Coaching Maturity PDF

Chapter 1 The Journey towards Maturity Introduction There is much discussion in professional coaching circles about coach develop- ment. The ICF have their own terms for the journey a coach takes in their develop- ment from student to Associate Certified Coach (ACC) to Professional Certified Coac...

Chapter 1 The Journey towards Maturity Introduction There is much discussion in professional coaching circles about coach develop- ment. The ICF have their own terms for the journey a coach takes in their develop- ment from student to Associate Certified Coach (ACC) to Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and finally to Master Certified Coach (MCC). In this book we have focused our thinking around the term ‘maturity’ as an alternative way of thinking about coach development, recognising that many high performing coaches may not yet be an MCC. In this chapter we introduce the idea of maturity. We suggest that coach development is a continual process, not a destination, and that even for the MCC, development continues. In short, we are all on a developmental journey. Coaching Maturity As with all professions there are levels of competence or skill. As a new ICF coach, your journey may have started when you first received coaching from a colleague at work, or through a professional coach. This may have got you interested in the power of coaching, and its potential to help you discover for yourself the best options for you. Or you may have decided to attend a short coaching skills course which triggered your curiosity. Whichever way it may have been, you have decided to become a coach. You have formally started on your journey of development. However, completing a formal Coaching Education Programme, (ICF Levels 1, 2 or 3), is only part of the journey. To become an ICF credentialed coach there are other aspects to complete including: 1. Coaching Experience 2. Mentor Coaching © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 3 Switzerland AG 2024 J. Passmore, T. Sinclair, Becoming a Coach, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55151-2_1 4 1 The Journey towards Maturity 3. Performance Evaluation 4. ICF Credentialing Exam You may currently be on that journey now, or you may already be an ICF ACC or a PCC. In fact, you may already be an MCC who is keen to continue to extend your learning. Or you may be someone who has practiced coaching for years but has never got a formal coaching qualification. Whichever it is, the journey towards maturity does not stop at any of these points. We have used the phrase ‘maturity’, as opposed to ‘mastery’, as mastery can imply an ending: We become a ‘master’ as a result of years of training and practice. In contrast, the phrase ‘maturity’ implies an infinite process, in which development never stops. We can always become more mature, more reflective and more insight- ful about our practice. In fact, we would suggest that the coach who stops learning, is the coach who is ready to stop coaching. Coaching requires us to remain curious about our clients and ourselves, to view our clients as having the capacity to learn and change. We must then role-model this belief in our own behaviors, as learners and practitio- ners who are open and ready to adapt to clients and the dynamic world in which we work. In this book we aim to offer multiple ways to continue to develop—from a focus on coaching competencies, coaching models, coaching practice and, ultimately, eclecticism and integration. Box 1.1 The Journey to Coaching Maturity Coaching focus Approach Focus Model focus Control How do I take the client where I think they need to go? How do I apply my model with this client? Techniques and Contain How do I provide space for clients to think, but ensure tools focus they achieve their goal? How can I use these tools and techniques? Philosophy Facilitate I believe X about the way the world works, given this, how focus can I best help my client? How does this client, and their issue, fit this world view? Integrated— Enable Are we both relaxed enough to allow the issue and the eclectic focus solution to emerge through a collaborative conversation, where neither of know the answer or the direction of travel before we start? What multiplicity of models, framework, perspectives will best serve this client and this conversation, recognising the historical, national, cultural and personality differences of this unique person and this moment in time? Adapted from Clutterbuck and Megginson (n.d.) Conclusion 5 Although the table above shows several levels towards coach maturity, we feel there may even be a level beyond what is shown here, which could transcend the illusion of models. Most coaches go through a series of common experiences, as illustrated in Box 1.1, starting with a focus on models (“How do I apply my model with this client?”) through a focus on tools (“How do I apply these tools with this client?”) and onward through a philosophical approach, in which the coach assumes people are similar to them, toward an integrated approach. In reaching the integrated position, the coach aims to draw from a multicity of perspectives and employs multiple frameworks, models and tools, without becoming obsessed with any of them. The coach also takes into account systemic factors, adapting, flexing and partnering with their cli- ent, without vested interest or ego, to help the client move forward. Here are some of the changes that you might experience on your journey of per- sonal development. From a narrow perspective that a single coaching models is best (often the one you were taught on your programme), toward a broader perspective that different people may learn and change in different ways; From a need for certainties, and a search for a perfect solution, to enjoying the journey of coaching, with its uncertainties and ambiguity, and allowing whatever emerges to emerge; From a focus on solving the client’s current problem, toward a focus on helping the client develop greater self-awareness and personal responsibility; From a performance orientation and a focus on doing, to a presence orientation with a focus on being; From preoccupation with either the self or the client, to a focus on the relation- ships between yourself, the