Coaches lay out game plan

THE spotlight will be on professional coaches next as the International Coaching Federation WA Coaches’ Week takes place in Perth.

From February 3 to 9, those interested in what has become a growing trend in the business community can gain an appreciation of what coaches actually do.

The coaching profession has become more prominent in the business arena during the past few years, driven primarily by demand from the business community, according to ICFWA president Digby Scott.

“Coaching has really emerged as a profession in the last five to six years and the majority of coaches work with businesses,” Mr Scott said.

“An ICF Australian survey found 25 per cent of members are life coaches and 75 per cent are business coaches, and future demand will be in business.”

He said the demand had stemmed from businesses’ increasing awareness of the benefits of coaching.

“Organisations have realised they need to get the best out of people and realise that coaching can get that done fast,” Mr Scott said.

“Companies are now saying ‘let’s use coaching as a strategic tool instead of fixing a problem’.”

Inside Out director Kevin Beverley said the field would become more prominent in businesses worldwide.

“Globally it’s an industry that’s growing and maturing,” he said.

“It (coaching) will become part of the fabric of more and more organisations.”

Knipe Management’s James Miller said the reduction of human resource departments, time consuming training and diminishing leadership roles had accelerated the demand for coaches.

“Organisations are struggling because of the absence or reduction in the number of leadership roles,” he said.

“People are asking: ‘Who do I speak to?’ HR departments are reducing or moving east.

“Training courses are good but compete for an individual’s time. They have to leave the workplace, and that adds to the opportunity cost.”

But just what is coaching? Well, according to most in the industry, it’s not about barking orders, but a process of guiding a person to determine what it is they want and to help them make decisions on how to get that.

“Training provides generic information. What coaching does is circumvent that. Coaches have the knowledge but apply the relevant information to you,” Mr Miller said.

“Coaching is about encouraging people to make decisions and helping them come to the right one for them.”

Mr Beverley said the profession developed from sport psychology and coaching, which focused on setting and achieving goals.

“You are working with someone to help them, as soon as possible, understand how to do something better,” he said.

“More and more companies are now using coaches to coach their coaches.”

Ironically, a company may hire a coach who could ultimately help an employee decide to leave the company.

“It’s a sign that an organisation is saying, ‘you can change or you can leave’. We’ll help you make that decision. It is better to replace that person with someone who is more effective,” Mr Scott said.

This type of coaching is part of a business coaching package that has evolved with the profession and is now heavily segmented. A business coach is hired by an organisation and can work in the following areas.

p Executive coaching. A coach works with top-level management and focuses on what their agenda is. The coach acts as a sounding board to help the executive visualise what that would look like.

p Management or performance coaching. The coach works with senior management, middle management, or up-and-coming hotshots. The coach helps individuals hone their performance and helps them with issues such as team leading, delegation, communi-cation and other skills areas.

p Career coaching. A company will ask their coach to look at four or five different employees who they want to keep but want to help them expand their career opportunities. This ultimately could lead to the employee leaving the company.

p Life coaching, on the other hand, offers a wholistic approach to coaching and is coaching that is sought and paid for by individuals. Like its business coaching counterparts, this area of coaching has become heavily segmented. It can involve career coaching, relationship coaching and spiritual coaching.

Professional coaches are yet to get a Yellow Pages classification, but the ICFWA is seeking one for next year. There are 4,000 worldwide members of the ICF, of which 20 are in WA.

The current lack of accreditation procedures is of concern to many in the business.

“There is no accreditation process and it’s one problem the industry faces,” Mr Beverley said.

“The majority of our business has come from referrals. One thing that tells us that our coaching is successful is that people are happy to refer us.”

Free trial coaching sessions will be held during coaching week.