Corporate Level Coaching (CLC)
We consider Corporate Level Coaching (CLC) to be coaching for anyone in a leadership position below the level of Vice President. It is designed to sharpen and improve the skills of those being groomed for higher levels of leadership. CLC is a cost effective way of increasing the value of an individual and prepare them for more demanding positions in other areas of the company. CLC is a strategic, forward looking plan and a major step above normal corporate training done either by in-house trainers or by an independent contractor.
Training by itself allows someone to understand the skills required to perform certain tasks and also allows them to answer a question on the subject. In most cases training is designed for employees to learn something that will benefit the company for which they work. Education, on the other hand, (when completed) allows someone to “ask a better question” and it also lasts an indefinite period of time. Education is for the “individual” who naturally becomes a better employee because they are better people. Here in lies the crux of the matter when it comes to training versus coaching.
For the majority of employees who attend corporate training, it makes a difference in their performance for about two to three months and then they revert back to old habits and simply remember the training as a “good idea,” that they will try to incorporate when they have the time. Of course, due to the cyclonic work environment they live in, that time never comes. They never quite get to it.
Coaching combined with education solidifies skills into strengths and then helps to develop professional habits. Once these habits are developed they help supervisors and managers become better leaders immediately and progressively better for the rest of their professional career. To make a life changing, permanent change, THE INDIVIDUAL must make the change because they recognize, understand, and desire to be something better. The most difficult part of making a change is establishing and maintaining the habits that will help you actually become better both now and for future career positions.
Remember that coaching is not “telling” a person how to behave; it is allowing the person to recognize the need to make a change (they desire), which empowers them to follow through with the change themselves. That, in it’s self, is a major step, but ensuring that a change is repetitiously continued to become a habit, is one of the hardest things we face. Coaching is the answer or remedy for this. The reason for this is simple: accountability. In addition to professional and personal introspection, holding a Subject accountable is a major portion of a good coaching process and there is no substitute for that element, nor does any single portion of the process bring more results.
When involved with a quality professional coach, your people will:
Communicate better
Make better decisions
Be proactive
Set a better example
Be more effective
Be confident
Have a Goal/results oriented viewpoint
Most important…….Lead better
The minimum acceptable time for coaching to become effective is 6 months, with a propensity to go longer depending on the individual and desire of the company. The process of finding obstacles to an individual’s performance, then having them recognize it and want to change it is complex and time consuming. Add to that the time required designing, forming and establishing good habits and the time line extends further. And this is all under the shaky assumption that all meetings and phone calls are accomplished on time under optimal conditions. Qualitative and enduring change takes time.