As context, a (very) brief overview of what coaching is might be useful.
Reality Coaching doesn’t have “coachees’, it has clients. Coaching is not something done by a coach to someone else, it’s relational. In other words, coaching is what happens between coach and client. A good coach helps clients close the gap between performance and potential. Being coached doesn’t mean everyone can achieve anything – how could it? But coaching does suggest we can achieve more and feel better about ourselves and the world, as we do so. We almost always have more options than we realize.
Most of us are familiar with coaching in sport. Beyond technique, coaches may emphasize ’the inner game’ – elements of psychology. The goals are to help athletes perform better under pressure, to make better decisions at speed, to execute plans using limited resources, and to motivate and lead teams. These are also the goals of executive coaching.
Executive coaches draw on a standard toolkit, which has been refined since the 1970s when businesses first started to pay for this service*. In addition, every coach brings to his or her practice their own approach, life experience, education, temperament and, inevitably, biases. Effective coaching can be seen as the growth of self-awareness in both coach and client. The growth of self-awareness in the client is a function of the coach’s ability to listen reflectively and of the client’s openness to exploring possibilities and, ultimately, to change. Positive chemistry between coach and client and a strong sense of mutual trust are essential.
Executive coaching almost always involves a conflict of interest. I believe this is insufficiently recognized by professional coaching bodies and many coaches. Coaching is often paid for by a firm but received by an individual whose goals may differ from those of that firm. The coach should be explicit about relative obligations to the individual client and to the firm as regards e.g., goals, and confidentiality, and all three parties should share an understanding of what has been agreed.
*A book on coaching I am happy to recommend to clients is Keith Nelson’s ‘Your Total Coach’. Keith, a former journalist, is now a very well-known coach. His book – easily available second-hand — is clear, succinct — a rare quality in the coaching literature — and comprehensive.