RA 1—Literature Review

Professional Development for All Seasons: Executive Coaching Accelerates Your Leadership

Professional Development for All Seasons: Executive Coaching Accelerates Your Leadership by Brig Gen Sandra A. Gregory (Ret.), CDFM and Marilyn P. Wiles, CGFM, ACC What’s all the talk about executive coaching? When should you work with a coach? Are coaches assigned when supervisors are unhappy with a team member’s job performance? These questions are common workforce concerns, and this article will provide some answers and offer some insights. First, let’s look at the question, “What is coaching?”

Coaching Defined:

A s coaching author Tony Stoltzfus states, “Coaching is helping people grow without telling them what to do.’’ In other words, coaching empowers people and teams to own their stories and actions to solve identified challenges. The coach stimulates

creative thinking in the client and addresses the client’s behaviors and attitudes surrounding the challenge. Certified coaches are trained to elicit greatness and empower leaders’ teams to enable players to produce top-notch results for the overall goals of the enterprise. Figure 2 illustrates how a coaching discussion flows with a client:

Here’s a quick guide to what happens in each coaching discussion:

Clarify: identify the results the client expects What does success look like?

In other words, take a mindful approach to solving the leadership situation.

Coaching Benefits-A Talent Tune-up

“I never cease to be amazed at the power of the coaching process to draw out the skills or talent that was previously

hidden within an individual, and which invariably finds a way to solve a problem previously thought unsolvable.” - John Russell, Managing

Director, Harley-Davidson Europe Ltd.

Leaders in government, private sector, and non-profits exchange high-fives in the hallways because they often see these improvements from coaching:

• Increased productivity and effectiveness

Reduced blind spots

Enhanced communication and interpersonal skills Explore: discuss the client’s perspective on what’s working that can be leveraged in new ways. For example: When have you had a similar problem? What worked? What failed?

• Improved relationships with bosses, peers, subordinates, and clients

Challenge: the current way of thinking and feeling needs to have another set of lenses. How can you examine yourself to look at the way ahead?

Determine: what to pick up and let go to move forward and get the results you want?

• Strengthened teamwork

• Decreased stress

Coaching can be viewed as a talent tune-up we all need; there’s a need to illuminate your leadership potential to take you or your team out of a lackluster performance rut.

58 ■ Armed Forces Comptroller Winter 2018

Professional Development for All Seasons: Executive Coaching Accelerates Your Leadership

ip ^

Figure 2: Coaching Discussion Flow

H ere are som e key focus areas th a t coaches co n ce n tra te on:

• Refrain from o ffering advice

• Assum e th e e m p lo ye e can find th e answ er

• Keep y o u r focus on th e e m p lo ye e - d o n ’t ta lk a b o u t y o u rs e lf (the coach)

• Remain curious and suspend ju d g m e n t

• Focus on possibilities instead o f problem s

• Stay fo cu se d on th e person, rather than th e issue

• Stay p ositive and take tim e to c e le b ra te successes

Coaching is Not Mentoring

Some organizations erroneously assum e m entors w ill have th e sam e results (as coaching) w ith th e ir m entees, but m entoring is not th e sam e as coaching. W hen w e review m entoring goals, a m entor offers advice a b o u t career activities and advancem ent; shares stories a b o u t his or her ow n e xp e rie n ce or kn o w le d g e ; p rovides n e tw o rkin g o p p o r­ tunities; m akes in tro d u ctio n s to key leaders; and suggests professional d e v e lo p m e n t assignm ents, jo b s , reading, and program s - th e y are not th e sam e as th e coaching goals o f id e n tifying sp e cific leadership challenges and having the c lie n t ta ke a d e e p e r look into how to solve th e problem . C oaching te n d s to p ro d u ce a pro fo u n d change in a c lie n t’s w ay o f lo o kin g at challenges and how to choose a solution th a t w o rks fo r them - a solution the clie n t owns! A m entor could stro n g ly recom m end a solution, but th e m entee may sim ply nod and not understand how to im plem ent the change or how to fu lly understand th e o th e r dynam ics o f th e org a n i­ zation or past exp e rie n ce s giving th e m entee a hurdle. C oaching enables a clie n t to have unique and long-lasting success. So, w hen should you co n sid er a coach?

