What are the Major Stages in an Executive Coaching Series of Meetings?

by John E. Glass, Ph.D.

Question

What are the major stages in an executive coaching series of meetings?

Answer

Stage I: Goal Setting and Establishing Trust

As in all consultations, the persons simultaneously set goals (even if only implicitly) and trust each other to work toward achieving these goals. The executive, initially, sets "safe" goals as a way of testing the coach's trustworthiness. A safe goal is any goal that top management would approve of in this situation.

Each company has a culture that defines reality. Unfortunately, culture is a conservative set of beliefs: it is developed in the past. Current business realities are changing very fast; therefore, culturally popular responses are yesterday's solutions to today's problems: out-of-date.

The executive coach must respect the executive's initial choice of topics and contextual assumptions if they are to come to trust the coach. However, no new knowledge is generated in this manner. This poses a dilemma. Each coach in their own way has to point out a "cultural assumption" here or an "approved-of-goal" there in order to give the executive the verbal freedom to change their realities.

Stage II: Creative Goal Setting within a Trusting Relationship

In this stage the executive examines their assumptions and, therefore, is able to re-construe their executive realities. They set new executive coaching goals based on previous success in verbally revising their definition of the work situation.

Stage III: Developing and Implementing Constructive Change

The executive develops new procedures, organizational structures, and management styles. Once these are clearly defined, the executive puts together a plan for implementing these changes. The executive coach's role is, as always, to deepen and broaden the executive's awareness of their conservative assumptions. Most of these assumptions are functional, but some are not; this is, precisely where change is constructive.

Stage IV: Reviewing and Evaluating the Executive Coaching Experience

The next-to-the last session is devoted to discussing and evaluating the series of consultations. The executive is helped to firmly grasp the changes in assumptions they have generated. They are urged to state what process events contributed most to making these changes. These changes in assumptions and related process events are written down.

A follow-up session is scheduled at an-agreed-upon date to assess the long term outcomes of the consultations. The executive may choose to report these outcomes to other executives, and to top management.

About the Author:

John E. Glass, Ph.D. is a sociological practitioner with over 11 yearsexperience as a consultant, educator, counselor, educator, and researcher.He is on the Board of the American Academy of Sociological Practitioners, on the faculty of the Institute for Integral Development, a member of the Sociological Practice Association, and a member of the International Coach Federation.

Behavioral Dynamics Consulting, "Stay Whole, Feed Your Soul", 3520 Cedar Springs Avenue, Suite B, Dallas, Texas 75219, Voice: 214.526.8676 Fax: 214.526.0500