There is a great article on coaching in law firms in last week's Gazette (page 26) on coaching. With this in mind I offer you this article on the subject from a coach that I know in Bristol.
Coaching could work for you
There’s little doubt that there are lonely moments in the lives of most lawyers. Moments of personal challenge when rigorous academic training is of little help. Frustrating days when no one seems to get the tasks that you rely on for your own success done right, let alone done on time. Weeks, even years, when there is no time for mature consideration of the mountains of work forcing their way through the door, let alone thinking about whether you are working together well as a team.
There are no magic wands. To pretend there are, must be considered as misrepresentation. And I have no desire to end up in the dock.
What is the evidence? Much is anecdotal reporting from clients who think that coaching helps them tackle challenges, improve working relationships and achieve better outcomes in their area of focus. A Headteacher I coached recently wrote: "Areas of my working life I had previously viewed as being almost insurmountable are now being tackled."
There are also systematic surveys. The CIPD ran a survey last year (Training and Development 2005) and found that 84% of their respondents considered coaching by external executive coaches to be an effective way of developing leaders. 80% rated internal coaching of senior executives as effective.
On a grander scale, a recent Harvard Business Review has thrown up the fact that American companies spend more than $1 billion every year on coaching. Why would they want to do this
The foremost reason has to be financial benefit. While it is not always easy to quantify the benefits of professional development, the American Fortune magazine reported a massively positive outcome from a study of executives who had received high level coaching (Feb 2001). They valued the coaching at six times what the coaching had cost their companies. They also reported a huge increase in job satisfaction (61%) and a noticeable improvement in organisational commitment (44%).
A bona fide coach should come to you with a qualification from a recognised training provider. Specific knowledge of the delivery field of the client is not essential. A good coach will apply a generic framework, tailored to the client’s needs with a range of analytical tools and stimulating activities, designed to draw out individual solutions. It’s a process which involves the intellect, the intuitive and the interpersonal.
It is not the role of the coach to tell the client what to do. The aim is to develop the confidence of the individual to make their own decisions and to put them into action. Coaching is particularly effective at transition points, when someone who has been appointed to new responsibilities for the skills and flair they have demonstrated to date is now faced with new challenges in relation to both people and targets in an unfamiliar context.
Many companies are now training line managers in the skills of coaching so that they can alter the organisational ethos to be more facilitative. A system of internal coaches fits with the philosophy of coaching as it enhances independence – but it may still leave some gaps. Senior partners may shy away from coaching by other members of the team, with a certain reluctance to share information about areas of uncertainty. Certain individuals may be going through times of hidden stress which would indicate that coaching from an external source would be more productive.
The client is in charge of the agenda, determining the overall desired outcome from a series of sessions and specific goals to be achieved. If the firm is paying, there is an agreement about the boundaries of feedback and confidentiality. Issues which arise quite frequently include prioritisation, confidence, performance management, interpersonal skills, motivation, effective delegation, communication skills, strategic planning and decision making.
- Individual 1:1 coaching, face to face or by telephone
- Team coaching for groups, around a specific issue
- Team diagnostic, through staff survey or personality profiling, leading to specific group training or individual coaching
- Training for managers in coaching skills
- External consultancy to support the development of an internal coaching team
- A combination of any of the above.
To conclude, coaching is shedding its touchy feely image. It has much to offer professional organisations. It is a young industry with a drive for self improvement. You don’t have to be desperate to give it a go. You do have to want to make a difference.
Sarah Gornall, MA, IDPC, Dip NLP, is a qualified coach and experienced trainer, with first hand experience as a high profile leader and manager. She runs Coaching Climate (www.coachingclimate.co.uk), a business and management consultancy, and designs coaching and professional development packages to meet individual and organisational goals. Open courses currently available in Bristol include Managing Change, Coaching Skills, Positive Thinking and Motivation, Time Management and Effective Delegation.