relationship provides a model for the executive to emulate and to use as a lens through which to see and create professional relationships in the wider work context. Since executives work with a wide variety of people, relationship issues can hinder the effectiveness of a leader’s influence within his/her organization. One likely cause of this problem is that most leadership development focuses solely on performance or career advancement, particularly skill development and strategic planning. As useful as these activities are, outcomes may be superficial or fleeting unless development also includes a deeper focus on relationship management.

Coaching is a growth process that promotes intimacy because of the deep connection and trust that develop between coach and client. Additionally, every person inside the company has an agenda of some sort which adds to the complexity of being a leader in an organization. This makes the coaching environment a rare and safe place in which to explore, experiment, and take risks while thinking through what is in the executive’s best interest as a leader in order to guide the organization more effectively in the face of competing agendas. The coach is not only concerned with the executive’s personal transformation, but also with the transformation of the client’s organization.

Coach Transformation

As already noted, executive coaches have a wonderful opportunity in their coaching experience to professionally and personally grow, themselves. If the coach has begun and is continuing to explore their own self-awareness and personal development rigorously, as already suggested, what they bring to and take away from the coaching engagement can be quite substantive on a number of levels. On a professional level, a coach may help facilitate not only a transformation in an executive leader, but also within his or her organization. One’s enhanced coaching skills have the potential to affect many lives, not just the one in the “C” suite.

On the personal level, many coaches relate stories of subsequent friendships that evolved from the coaching relationship after the engagement had ended. Additionally, a good coach has the potential to take away lessons learned about him or herself in in any particular session. Often, the client may mirror the coach’s own fears, challenges, needs; as well as their strengths, core values, and insights.

Transition, Again

When the time comes when both coach and client agree that their work together is complete, both experience a transition. In a best-case scenario, the client has achieved his or her objective(s). The root cause of the initial discontent has been identified and the client has a plan in place to address the issue(s) and is intentional in his or her commitment to change. If the coach and client have worked well together, the client is now unstuck and on a new level of leadership awareness and action. Gone are the dysfunctional behaviors that prompted the seeking of coaching support to begin with and the repetitious patterns of poor judgment, weak communication, indecisiveness, or strained relationships.

The coach, too, is in transition from the role of coach, confidant, and trusted advisor to one client to his/her next executive engagement. In the end, when done well, coaching is a win/win for both the client and the coach.