To Coach or Not to Coach

C oaching is best trig g e re d w hen an e m p lo ye e approaches you w ith a q u estion or a problem . However, you should avoid answ ering th e question or solving it fo r her or him because it ju s t adds to your “to -d o list.” Instead, encouraging y o u r em p lo ye e to answ er th e q u estion or solve th e problem w ill increase m otivation and result in creative and innovative solutions. W hen y o u r action prom pts a “ rew ard response,” yo u r em p lo ye e becom es m ore e ffective, creative, and open in em bracing and im plem enting a changed behavior.

W hen not to coach? W hen an em p lo ye e does not have the skills needed fo r the position he or she holds, then coaching is not an a p p ro p ria te solution because th e clie n t does not have th e a b ility to id e n tify a solution. C oaching is an accel­ eration to o l to put leadership on a fa ste r path to success. C oaching is not a to o l to be used w ith an e m p lo ye e on a Performance Im provem ent Plan. Additionally, w hen behaviors are q u e stio n a b le from a legal or ethical perspective, coaching techniques should not be used. Similarly, coaching is not a substitute fo r therapy. A ce rtifie d coach w ill know w hen th e c lie n t’s problem s w o u ld best be served by a licensed therapist.

C oaching has som e key behaviors: A ctive listening and p o w erful qu e stio n in g are at th e to p o f th a t list. To be an influential leader, you need to kn o w w h a t y o u r em ployees are thin kin g, and th a t is achieved th ro u g h listening. D eep listening. In a d dition to listening w ith o u t d istractions, it is im p o rta n t th a t you com m unicate y o u r tru st in yo u r ju n io r leader. Both listening and com m unicating spark m otivation by p robing th e e m p lo y e e ’s th in kin g, thus creating and pro vid in g an e n viro n m e n t w h e re em ployees are eager to perform .

Actively Listening and Questioning

Listening? W ho has tim e to listen? H ow can w e listen — really listen — w hen w e are under tim e pressure with co m p e tin g priorities, all o f w hich are classified as #1? W hen this happens, w e te n d to listen m inim ally so th a t w e can

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to re p ly ”

m ove on to th e next pressing issue th a t needs our attention. W hat this means is th a t n o b o d y is listening w h ile e ve ryb o d y is talking! Furtherm ore, because you are o u t fig h tin g “ fires,” you are inclined to solve the problem fo r em ployees instead

The Journal of the American Society of Military Comptrollers ■ 59

Professional Development for All Seasons: Executive Coaching Accelerates Your Leadership

of asking them to solve it themselves; this creates more work for you and doesn’t allow employee development.

Effective listening with intent and focus requires being present “in the moment” with your employee. Listening not only means engagement of the ear and the auditory nerve, it requires you to be present and to focus your full attention and thought in the conversation. It means Active Listening.

Actively listening means you need to take the time to listen for the complete message. In doing so, you need to suspend judgment, reflect and clarify when needed, and be extremely patient. Resist that urge to interrupt! There are three levels of listening as defined by the book Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business Transforming Lives, by Henry Kimsey- House and Karen Kimsey-House. There are major, qualitative differences in these three levels.

Level 1 - Internal Listening simply means that our aware­ ness is on ourselves and not the employee. We listen and hear the words of the other person but our minds are inwardly focused on ourselves. If you are listening at Level 1, you are not focused on the employee, but thinking about yourself. Your employees, however, should be at Level 1 because it is their responsibility to look at themselves and their issues, and should be able to process, think, feel and understand. As a leader, paying attention to your own judg­ ments and opinions, and driving your own agenda does not help the employee learn and move forward. From a coaching perspective, you aren’t actively engaged with your employee and you might be focusing on the next question that you might ask next instead of the whole person in front of you.

Level 2 - Focused Listening means that there a spotlight on your employee. When you engage in focused listening, you are engaging with your employee. This can be seen through your employee’s body language: looking attentively at each other, or the employee leaning forward which indicates he or she is actively engaged with you. At that moment, you and your employee are focused only on each other and are oblivious to what is going on around you. From a coaching perspective, you are so engaged that the questions naturally flow without you having to give much thought. At this level of listening your awareness is totally on your employee and your conversation will center on clarifying questions, collaboration with each other, and having empathy.