client and the client’s systems; and From a focus on the conversation to a focus on the relationship. Where are you on your own journey? You may like to reflect on these questions. Of course, a series of questions such as these in a book is only a rough guide. What is more important is to start thinking about these elements, and explore what your next steps might be in your own developmental journey. We hope this book will offer a useful resource for you: understanding the ICF Competencies, how to apply them in your coaching practice, reflecting on your wider practice as a coach and recognising your development is to a journey not a destination. Conclusion In this chapter we suggested that all coaches—be they novices, professionals and masters—are on a personal journey of development. We have argued that instead of a focus on a specific stage (e.g., ACC, PCC or MCC), it might be more helpful for all coaches to see development as journey of continuous improvement and growth. Chapter 2 What Is Coaching? Coaching Defined Since coaching started its development as a separate discipline in the early 1980s (Brock, 2012; Passmore & Theeboom, 2016) definitions of coaching have been part of the debate within coaching practice and research. Almost every book, article and blog has offered a viewpoint as to ‘what is coaching?’ The search for a formal definition of coaching may be considered to be an aca- demic pursuit by many practitioners. However, we believe there are at least three reasons why thinking about ‘what is coaching’ is important. First, a clear definition is essential for coaching practice. A standardized defini- tion makes it clear to clients what they can expect from a coach, and that we are all delivering the same service. Second, a definition of coaching is vital for research. We need to clearly delin- eate the domain of coaching to understand the phenomena being studied. As coach- ing is still an emerging research domain, it is crucial to define the key components to differentiate coaching from other similar helping interventions (e.g. counseling or consulting) and provides a platform from which theoretical contributions can develop. Third, a consistent definition is vital for coach education and qualifications. A shared understand of what we do, enables us to develop a shared body of knowledge and an agreed standard for training, with a scientific-based framework to support its pedagogy. The ICF holds a similar view and has provided a definition of coaching: partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 7 Switzerland AG 2024 J. Passmore, T. Sinclair, Becoming a Coach, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55151-2_2 8 2 What Is Coaching? Alternative Definitions The reality is there are host of definitions used by different writers, reflecting differ- ent nuances placed by the writers, researchers and practitioners on different aspects of their work. We have included in Box 2.1 ten different definitions to compare and contrast with the ICF definition. Only by thinking about how others define coaching can we fully understand the nature and boundaries of our practice. John Whitmore, widely credited as one of the founding thinkers of coaching, placed a marker in the sand in his seminal book Coaching for Performance. For Whitmore, coaching was about “unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them—a facilita- tion approach” (Whitmore, 1992, p. 8). Whitmore drew heavily on Timothy Gallwey’s book about the inner game. Gallwey (1986) had noted in sport performance that the internal state of a player was a significant factor. He went further to argue that it was more significant even than the opponent in individual sports like tennis and golf. If the individual could control their self-talk, sizable performance gains could be made. At the core of coaching for John Whitmore was a belief that the purpose of coaching was helping individuals develop greater self-awareness and personal responsibility and through this awareness and responsibility, performance could be improved: “Performance coaching is based on awareness and responsibility” (Whitmore, 1992, p. 173). Other founding writers offered alternative definitions. Laura Whitworth was one of the pioneers in the US, along with Thomas Leonard (Brock, 2009). Whitworth developed co-active coaching which she defined as “a relationship of possibili- ties … based on trust, confidentiality.” (Whitworth et al., 1998). These definitions highlight the nature of the coaching process and its dependency on people, interpersonal interactions and collaboration. This relational aspect dis- tinguishes coaching from other training interventions, where arguably knowledge exchange is at the heart of the process. Jonathan Passmore and Annette Fillery-Travis have adopted a process-based definition in an attempt to differentiate coaching from mentoring, counseling and other conversation-based approaches to change, while linking the concept to John Whitmore’s fundamental purpose of coaching; self-awareness and personal respon- sibility. They define coaching as “a Socratic based dialogue between a facilitator (coach) and a participant (client) where the majority of interventions used by the facilitator are open questions which are aimed at stimulating the self-awareness and personal responsibility of the client” (Passmore & Fillery-Travis, 2011). Tatiana Bachkirova, a leading UK coaching academic, suggests that coaching is “a human development process that involves structured, focused interaction and the use of appropriate strategies, tools and techniques to promote desirable and sustain- able change for the benefit of the coachee…” (Bachkirova et al., 2010, p. 1). While Lai (2014) states that coaching is a “reflective process between coaches and coachees which helps or facilitates coachees to experience positive behavioral changes through continuous dialogue and negotiations with coaches to meet coachees’ Alternative Definitions 9 personal or work goals”. Again, positive behavioral changes are highlighted as the main purpose of coaching, with the recognition that a structured process is involved. Moreover, “negotiation” is put forward in Lai’s reinterpretation of coaching that reflects the previous definitions, coaching