Issue Number 19, Spring 2008

Grooming Elite Management
“…. experts explain how executive coaching works and where it is of most value…”

Executive coaching is not a new phenomenon, with many organisations seeking expert guidance to mentor and up-skill key executives. What is new is the increasing number of individuals who are seeking this service for themselves. So what does executive coaching look like, how does it work and what value does it offer?

Facilitator, groomer, problem-solver, inspirer and confidence builder: All of these attributes describe the qualities good coaches possess. But their main goal, says Bruce Gregory, Senior Consultant with HRSolutions and C-F-S Career Management, is to help change an executive’s workplace performance by modifying behaviours.

While coaching can last anywhere between nine weeks to 36 months, research by the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) suggest the average program costs $12,600 per executive for nine sessions over seven months. According to AHRI’s findings, session durations ranged from 50 minutes to two hours with a per hour cost of $150 to $1650.

Once an executive coach has been commissioned, step one is a one to five hour initial consultation, depending on the executive’s seniority and needs. Through this initial “meet and assess,” the coach will typically go through a pre-evaluation form to establish the right foundation on which coaching will proceed.  “This initial face-to-face assessment enables the coach to build a road map designed to get an executive to where they want to go.”

Executives who approach coaches in order to facilitate transition into a new role are typically more motivated subjects than those who have been told to seek coaching by their bosses to improve shortcomings. “Either way, it’s the coach’s job to hold that person’s hand while moving from point A to point B,” says Gregory. “It‘s also the coach’s job to assess whether stated outcomes can be delivered through the coaching process.”

If the goal is to find a more senior role, Gregory’s team asks the executive to select nine job ads and then prioritise them in order of interest. By getting them to benchmark these jobs against key criteria, he says it becomes clear where weaknesses lie and what behavioural changes need improving.

The next four meetings are typically spent determining the tactical plan they will implement to deliver on stated outcomes. For example, if an executive has repeatedly been overlooked for promotion, the senior consultant will work on closing the perception gaps of their peers and managers and, if necessary, start preparing a transition. “By week five a coach should be working on recommendations to deliver on specific outcomes,” adds Gregory.

In addition to closing notable skill gaps, he says they may also need to work on how behavioural traits impact on an executive’s ability to effectively communicate across the organisation.  “If communication skills are poor, we role-play specific workplace situations. Psychometric profiling may also be used to provide greater insight into the real drivers behind their behaviour,” Gregory says.

“At the very senior level, he says, it’s not uncommon for coaches to help groom an executive who’s assuming their first C-Level appointment. In these cases the primary objective might be helping them modify their style of management.”
“In addition to making them feel comfortable in that role, it may also include grooming them to deal with the press, the board, plus myriad new stakeholders,” says Gregory.

One of the key requirements for a good executive coach is many years of industry experience. Motivation for coaching is shifting from a remedial to a developmental focus; and when executives pay for their own coaching, it’s usually to transition up and out of their current role/employer.

Source: Mark Story, AIM Management Today, August 2008

GLOBAL CAREER MANAGEMENT SERVICE

Bruce Gregory, President of the Association of Career Professionals International (Australian Chapter) Inc and Founder of HRSolutions Pty Ltd, is the driving force behind C-F-S Executive, a dynamic Global Career Management service. The creation of this new facility arose in response to the increasing number of requests for assistance from expatriates. C-F-S Executive (www.cfsexecutive.com ) provides high level expertise to individuals who require career direction or who would like to make a paradigm change.
“Our aim is to assist Australian expatriates in their transition in and out of Australia, providing high quality expertise to clients worldwide regardless of location,” says Gregory.

The company’s leading consultants possess an impressive array of practical experience in diverse corporations, both nationally and internationally, which they use to assist individuals seeking career change.  “We specialise in addressing the key challenges affecting an individual’s career prospects, devising strategies, enhancing and effectively promoting talents and abilities in today’s human capital market.”

“The value of working with an accomplished career manager lies in their wealth of experience, their skill in coaching executives and professionals and their ability to relate to circumstances, challenges and idiosyncrasies facing individuals within organisations,” says Gregory.

Offering discrete personal marketing and networking assistance to achieve career advancement, board appointments and business start-up support, “we enable talented individuals to achieve exceptional career outcomes,” says Gregory.  The company has recently extended its global operations to the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, Gregory’s active involvement with the Association of Career Professionals International provides clients with access to an appropriate level Senior Executive Consultant in most major cities throughout the world.

LATEST RESEARCH

Psychometric testing is assisting large number of unemployed people get back into the workforce. The result of a four-year program – involving Chandler Macleod’s consultants and psychologists, the Australian Federal Government, ACCI, the Business Council of Australia and more than 200 participating organisations – to identify the employability skills required by industry.

The research also showed that an astonishing 53 per cent of Australian workers did not plan their careers but fell into them. It also showed 20 per cent of Australian workers are actively looking for new jobs or careers, 44 per cent are keeping an eye out for another job, and 18 per cent looking for an opportunity to switch careers.

Kevin Chandler, executive director of Chandler Macleod and the pioneer of CMyPeople, said, “Not only does Australia have an escalating skills shortage, we currently have millions of people who are working in jobs they are not suited to and, as a result, are either actively or passively looking for other career opportunities without knowing what they really want.”

Source: Human Resources Magazine: Testing times lift job uptake 25 June 2008 By Sarah O’Carroll
http://www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/EF/0C0579EF.asp?Type=59&Category=917

In Brief

Employee Confidence fuels a Career Move
Employee confidence is a statistic that economists don’t measure. We are all too well aware of how business and consumer confidence is shaping up against the big economic indicators such as inflation rates and what is happening in the employment market. Whilst the job market is still very tight at around 4%, a number of job opportunities are being created by employee confidence particularly amongst younger workers who actively seek new employment opportunities as a means of developing their careers in the shortest possible time.

Accessing the Hidden Job Market
When it comes to accessing the job market and making an impact on the employer you might have read an article about a lady called Fiona Townsend. Frustrated with the lack of positions available as a personal assistant, Fiona turned the tables on employers advertising herself in the Australian Financial Review with the heading ‘I’m Available’. Not only did she generate 30 expressions of interest from employers, she put herself in the spotlight and as a result, she was able to select the role most suited to her needs. Fiona achieved what many job seekers do not; she was able to access the market of unadvertised positions.

Sourced from My Career ‘First thing: sell yourself’, Sydney Morning Herald May 17-18 2008.

HRSolutions provides sound advice based on years of experience to assist individuals to tap into the hidden job market, positioning individuals in front of prospective employers ahead of the competition.

Advice for Graduates
Applications for graduate training positions, mid-year in-take, closed last month and many companies will be conducting their first round interviews. During the interview the employer will be trying to assess your ability to handle challenges and opportunities. Questions based on past performance are often used to predict future behaviour. Before an interview take time to plan your response to potential questions. Practice using the STAR technique – situation, task, action, result to phrase responses around situations from community, university, part-time employment or volunteer work that demonstrate your ability to work under pressure, as part of a team or deliver outstanding customer service.