Coaching

At CACC, we are huge fans of coaching as a tool to unlock employee potential and to maximize performance. We help to unlock potential by removing and reducing internal obstacles that often hinder performance, helping employees learn from within as opposed to teaching from without.

We use a combination of observation, deep listening, and skilled inquiry to achieve pre-determined goals. Coaches present as a helping resource and not an expert resource as in the case of a lawyer and client. At the outset of each coaching engagement, there are five (5) objectives for the coaching session:      

1. Establishing a clear goal;
2. Enhancing solution-focused thinking;
3. Increasing the ability for managing change;
4. Increasing self-efficacy and resilience; and
5. Decreasing stress.

Research indicates that during times of disruptive change and turbulence, common in most companies today, it is much more difficult to develop effective teams. Our five coaching objectives are specifically targeted towards helping teams improve their effectiveness during times of significant change.

Accountability Partner

We think of ourselves as accountability partners, that help busy decision-makers stay on target with innovative and strategic plans that are often lost as leaders are consumed with putting out daily fires. This accountability relationship keeps innovative plans up front and on the table, even though they may be delayed.

Three psychological benefits you can expect from coaching

The common principles that underlie the coaching relationship include collaboration with accountability, increased awareness of circumstances, and action followed by modification. In this supportive relationship, there are three key benefits that can be anticipated.

1. Having a highly supportive non-judgmental relationship is likely to relieve some degree of stress, enabling the leader being coached to approach problems and situations with a wider range of perspectives.
2. Because the person being coached is actively setting goals and working towards achieving those goals, he or she is likely to experience a higher level of self-efficacy, resulting in more solution-focused (SF) thinking.
3. Because the person being coached is engaged in a supportive relationship, when setbacks do occur, he or she is more likely to build greater resilience and self-regulation regarding change, vital skills in today’s constantly changing business environment.

Coaching and its ROI

In the 2013 in a research study, participants worked on two goals that were closely related to organizational goals. The coaching lasted three to four months, and samples of the chosen goals included having greater influence with clients and others, improving the ability to receive feedback, personal development, and delegation skills.

A primary issue in this study and one that would certainly be of significant interest to decision-makers today, is how one would accurately measure the success, or the ROI of a coaching relationship. Some researchers disagreed that a reliable measurement would be the standard formula for calculating ROI, primarily because of the difficulty in measuring the exact cost or benefit of a coaching intervention.

Instead, they chose the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS), which has been used in many industries although not in relation to coaching. Grant stated (2013) “the findings from his study provide preliminary evidence that executive coaching during periods of organizational change can indeed be effective, can positively impact goals that are directly relevant to the organization’s mission, and also suggests that GAS may have the potential to be a useful tool in the measurement of organizational change and developmental initiatives.”

Analytical problem-focused thinking vs. solution-focused thinking

Another finding from the Grant study involved analytical problem-focused thinking versus solution-focused thinking. An analytical problem-focused approach assumes that by understanding the cause of a problem, a solution is likely to emerge. This approach is considered effective in simple situations with stable conditions, and where there are few time constraints. However, when there is organizational turbulence and many unknown factors and changing circumstances, the analytical problem-focused approach is believed to contribute to depression, negative thinking, and impaired problem-solving skills (Grant, 2013).

According to Grant, effective leaders must have cognitive flexibility, including the ability to switch from analytical problem-focused thinking to solution-focused thinking when necessary. A solution-focused approach tends to focus directly on how to create the desired change or outcome. By focusing directly on goals, potential resources, actions and outcomes, the number of possible outcomes is enlarged. Working towards solutions is extremely important during seasons when there is organizational turbulence and change. The key facets of solution-focused thinking are to look at the situation from a variety of perspectives, to disengage from the problem itself, and identify specific goals as well as the resources needed to produce the desired change. Findings from the Grant study determined that executive coaching enhances solution-focused thinking (Grant, 2013).

Coaching as an Organizational Change Intervention

Because the organization used in the Grant study was involved in significant change at the time of the study, it was thought to be significant to determine whether coaching during periods of turbulence would help those being coached to be more confident in managing that change. It is important also because confidence is a core component of self-efficacy, which is a self-rating about one’s own ability to perform a specific task.

Grant calls it an important predictor of behavior change because it influences one’s decision to engage in goal-directed behaviors, the intensity of effort that is engaged, as well as the persistence of that effort in the likelihood of difficulty and challenge. It was determined that coaching had a positive effect on leader self-efficacy, making it an effective intervention for change-related goals (Grant, 2013).