Level 3 - Global Listening occurs when you are getting information from everywhere - sensing and feeling what is happening all around you. All your senses come into play in Level 3 listening. It is about what you see, what you hear, what you smell, and what you feel. In other words, your intuition plays an important role. When you are coaching your employee at this level you will be able to sense emotions (sad, angry, uncomfortable, etc.). You will learn to hone those senses and be able to ask powerful questions.

Sometimes it is not about what is being said, but sensing what is not being said, or body language. You may realize, “Aha! Now I know that there is something else here that needs exploration.”

Remember, everything in coaching hinges on listening! Good listening relates to interpersonal influence. It's a fundamental state of mind, sincere interest, and seeing things from a different point of view.

The Art of Asking Powerful Questions

Asking powerful questions is another key component to effective coaching. Asking questions is the best way to support an employee in the process of self-discovery and learning. Powerful questions are related to action because they stimulate and focus attention to evoke new under­ standings and to generate movement toward action and change.

When you ask a powerful question, the employee doesn’t know the answer to the question until you ask the question. What this means is that employee will learn something just by considering it. The process of considering and answering the question will cause the employee to look at the situation in a new way. The questions will generate curiosity in the employee and invoke new perspectives and possibilities. Powerful questions will open the mind. Albert Einstein once said, “A problem can’t be solved from the same state o f mind that created it.“

Powerful questions should be open-ended (not yes or no), be short and simple (fewer than ten words), focus on possi­ bilities instead of problems, incorporate the other person’s words, not imply the correct answer, and not include a conclusion or suggestion. Examples of powerful questions include:

• What is the situation? (Situation)

• What do you want? (Outcome)

• What are you going to do? (Action)

Simply asking these three questions will lead your employees to define what is going on, what they hope to achieve, and what actions they (not you) need to take to move forward.

Other examples of powerful questions include:

1. How important is this for you?

2. What is your thinking on this?

3. How will you make that happen?

4. What is possible?

5. What is the real issue?

6. What else are you thinking?

60 ■ Armed Forces Comptroller | Winter 2018

Professional Development for All Seasons: Executive Coaching Accelerates Your Leadership

7. What matters to you most?

8. What do you want to know from me?

And, finally the most powerful question of all — How will I know? You, as the leader need this feedback from your employee to know that they know that you are making them accountable for the results, and responsible for completion of the project. They need to learn from the experience and understand that you aren’t doing it for them.

Benefits of a Coaching Approach in Leading People

Coaching as a leadership skill is important because it will:

• Create a more positive impact on your effectiveness as a leader

• Renew passion for jobs not only in you but in your engaged employees

• Enable one to become more influential as a leader by creating new habits

• Engage your employees like they have never been engaged before

• Help your employees learn to think strategically and open their minds to more possibilities

• Help everyone learn and grow professionally

Coaching is a powerful resource for employees who want to go to the next level in their careers and for enabling the organization to reach its maximum potential. As you develop your talents and those of others, coaching is a catalyst for making necessary changes to empower the leadership skills within each person and team. The coaching journey is the best gift you can give to a promising employee.

Brig Gen Sandra A. Gregory (Ret.), CDFM, ACC Sandra is CEO/President ofGregory- Bradley & Associates. She has served as ASMC’s National President, Air Force Vice President, and CDFM Commis­ sioner. Sandra was a vice-president at CALIBRE where she led the Financial Management and Cost Division. In 2008 she returned to work for the Under Secretary o f Defense (Comptroller) as a Highly Qualified Expert to stand up the first Financial Workforce Management Office, start the CFO Academy at National Defense University, and create the DoD Financial Management Certification Program.

Marilyn P. Wiles, CGFM, ACC Marilyn is the CEO/President o f Enlighteneering, Inc. (ENL) a consul­ tancy specializing in organizational development, strategic and program planning, program evaluation, and executive coaching, and focuses on the creation o f enlightened and innovative leadership and organiza­ tions. Marilyn has BS (Business Management) and MBA. Marilyn has served on the Board o f Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, is a CGFM, certified Co-Active® executive coach, and International Coach Federation (ICF) ACC certified coach. She is also a member o f The Explorer's Club.

The Journal of the American Society of Military Comptrollers

Copyright of Armed Forces Comptroller is the property of American Society of Military Comptrollers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.