As part of our spotlight on our coaching services this spring, we would like to offer our readers the opportunity to get to know our contract coaches better.  Today we asked James Struck to respond to two questions we commonly receive about coaching:

1. How long do you think one should plan on it taking before attitude and/or behavioral change is seen in someone?

It is very conditional. Severity of the issue and the coachee’s awareness of the issue are the two largest determinants. Often, a person will need to ‘think’ differently about the situation before any movement can be made. That ‘thinking’ can take weeks, months, or even years depending on how invested they are in their way of thinking and acting. The second step is that once they make a shift in thinking do they know what the behavior change looks like? We make a lot of assumptions that when a person knows the change they need to make that they can make it. Sometimes they will need help in clarifying what the behavior looks like. With this said, a good coach will know what progress the coachee is making in a short amount of time (1 – 2 months), and progress is often seen in 2 – 3 months.

2. What makes someone a successful “coachee?”

My best coachees have been people who are open to learning about their behavior tendencies and highly motivated to make improvements in their effectiveness. Good coachee’s are open to learning about themselves rather than defending who they are and how they see things. From increased awareness they add a level of motivation that looks like, “I will do whatever I need to do in order to improve.” Entering a coaching relationship with these attitudes will almost always guarantee success.

Jim is owner and president of Leadership Vision, LLC, a consulting and coaching firm that focuses on maximizing personal, team, and organizational effectiveness. Before beginning his coaching business, Jim honed his understanding of how organizations and leaders excel through many years in senior business leadership positions. Most notably, he spent 21 years as president and CEO for Mutual Hospital Services.

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As part of our spotlight on our coaching services this spring, we are providing readers with an opportunity to get to know our contract coaches better.  Today we introduce Fredricka Joyner, Ph.D.

We asked Fredricka to respond to two questions we often receive about coaching:

1.  How do you distinguish between when training is needed and when coaching is needed?

Training interventions are most appropriate when learning is related to established practices, system or process issues, or development of new technical skills. It can also be used to introduce new concepts and tools.

Coaching is more about supporting an individual in successfully integrating new skills and behaviors into their active management practice. Coaching interventions are typically focused on individual behavior changes, (sometimes very small individual behavior changes — such as learning to ask questions differently) that can make a large difference in an individual’s effectiveness.

Coaching can also be an effective way to shift habits and patterns that may be standing in the way of reaching higher levels of functioning.

2.  What do you think is critical for a successful coaching relationship and how can one help ensure that happens?

The success of a coaching relationship is largely based on how the relationship is initially established. Clear, aligned expectations form the foundation for success and include explicit up-front agreements regarding goals, what/how information is shared, what approaches will be taken, logistics, etc. It is also important for the coach to authentically care about being involved in the development process of another person and for the coachee to sincerely want to engage in a development process.

Fredricka has more than 20 years of business consulting experience. She operates her own consulting business and also serves as Associate Professor at the Indiana University East (Richmond) School of Business and Economics where she directs the Center for Leadership Development and the Master’s in Management programs.

Fredricka has worked with ADVISA since 2007 designing curriculum, advising on approaches with leadership development, and delivering coaching services.  She is the lead author of Engineering as a Social Activity: Preparing Engineers to Thrive in the Changing World of Work, which draws on her work using Predictive Index^® at Cummins Inc. and was published in the American Journal of Engineering Education – Spring 2012 edition.

Next:  Two Questions for Jim Struck