Help me out, coach

Just when your career was going gangbusters, you suddenly hit a bump in the road.

"You might have just been passed over for a promotion, or you have a new and difficult boss, or you were a great performer but not getting great results as a manager," said Jodie Charlop, national certified counselor and executive coach. She is the principal of Potential Matters, an Atlanta coaching firm.

"Maybe you find that the job you used to love, you don't love anymore . . . or you want to change your leadership style but don't know how . . . or you're bucking for a promotion and need to improve your performance quickly . . . or you want to remarket yourself internally," said Cathy Perry, professional certified coach, founder of Atlanta coaching firm InwardBound, and 2007 president of the Georgia Coach Association.

Thirty years ago, when you needed to learn new business strategies you might have turned to a company mentor — someone who had faced those challenges before. In her former career with American Express, Perry's manager taught her about the corporate world.

Now, executives may not stay with companies long enough to have or to become mentors; baby boomers are retiring, and young executives need to learn leadership skills quickly.

"Coaching is a way to fill that void," Perry said.

"Executives are dealing with a faster rate of change than ever before," Charlop said. "Higher demands are placed on them, and there are fewer resources to help them grow and develop. People are looking for ways to navigate and survive amidst the change.

"Taking charge of their own advancement, they are using coaching to achieve higher levels of success professionally and personally."

Professional coaching is a young field that is growing exponentially. The International Coach Federation was founded in 1995 to set standards and ethics for the coaching profession and to establish an independent credentialing program to train and certify coaches. Started with about 200 members, it now has more than 11,000 members worldwide.

The federation estimates that there are about 30,000 practicing coaches. In 2006, PricewaterhouseCoopers found professional coaching to be a $1.5 billion industry globally.

While the field is still too new for much statistical data, the anecdotal evidence shared among companies says that it works and is a good return on investment.

"Everyone's success is individual. People get the promotions they had dreamed of, switch careers or gain new respect from their teams. I get to witness transformational change every day," Perry said.

Purpose of coaching

The International Coach Federation defines coaching as partnerships with clients in a thought-provoking, creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.

"Coaching is totally customized leadership development. It's a powerful collaborative alliance. I call you to discover what professional success and balance look like in your life and hold you accountable for meeting your goals," Perry said. "A good coach re-energizes a client — gets him to think in new and innovative ways. She holds up the mirror to the professional landscape and creates new awareness.

"The beauty of coaching is that I have no agenda for you, but I am fiercely committed to helping you get what you want. The intention is always toward sustained behavioral change."

Originally, corporations hired executive coaches to help top executives develop leadership skills, address performance issues or move from one job or department to another, said Brenda Corbett, executive coach and vice president of Sherpa Coaching, a consulting firm that partners with universities to train and certify executive coaches.

Now, companies are finding coaching useful for midlevel executives, high-potential employees and strategic teams. More executives also are hiring coaches on their own.

"People don't know how to change, so we give them a toolkit. In mountain-climbing, a sherpa is the guide who gives you everything you need to get to the top, but you choose what to use, and you do the climbing," Corbett said. "A coach doesn't have to know your business; she just has to know how to get you to the next level."

The Sherpa Coaching model is a process-driven method that guides clients in taking stock of what they want to change, assessing strengths and support, charting a course, and reaching the summit of sustained change.

"The process establishes guardrails, so that we stay focused on professional goals and not go off on tangents or get into personal therapy," Corbett said. "What we help people do is find their own personal 'aha!' moments."

She said one high-level corporate executive, who could solve any problem on his own, wasn't getting the results he wanted from his employees. Through coaching, he learned to ask them really effective questions and saw them blossom into terrific problem-solvers. Productivity and morale went up.

Another company, TriHealth, a hospital system in Cincinnati, documented a $1.1 million improvement to its bottom line after a six-month coaching engagement.

Advantages of coaching

"A coach is another set of eyes to see the client's world, someone to help the client see the big picture and gain perspective on his strengths, weaknesses, decisions and goals," Charlop said.

If it weren't for his coach, Leslie Johnson, executive vice president of business development at Coldwell Banker The Condo Store, might not make time for big-

picture career planning.

"Executives today have incredible pressure to be efficient, and they don't always have a lot of resources for self-assessment. We're all busy with very full days, and [career] planning tends to go on the back burner," he said. "While it's the most important thing, it's the least urgent thing on my daily agenda. Scheduling meetings with my coach puts paying attention to my goals and skills on the calendar."

Johnson began working with Charlop three years ago, when he needed help making a job change. He's continued to work with her off and on, depending on his needs.

"We've built a trust, and she helps me look at where I want to go, to see situations more objectively and take on projects that fit my goals and balance my work and life," Johnson said. "The biggest difference is that I have more confidence in my abilities and decisions."

Johnson believes that corporate teams would benefit from coaching, and that is a fast-growing trend in the workplace.

"For one, it is more economical to spread out the cost of the coaching investment within a team, and also it's how real achievement in organizations happens these days — when teams are successfully mobilized," Perry said.

Choosing a coach

Coaches have various backgrounds and training, which can be confusing for consumers.

"Like picking a good financial adviser, counselor or trusted physician, it's a very personal choice," Charlop said. "I recommend that anyone considering coaching look at three basic factors: training, experience and chemistry."

Credentials are important. Look for a coach with a credential, such as the Sherpa Executive Coaching Certification or one of the three levels (associate, professional or master) of coaches certified by the ICF. Coaches also can hold advanced degrees in psychology, professional counseling or adult education.

People come to the profession from diverse backgrounds, which can make for richer coaching. You may find it helpful to choose someone who understands your field.

"Coaches have different personalities and methods. You may want more structure and a fast, boot-camp pace — or someone who is more client-centered and will act as a sounding board and move at your pace," Charlop said.

Initially, try a free introductory session or sign up for a short period, rather than a long program.

"You have to have trust and confidence in your coach, and you'll know if the chemistry and style fit after two or three sessions," she said.

"With coaching costing $150, $250 or more an hour, the bottom line should be: Are you getting the insight and results you want?"

Think you want to be a coach?

As an emerging professional sector, coaching draws people from other fields and experiences. Whether you want to start your own coaching practice, work for a company as an internal coach, or add coaching to your consulting, human resources or assessment business, you need training.

Sherpa Coaching has partnered with the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education to offer the Sherpa Executive Coaching Certification program in Georgia this fall. Executive coaches and coach educators Brenda Corbett and Judith Colemon, who wrote "The Sherpa Guide: Process-Driven Executive Coaching," will teach the course.

The intensive, 60-hour course will be taught in two separate weeks (Oct. 1-5 and Nov. 5-8), allowing participants to return home and practice their skills with clients between training sessions.

"We train coaches to fundamentally change business behavior in a fixed time frame," Corbett said, "but it's not just about performance. It's about changing clients' lives. Coaching is the most rewarding job I've ever had. You're not just changing one person; you're affecting everyone who works with him."

The cost, $9,250, includes classes, materials, meals and housing at the conference center. For more information, call 1-800-325-2090 or visit www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/is/coach.

Other coaching resources:

• International Coach Federation: www.coachfederation.org/ICF

• Georgia Coach Association: www.gacoaches.com

• Coach U: www.coachinc.com

• Center for Creative Leadership: www.ccl.org/leadership/index.aspx