Executive coaching as a development tool

Executive Coaching as a Development Tool

Executive coaching is a fundamental tool in the development of organizations.

On this occasion we have had the opportunity to talk about the development of people with Pilar Colilla Rubio, (president of Aecop, Spanish Association of Executive and Organizational Coaching) and Ana Solana Castillo, (president of Directives Aragón and Senior Director of Talent and Compensation for Europe and Asia Pacific of Exide Technologies).

Executive coaching as a development tool

What is executive coaching?

As Ana comments, coaching is the opportunity for the manager to develop their skills, to improve their performance in an organization, with a person who accompanies them in the process and guides them to develop what they need.
Pilar defines it as the accompaniment of a person so that they develop their maximum level of well-being in order to discover their purposes in their personal and professional life. The person identifies what is their real engine to achieve full fulfillment, discovers their life and professional objectives and how to achieve those objectives with the organization, with the team and help them learn to make that path with the people they lead.

Many times people are not aware of it or do not stop to think about where we want to go, what we can be capable of doing and how far we can develop, Pilar Colilla

When is it most appropriate to carry out an executive coaching process?

For Ana, it is a good time when the manager is going through a situation that is difficult for him to manage, for example, and there it works as a development tool. When a potential for development is identified and the professional is going to move to a new position, before the appointment and then this process can be provided to prepare for that new environment.
Pilar adds that any moment of change is ideal in her opinion to carry out a coaching process, when the person is required to put into practice different skills, abilities and face new challenges.

What are the recommendations for choosing a good coach?

According to Ana, the coach’s training is important, as well as ethics, which can usually be seen in the first contact with the coach. For Ana, coaches must be clear about the limits and the work they do, the confidentiality that should be the basis of the process.
In Pilar’s opinion, the training of the coach is essential, as well as clarity in what each party “owes” (company and coachee). As an entity, Aecop promotes that the coach has the appropriate experience and training through its certification program and the ethical framework that points the way in the professional practice of its coaches.

How can the results of executive coaching processes be measured in companies?

Ana highlights that when the company invites change and the coachee is willing to do so, when there is an awareness of that desire for improvement and development of skills and the person realizes that they want to do things differently, there are always changes and they are seen. However, these changes do not occur quickly, They are usually from three or six months.

Changes in coaching processes are not immediate. When the person has internalized the change in consciousness about your own leadership, it is impossible for there to be no change. Now, you have to be patient to see the results of that change, Ana Solana.

Pilar adds that you have to give time to have the feeling that you are improving in achieving results, it is not something from today to tomorrow. If the coachee wants to and the coach is good, changes happen no matter what.

Executive coaching as a development tool

Which is more recommended, an internal coach or an external coach to the organization?

In Ana’s opinion, both are recommended, it depends on the situation. An internal coach is better off not knowing the coachee too well, that they don’t have much of a working relationship. The internal coach has the advantage that he will know the context, the people involved, he will put himself better in the situation. In Ana’s opinion, it is important that the internal coach separates the position he has in the company from the process he is carrying out and from what the coachee is telling him, he must keep the process
confidential.Pilar stresses that it is very important in a coaching process that the coach listens without judging. If it is an internal coach, the coachee must have enough trust in him, in his listening without judgment, in his confidentiality and ethics. To do this, it is very important to do a good job of training these internal coaches in the company.

There must be a climate of trust in the organization, a culture of coaching that gives credibility and reliability so that the tool can work, Pilar Colilla.

Ana concludes that coaching is a fundamental tool for development in organizations and Pilar also recommends that companies choose well, that they resort to reliable sources with an ethical framework and that the training and experience of the coach are adequate.

For me, what executive coaching does is accelerate change, it is a process of transformation that enhances the talent of the person, who is the one who voluntarily and consciously chooses how far they want to go and what they want to achieve. The culture of coaching or personal development in organizations makes them see coaching as another development tool, however, very powerful because it is personalized and has extraordinary results.