It may seem strange that as a business and executive coach I am going to address the issue of why coaching does not work.
What follows is based on my experience of coaching over the last 15 years.
Delusion No 1 – The Fixer
Many clients have a belief that the coach will come in and fix whatever is wrong in the business. This is a fallacy. The task of the coach is to dig deep and find the obvious as well as the unobvious criteria that are inhibiting the growth of the business. The coach brings those unconscious thoughts to the fore, to the conscious mind, so that the problem can be recognized and the right solutions found. The business fixes the problems, not the coach.
Delusion no 2 – The Illusion
Often the client will make time to see the coach on a weekly basis but very often will not find the time to implement the action points into their business or area of responsibility. It is arrogant to believe that change happens in a vacuum. The coach then comes week after week, harping on the same thing because it is very difficult to move forward when the basics are not in place. Or, when the ‘elephant in the room’ is not being addressed.
Delusion No 3 – Denial
There have been many times when working in business that the business owner denies that the problem is ‘that bad’. They come from a point of view that someone is needed to help shift gears but by and large everything is fine. An example of this is working with a sales team to increase monthly sales. One then finds out that the Internal Sales Department is in shambles and are unconsciously sabotaging sales. Management will however insist it’s the reps and has nothing to do with the support system, Internal Sales.
Delusion No 4 – No Accountability
It amazes me that most business will have in place a staff members job description, what they are responsible for and what is expected of them in terms of deliverables. The problem is that most of this information is locked in a cupboard somewhere and no one is held accountable for the very things that they were employed to do in the first place.
Delusion No 5 – Structure is micro managing.
Many employees feel that if they are asked to show their activities and performance on time sheets, daily or weekly reports or whatever else is required by the company, they are being micro-managed. And management buys into this! Rubbish and more rubbish. The person is employed to do a job and that job has certain deliverables. To help them do the job excellently the company has given them a structure to work from. If the results are not coming in, it is often because they are not being responsible and therefor try every trick in the book to evade accountability. The irony is that structure helps to create a trusting and supportive work environment which is the very opposite of micro management.
Delusion No 6 – Values
It is imperative that the coach has a similar value system to you. If this is the case, change can happen at a faster pace than if coach has a different value system. The reason is that if someone on a very deep fundamental level does not have similar values you, then on an unconscious level you begin to doubt and this manifests as procrastination.
Although there are many more reasons why coaching does not work the bottom line is that you don’t just choose a coach. You need to make sure that you have a broad idea of what is needed. For example you might be a right brained entrepreneur who loves thinking out of the box and is very innovative and creative. Your short fall though is you are not good with systems and procedures. You know, unconsciously, that this is where you need help. You then get a coach where this is their forte rather than another big thinker that expands the business but where the foundations are weak.
Go in Grace
Michelle.
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