is a relationship-based learning and development process. The definitions offer the reader a diversity of perspectives, while retaining the essence of the ICF definition of a collaborative, non-directive process between a coach and client. Box 2.1 Definitions of Coaching 1. “Coaching is directly concerned with the immediate improvement of per- formance and development of skills by a form of tutoring or instruction.” (Parsloe, 1992) 2. “Unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.” (Whitmore, 1992) 3. “A collaborative, solution focused, result-orientated and systematic pro- cess in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of work performance, life experience, self-directed learning and person growth of the coachee.” (Grant, 2001) 4. “The art of facilitating the performance, learning and development of another.” (Downey, 1993) 5. [Co-active] coaching is “a powerful alliance designed to forward and enhance a life-long process of human learning, effectiveness and fulfil- ment.” (Whitworth et al., 1998) 6. “Psychological skills and methods are employed in a one-on-one rela- tionship to help someone become a more effective manager or leader. These skills are typically applied to a specific present-moment work-­ related issues … in a way that enable this client to incorporate them into his or her permanent management or leadership repertoire.” (Peltier, 2010) 7. “A Socratic based dialogue between a facilitator (coach) and a participant (client) where the majority of interventions used by the facilitator are open questions which are aimed at stimulating the self-awareness and personal responsibility of the participant” (Passmore & Fillery-­ Travis, 2011). 8. A “reflective process between coaches and coachees which helps or facil- itates coachees to experience positive behavioural changes through con- tinuous dialogue and negotiations with coaches to meet coachees’ personal or work goals.” (Lai, 2014) 9. “A helping relationship formed between a client who has managerial authority and responsibility in an organization and a consultant who uses a wide variety of behavioural techniques and methods to help the client achieve a mutually identified set of goals to improve his or her profes- sional performance and personal satisfaction and, consequently, to 10 2 What Is Coaching? improve the effectiveness of the client’s organization within a formally defined coaching agreement.” (Kilburg, 1996, p 142) 10. “A human development process that involves structured, focused interac- tion and the use of appropriate strategies, tools and techniques to promote desirable and sustainable change for the benefit of the coachee.…” (Bachkirova et al., 2010, p. 1) Coaching and Mentoring Coaching and mentoring are often considered to sit on a continuum. Both coaching and mentoring are concerned with personal and professional development, but the amount of input by the coach-mentor increases as one moves along the continuum toward mentoring (Fig. 2.1). In this sense, mentoring may be better regarded as a form of tutelage, where a more senior, or experienced, mentor shares their knowledge and insights with a more junior or less experienced mentee about how to improve in a specific job, role, vocation or organization. Some writers have suggested workplace mentoring involves a relationship between a less experienced individual (protégé) and a more experienced person (the mentor), where the purpose is the personal and professional growth of the protégé (Eby et al., 2007, p. 16). The mentor may be a peer at work, a supervisor, someone else within the organization, but someone who is outside of the protégé’s chain of command. Others have argued that coaching also differs from mentoring in its use of structured processes, such as the use of coaching models like GROW, and the use of specific tools and assessments, to provide awareness in the client (Joo, 2005). A further difference is the length of the relationship. While coaching assign- ments are more frequently completed in several months, mentoring relationships often continue over several years (Passmore, 2016). Finally, in terms of purpose, while the main purpose of workplace coaching is considered to be on improving performance or wellbeing through self-awareness and learning, the purpose of mentoring varies widely from socialization of newcom- ers to management development (Joo, 2005). Coaches need to be cautious not to be drawn in to mentoring relationships when they have contracted to deliver coaching. Specifically, coaches should be wary of Coaching Mentoring More facilitation – More guidance Fig. 2.1 Coaching-mentoring continuum. An illustration depicts the coaching and mentoring with more facilitation and more guidance Coaching and Therapy 11 being drawn into a long-term relationship, where the coach creates a dependency in the client, leading to a coaching relationship that continues for years not months. There is nothing wrong with such a relationship, but in our view, this is more likely to be mentoring rather than coaching. A second danger for coaches is being drawn into providing advice. Less experi- enced managers may request this from their coach and less experienced coaches may fall back on past behaviors, sharing their experience or knowledge, as ‘this is what you should do…’ advice to their clients. Again, we would see this as mentor- ing, not coaching. These styles of engagement can be immensely useful for senior executives, who value having a trusted advisor available to them, talking through regularly their issues and problems, gathering their views and using them as a guide. Coaching and Therapy Understanding the difference between therapy or counseling and coaching is impor- tant for both coaches and for clients. Clients can sometimes end up in coaching when they really need help from a trained therapist for a clinical condition. At the same time coaches can be drawn into talking about issues outside of their area of knowledge and training. The need for a clearer differentiation between counseling/therapy and coaching is emerging as the use of psychological models and tools in coaching interventions has increased (Bachkirova, 2008). Such a differentiation is essential to ensure the coach remains within their area of