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Executive coaching combined with an assessment is an invaluable resource for businesses and their talents.
It makes it possible to identify the strengths and areas for improvement of a manager (but not only!) , to make him aware of the nature of his relationship with others and to make him progress in order to increase his impact in the organization.
But in order to set up an effective executive coaching policy, it is important to choose the right approach.
Indeed, too many coaching programs today lack content.
They hide a lack of concrete results by monitoring indicators that are difficult to measure, or even by a lack of total monitoring.
However, while executive coaching has, by its nature, elements linked to the participant's feelings, it is also composed of measurable elements to be able to assess his success.
And this is the main reason why coaching based on an assessment is a useful approach for organizations, as it provides essential objective data for the coach and the participant.
Before choosing a coaching program, it is therefore important to fully understand this difference.
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The executive coaching market is valued at around $9.3 billion and is growing at around 12% per year.
According to Jackie Sahm, MS, Director of Product Development at Hogan Assessments, “In the past, executive coaching was seen as a solution to a problem. Now, he is seen as a performance enhancer, a signal to the executive that the organization wants to continue investing in him.”
And as a result, executive coaching now places particular importance on well-being and performance over time.
Other trends include the democratization of coaching, where coaching is offered to people at all levels of the company and not just managers and high potentials.
Technology has reduced some barriers to the implementation of coaching for all, especially in terms of investment.
Artificial intelligence in the coaching space also shows potential and seems to be gaining in influence, with certain precautions to be taken into account.
Faced with the explosion of supply on the market, finding quality executive coaching is becoming a real challenge and offers at very low prices are flourishing, often to the detriment of the coachee because it is often difficult to judge quality without having started coaching.
Therefore, it is all the more important to pay attention to the results of coaching and to the concrete improvements brought about by coaching.
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The way coaching results are evaluated today is mostly based on satisfaction questionnaires, which basically means asking people what they thought of the experience.
On average, more than 80% of people say they enjoyed the coaching experience, are satisfied with it, and recommend coaching to others.
That doesn't mean that most coaches are great! But rather that most people like to talk about themselves.
Satisfaction is easy to measure.
Measuring the return on coaching investment is more difficult.
However theuse of data is essential in HR topics.
It is important to measure the results, or the effectiveness of coaching, in the performance of the leader and his team, especially in their organizational function.
Instead of simply giving advice or space for participants to talk, quality coaches will focus on behavioral modification that impacts performance results, for example.
Just as sports coaches focus on practice, evaluation and development, an executive coach should give practice missions, expect the participant to get feedback from those around them and help the participant analyze the results and set new practice goals.
The coach holds the participant responsible for their progress in the context of organizational performance.
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The main difference between traditional coaching and coaching based on an assessment lies in the use of a valid and quality diagnosis. Good personality assessments, like those used at Authentic Talent, are designed to predict workplace performance, or how the behavior of a leader or individual will affect those around them.
However, this is not the only thing that distinguishes assessment-based coaching.
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Executive coaching based on assessment is measurable.
It is not enough for a coach to look at performance reviews and ask the participant, for example, how many hours of sleep they get.
Just as a doctor shouldn't treat a patient without testing, a coach shouldn't coach a leader without initial evaluation.
Executive coaching based on assessment establishes a starting point for the development of the person. It is also an objective assessment that allows clear objectives to be set, which are essential to an appropriate coaching plan.
To paraphrase Lewis Carroll, “if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there.”
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Coaches need data on the behavioral strengths and potential weaknesses that a person brings to their environment.
The participant also needs to know this. Often, people are unwilling to tell their hierarchy the truth, so managers receive partial, indirect, or even distorted feedback. Assessments can help identify maladaptive behaviors and opportunities for improvement.
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Executive coaching based on assessment is also differentiating.
Given the absence of a regulatory body in executive coaching, clients often use certifications to identify the expertise of a coach or coaching business.
They expect coaches to have specific certifications that meet their organizational needs.
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A high-quality assessment can significantly improve the quality of coaching for both the leader and the coach.
Sustainable, meaningful, and deeply powerful coaching comes from valid evaluations that represent the richness and complexity of individual differences — not those that reduce personality to a few types.
Valid and reliable evaluations can transform a leader's understanding of himself and his relationships with others.
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With the democratization of coaching likely to continue, coaching technology will help shape the future of the space. “Hopefully, we'll see coaching become more results-oriented with more measurable results and that we can take advantage of the big data we have,” Jackie said.
Even if AI coaches don't prove to be equivalent to human coaches, AI could help automate some of a coach's preparation, interpretation, or analysis.
In conclusion, setting up an executive coaching strategy is a real advantage for the performance of your teams. And it's also a good way to retain your talents.
But the choice of coaching is fundamental and will determine the return on investment that the company and the participant will get from coaching.
It is therefore important to favour a scientific approach and rational results to maximize the effectiveness of the approach.