Coaching Effect on Mental Health and Resilience Coaching also had a positive effect on reducing depression and increasing resilience. As a person works on goals and overcomes setbacks and challenges related to that process, it is reasonable to expect that depression would decrease and resilience would increase. Research shows that having goals and working towards the achievement of goals are both associated with enhanced well-being. Goal-setting and goal-achievement are central to coaching (Green, Oades, and Grant, 2006).

Research indicates that during times of disruptive change and turbulence, common in most companies today, it is more difficult to develop effective teams (Grant, 2013). Our five coaching aims are specifically targeted towards helping leaders improve effectiveness during times of significant change.

Accountability Partner

As an accountability partner, we help busy decision-makers stay on target with innovative and strategic plans that are often lost as leaders are consumed with putting out daily fires. This accountability relationship keeps innovative plans on the table, even though they may be delayed.

Three psychological benefits you can expect from coaching

The common principles that underlie the coaching relationship include collaboration with accountability, increased awareness of circumstances, and action followed by modification. In this supportive relationship, there are three key benefits that can be anticipated.

1. Having this type of a supportive relationship is likely to relieve some degree of stress, enabling the leader being coached to approach problems and situations with a wider range of perspectives.
2. Because the person being coached is actively setting goals and working towards achieving those goals, he or she is likely to experience a higher level of self-efficacy, resulting in more solution-focused (SF) thinking.
3. Because the person being coached is engaged in a supportive relationship, when setbacks do occur, he or she is more likely to build greater resilience and self-regulation regarding change, vital skills in today’s constantly changing business environment (Grant, 2013).

Coaching and its ROI

In the 2013 Grant study, participants worked on two goals that were closely related to organizational goals. The coaching lasted three to four months, and samples of the chosen goals included having greater influence with clients and others, improving the ability to receive feedback, personal development, and delegation skills.

A primary issue in this study and one that would certainly be of significant interest to decision-makers today, is how one would accurately measure the success, or the ROI of a coaching relationship. Grant disagreed that a reliable measurement would be the standard formula for calculating ROI, primarily because of the difficulty in measuring the exact cost or benefit of a coaching intervention.

Instead, Grant chose the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS), which has been used in many industries although not in relation to coaching. Grant stated (2013) “the findings from his study provide preliminary evidence that executive coaching during periods of organizational change can indeed be effective, can positively impact on goals that are directly relevant to the organization’s mission, and also suggests that GAS may have the potential to be a useful tool in the measurement of organizational change and developmental initiatives.”

Analytical problem-focused thinking vs. solution-focused thinking

Another finding from the Grant study involved analytical problem-focused thinking versus solution-focused thinking. An analytical problem-focused approach assumes that by understanding the cause of a problem, a solution is likely to emerge. This approach is considered effective in simple situations with stable conditions, and where there are few time constraints. However, when there is organizational turbulence and many unknown factors and changing circumstances, the analytical problem-focused approach is believed to contribute to depression, negative thinking, and impaired problem-solving skills (Grant, 2013).

According to Grant, effective leaders must have cognitive flexibility, including the ability to switch from analytical problem-focused thinking to solution-focused thinking when necessary. A solution-focused approach tends to focus directly on how to create the desired change or outcome. By focusing directly on goals, potential resources, actions and outcomes, the number of possible outcomes is enlarged. Working towards solutions is extremely important during seasons when there is organizational turbulence and change. The key facets of solution-focused thinking are to look at the situation from a variety of perspectives, to disengage from the problem itself, identify specific goals as well as the resources needed to produce the desired change. Findings from the Grant study determined that executive coaching enhances solution-focused thinking (Grant, 2013).

Coaching as an Organizational Change Intervention

Because the organization used in the Grant study was involved in significant change at the time of the study, it was thought to be significant to determine whether coaching during periods of turbulence would help those being coached to more confident in managing that change. It is important also because confidence is a core component of self-efficacy, which is a self-rating about one’s own ability to perform a specific task.

Grant calls it an important predictor of behavior change because it influences one’s decision to engage in goal-directed behaviors, the intensity of effort that is engaged, a well as the persistence of that effort in the likelihood of difficulty and challenge. It was determined that coaching had a positive effect on leader self-efficacy, making it an effective intervention for change-related goals (Grant, 2013).

Coaching Effect on Mental Health and Resilience Coaching also had a positive effect on reducing depression and increasing resilience. As a person works on goals and overcomes setbacks and challenges related to that process, it is reasonable to expect that depression would decrease and resilience would increase. Research shows that having goals and working towards the achievement of goals are both associated with enhanced well-being. Goal-setting and goal-achievement are central to coaching (Green, Oades, and Grant, 2006).