Join Myles Duckworth as he explores how the best executive coaches navigate the continuum between coaching and mentoring, adapting seamlessly to find the right role for dialogue at any given moment.
Executive coaching - the ContinuumWhat am I?
I’ve been thinking a bit recently about a ‘big question’: What am I?
Don’t worry, keep reading, this isn’t a philosophy blog. The full question is: What am I in my capacity as an executive coach?
Surely, the clue is in the title… I’m calling myself an executive coach, so I must be a coach.
Well for sure, I absolutely am that. But, I also act in my executive coaching dialogues in other capacities - as a mentor, critical friend and partner, often working together with clients to formulate approaches and possible answers.
So how does that all fit together?
This was brought front of mind recently by an EMCC (EuropeanMentoring and Coaching Council) seminar I attended, looking at executive coaching and the interaction of coaching and mentoring. The thesis for discussion looked something like this:
There were raised eyebrows from some about crossing the line and moving away from a pure coaching facilitation role (listening, reflecting, questioning, challenging). But all the attendees I spoke to who had practical experience of executive coaching agreed that their client dialogues often felt a lot like mentoring. For some this was a guilty secret they were relieved to finally voice!
Mentoring
For me, it’s self-evident that an executive coach would bring their professional experience and acumen to the dialogue. To do anything less would be a dereliction of duty (and would I suspect result in an underwhelming experience for the client!). The challenge is how we do this to best impact the dialogue and outcomes the client is working towards.
I think of mentoring as it applies in this context as ‘intentionally bringing relevant professional experience into the coaching dialogue to offer insight, observations and suggestions which will develop the dialogue and thinking’. But what isn’t helpful is a rolodex of workplace anecdotes and war-stories being shared because they are tangentially relevant to the matter under discussion. No, what’s important is the learning gleaned from the coach’s professional and broader coaching experience, and how that could be applied to client’s context, with the objective being the development of the client’s thought processes.
If and when the coach brings that relevant experience to bear is also important. Just because it has come to mind for the coach, that doesn’t mean it should be shared - now or ever. The question the coach needs to hold in mind at all times is: ‘if I share my experience, insight or suggestion, is that going to help my client get more clarity on the steps they need to take?’
[Sometimes clients will ask, “What would you do?”. And that’s an entirely legitimate question. But this is where I would pause and recognise the dialogue is moving away from coaching and mentoring, and towards advising. Nothing wrong with that, and I’m happy to help, but for me that isn’t coaching.]
Coaching as the bedrock
None of this is to detract from the critical foundation of pure coaching in the executive dialogue. The coaching skills developed through training and practical experience are the bedrock, and I see my core role as to facilitate, support and challenge the client’s thinking, helping them find their way to the objectives we have agreed on.
The Continuum
And so, I’ve come to think of my role as an executive coach as working along a continuum. I believe the best executive coaches will act in different capacities at different points in the dialogue, moving freely and seamlessly along the continuum to find the right role for the dialogue at any given moment. That’s where experience and judgement - both professional and coaching - enables good decision-making by the coach; to be present in the right capacity at the right time.
There’s no need to ask permission or pause to change hats. As long as the dialogue is helping the client to develop their thinking, identify solutions and move towards their objectives, executive coaches should be happy to operate anywhere along the continuum.