To achieve this transformation, business coaching services need to include the following elements:
1. An outside-in perspective
Business coaching services should start with an outside-in perspective – what the organization needs from this person to achieve their business goals. This should be at both an enterprise level and the level of the individual role. Identifying core competencies, traits, and drivers in a success profile—reinforced by deep research and analysis—can help provide a benchmarking standard against which individuals can be coached.
2. Inside-out insights
Once you've determined the core capabilities, a comprehensive assessment can provide a deep understanding of the whole person – inside-out. This helps the coach identify the individual’s specific needs, then steer the coaching in the best direction to drive required performance and behavioral change as determined by the success profile.
3. Personalized learning journeys
Coaching should not be a one-size-fits-all approach. And while the bespoke, in-depth coaching that senior executives receive may be the gold standard, it's challenging to replicate across an enterprise. A good coach should be able to craft personalized learning plans built around your enterprise-wide goals and an individual or group’s specific challenges. And as you move down the organization, these journeys are likely to include a mix of coaching and content.
Platforms such as Korn Ferry Advance can combine all the above with a suite of digital resources to create a coordinated plan of action that allows for continuous improvement into the future.
4. A quality coaching conversation
Despite developments in technology, the heart of coaching still sits in the relationship between the coach and the individual. It is the quality of this conversation that drives behavior change. Many executive coaches, for instance, are former executives themselves, with firsthand knowledge of the very same challenges they address in their coaching.
At a minimum, coaches should meet or exceed guidelines for professional coaches. At some levels of the organization, additional experience may be required, such as experience with a specific industry or business function. It is critical to find the right match between the coach and the individual.
5. Ongoing feedback
When you run coaching across the enterprise, tracking ROI becomes even more important. When connecting business coaching services to business goals, you can identify KPIs up front and track your progress by re-running assessments or gathering feedback on job performance or promotions. Assessments, when looked at in aggregate, can also provide you with intelligence to feed back into your talent management efforts.