competence and within the terms of their contract. The similarities between the counseling/therapy and coaching domains are numerous. Both are concerned with the ‘relationship’. They both recognize the need for engagement or ‘client’s commitment’ to the process, both rely on the ‘practitio- ner’s (coach’s) self-awareness’ to facilitate change, both recognize the need to keep the conversation moving forward. In addition, both counseling/therapy and coach- ing share a number of basic professional skills such as listening, presence, trust and evoking awareness. However, we suggest that there are at least three differentiating aspects. First, the initial motivation of clients to undertake counseling/therapy is different from coach- ing. For example, the individual usually expects to eliminate psychological prob- lems and dysfunctions through counseling/therapy sessions. In this sense it may be considered to be primarily problem focused. In contrast coaching clients are seeking something different. The coaching client arrives in anticipation of an improvement in personal and professional development. In this sense it may be considered to be solution focused. Second, the focus of counseling/therapy may involve a wide range of issues rel- evant to the client’s mental wellbeing, while the coaching process is usually restricted to the agreed and contracted goals. The expected outcomes and evaluation 12 2 What Is Coaching? methods are usually defined prior to the first session with the involved parties (e.g. clients, supervisors and other stakeholders). Third, the time horizon for the work is longer. While the coach may contract for 4, 6 or possibly 12 sessions, the therapists, contracts week by week, with a view that the relationship takes as long as it takes. In many cases a counseling relationship will continue for a year, and sometimes for many years. Coaches need to be wary when working with clients who may be presenting with clinical diagnosis. Such clients should be referred to their medical doctor or a thera- pist before starting a relationship. Coaches also need to be careful not to be drawn into extending their work into these areas, for example a workload priority discus- sion extending into workplace stress, which extends into feelings of distress, anxi- ety or depression, and a revelation that the client is taking medication as a result of clinical condition. Once again coaches need to be clear during the contracting phases what coaching includes, and where non-coaching themes emerge for these discussions to be signposted to the appropriate trained professionals. Additional guidance and resource references on this can be found in Chap. 6. Coaching and Consulting The final area of confusion can be with consulting. Like mentoring, consulting has an advice or input element. Coaches while engaged by the organization may be part of a wider organizational change agenda, but their focus is on individual change, using a facilitative style. Consulting in contrast is more likely to be about providing expert advice to individuals, teams or the board. One boundary area is team coaching. In our view team coaching is a different intervention to individual coaching. Working with a team as a group, even with a facilitative style, is different from working individually with members of the team. We suggest there is more in common between Team Coaching and Action Learning Sets, than there is in one-on-one coaching, with an intimate, personal and intense relationship is created and where the coach is wholly present with the client moment to moment during the coaching session. Such intensity of connection cannot be cre- ated within a group. Team and group coaching can be hugely beneficial, but its suc- cessful delivery requires an additional skill set beyond the core competences of a personal coach. Conclusion In summary coaching is a distinctive approach. It is different from mentoring coun- seling, and consulting through its focus on a one-on-one, facilitated relationship, which is short term and generally focused on helping clients identify and work toward a goal or new insight. Conclusion 13 In working with clients, coaches need to ensure clients understand during the contracting process what coaching is and how it can help them. This helps to create a shared understanding of how the coach and client will work together and secondly helps to manage the client’s expectations as to what the coach will and won’t do during the coaching assignment. Chapter 3 Who Am I? Introduction In coaching, understanding who we are, is as important as understanding what is coaching. The coach plays a central role in the work with the client. We might even say the coach is the tool in the coaching relationship. By understanding themselves the coach can help get out of the way of the work the client needs to do, as well as using themselves through self-disclosure and stories to help clients on their jour- neys of self-discovery. In this chapter we will think about ourselves as a central tool in the coaching process and consider ways the coach can develop a deeper understanding of them- selves by becoming more self-aware. One way for doing this is through self-­ reflection using personality questionnaires, another is through using a personal journal and the third is by consciously seeing their coaching practice as a continual learning journey of self-discovery. We will look in turn at each of these different approaches. Who Am I? Coaching is a highly personal process. It requires the coach to be authentic. Through this, a relationship of trust can develop, allowing clients to become more open and intimate in their coaching work. At the same time the coach needs to keep out of the way. The coach’s task is to manage the process, without significantly shaping, directing or influencing the content. In our view the coach is a tool that can help their client to achieve their agreed goal. This goal may be a new insight about themselves or a situation, or a plan of action. To achieve this, the coach needs to have a high degree of self-awareness: To © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 15 Switzerland AG 2024 J. Passmore, T. Sinclair, Becoming a Coach, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55151-2_3