Is the Coachee ‘change-ready’?

“What are the distinct questions that need to be ascertained about the Coachees? How do Coaches ensure that their expectations about the Coachee’s approach and willingness to change are in line with the Coachee’s own ideas and expectations?”

In my multiple coaching assignments over the last decade and beyond, I have gone through unique experiences with respect to the ‘state of the Coachee mindset’. I have had to calibrate and recalibrate myself many a time as my expectations about the Coachee’s approach and willingness to change were simply not in line with the Coachee’s.

Let me give you 3 examples to illustrate the above…

1. I was called in by a client to discuss a potential coaching requirement. He was keen to have his Operations Head go through developmental coaching as he held a lot of potential and was a very successful all along.
After the 3-way sponsor meeting, I had a ‘get the chemistry going ‘ meeting with the Coachee. The Coachee candidly said to me that he was wondering why he needs coaching and was actually a bit upset on being pushed through this initiative. He was at a loss to rationalize the need to be coached.

2.Here was a ‘Top talent’ rising star of a corporate organization who was sponsored for Coaching. The sponsor was the CXO who had taken enormous interest to help and support the Coachee’s development journey. The usual process of coaching starting with the three way meeting, followed by the Chemistry meeting both which went very well…The Coachee’s enthusiasm for the ‘journey ahead’ was visibly evident.
But then during our 360 degree feedback session, wherein I had to flag a key feedback on his brashness with other functional colleagues, I encountered an unexpected insight into the Coachee’s thought process. The Coachee’s point was “I am a top talent, do I really need to change?”
It was then, that the Coachee’s first resistance to change came to the fore. We had to go through an extra session to make the Coachee understand how brashness and scant regard for others, has the potential to be a ‘fatal flaw’ in his personality. This could well be the Achilles heel that could completely derail the Coachee’s career growth.

3. This is the example of a Coachee being groomed to take over as the MD of the Company.
I must say that he was proving to be a Coach’s delight for the following reasons…..

The sponsor had clearly communicated to the Coachee that the agenda was one of ‘grooming and succession development’. The Coachee was exhibiting clear discipline session after session on the actioning, journaling and reporting. A mid-course review meeting went on a positive note with the Sponsor being happy with the positive changes involving new behavioral practices of the Coachee. In this particular case, the Coachee was demonstrating an inclusive approach in his meetings, was patient to listen etal.

At the closure meeting of the Coaching journey…the question was ‘how would the Coachee sustain his inclusive approach going forward?’ We had listed having a peer as an
Accountability partner with periodic meetings to share the experiences around the new
behaviors(habits).This was part of the Sustainability plan.

Before even a month after the closure I got a call from the sponsor saying that he was noticing the Coachee regressing into his old behavior patterns.

In all the above cases there are distinct phases when the ‘penny drops’…as in, the Coachees throws up their hands and are at odds with the initiative, in part or in full.

For a Coach, the success comes from seeing a sustainable change in the behavior of the Coachee even after the Coaching journey is closed.

So what are the distinct questions that need to be ascertained about the Coachees? Let us understand them.

1. Are you ready for change?

2. Are you ready to make the change?

3. Are you prepared to make the change a life-long habit?

While there cannot be any guarantees for the above, it is more like a ‘psychological contract’ that the Coachee needs to sign up for her(him)self.

It would be in order if the Coach brings up a discussion around these questions right at the beginning of the Coaching process….the Coaching journey then becomes ’intentional’!

Author – P. Senthil Kumar CFI Coach