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This article was written in 2012 for Manager the magazine of the Institute of Administrative Leadership

I think it stands the test of time.

Former MD of Burmah & Chairman of Swindon Town Football Club, Rikki Hunt, explains why leaders and managers need supporting to maximise their performance too.

  I have been coaching leaders and managers for over 30 years.

My first question to a potential client is: ‘Why do you want a coach’?

Responses are often:

• I am feeling under pressure;

• I feel isolated and need support;

• I have just been promoted and am nervous;

• I have a huge challenge ahead of me;

• A recent favourite was: “I want to grow and being coached will speed up the process.

All are valid reasons to seek a coach, and the latter intuitively recognises that coaching is a part of our evolutionary process.

Origins

Our coaching begins the moment we first move, proceeding from nurture on to learning, when we begin to observe, listen and copy. Learning to walk and talk are good examples. Parents support our “observe, listen and copy” model when they encourage us to grasp their fingers and learn to balance, or when they speak words and we try to repeat.

Once we move on from our parents and siblings we begin the process of formal education, which is coaching again. In fact, the first use of the term ‘coaching’ to mean an instructor or trainer arose around 1830, and was Oxford University slang for a tutor who ‘carries’ a student through an exam. The first use of the term in relation to sport came in 1831.

But what about coaching in the workplace? Why do many think once the formal part of our education (coaching) is over, they do not then need to move on to something else? Perhaps we believe that the ‘observe and listen’ parts of the model are over, and that now we just need to do the ‘copying’.

I wonder how many bad mistakes have been made, or worse, how much stress has this thinking caused?

What is a coach?

There are many descriptions of a business coach.

My own says a coach will be your confidante - a shoulder to rest on when the going gets tough. They will be pushing you to levels you thought you could not achieve, not allowing excuses, checking that your goals are achievable and that your planned actions will get you there, making sure you achieve a good work/life balance, and much more.  Timothy Gallwey (author of the “Inner Game” series of books), says coaching is “unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance; helping them to learn rather than teaching them”.

The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as: "Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential."

As leaders and managers we can sometimes be completely unaware of the areas that are holding us back. Even if we do appreciate where the problem lies, it's another matter altogether asking for help, and sometimes it’s as simple as having the effects of your current leadership style pointed out.

However, to be a winning Coach requires knowledge and understanding of business, as well as a variety of styles, skills and techniques that are appropriate to the context in which the coaching takes place. Context means understanding the pressures on a person, not just because they told you them, but because you have lived in the same environment, you have ‘been there’, and you feel them. A coach who has had similar experiences, not necessarily in the same job or trade but in one form or another, is best positioned to do this.

Why should leaders and managers have a coach?

The pressure on today’s leaders and managers has never been greater. The need to be ‘Better, Faster, Cheaper’ than the competition leaves leaders continually having to find ways to produce a better product or service, with fewer people, at a lower cost. The effect is felt throughout the company, and a leader who is under such pressure will likely make costly decisions, which could easily be avoided.

Your current pressure could inadvertently be causing internal conflict, the effects of which can manifest themselves in poor performance almost daily, and cost leaders and managers dearly.

A coach is able to work with you over a series of coaching sessions to diagnose the issue(s), and then help you to take actions to lift your performance levels to a whole new level. You will become more marketable, more valued, and eventually better rewarded, as a result. You will feel better just knowing there is someone there to support, as well as to challenge, you.

High performers have coaches

What do Tiger Woods, Michael Jordon, Muhammad Ali, and Roger Federer all have in common? All were arguably the best performers in their chosen sport. All were 100 per cent focused on their goals. And all had coaches.

Their coach would be listening to what was said about the latest performance, and suggesting changes. The recipient would listen, question, trial the changes in training, sometimes adding their own contextual adjustments. The net result would be a better performance. All such top performers see the value in having an outside influence.

Finding the right coach

Once convinced of this need for coaching you should consider that when your parents were teaching you to walk and talk, they clearly had experience of it! Similarly, it is important that you choose a coach who has experience, not only in technical coaching methods, but also in business. They should understand not only the literal requirements, but also the context in which you operate.

When searching for a coach I found a lack of context was ‘a killer’. I found many coaches understood the technical requirements, but few had the understanding of my position, so I was left feeling that they could ‘talk’, but not ‘walk’, with me. This is a real barrier, and results in much listening but little doing.

What to look for

A business coach will have a gravitas through their own achievements, will be knowledgeable in the subject of coaching, be patient as well as demanding, and be persistent in helping the client achieve a performance that they thought beyond them. They will be a confidant, and a shoulder to cry on.

If you don’t have access to coaching, particularly today when you are probably doing more with less, it is likely that you will not be at your peak, either at work or at home.

A coach can help in many ways, and by way of example, let us consider the cost of internal conflict. Conflict is bad for business. It damages the relationships of employees who need to collaborate in the innovation process to create better products and services, to reduce costs, or just to aid the smooth running of the company. If unacknowledged or unmanaged, conflict will promote unhealthy competition and stressful working conditions, which can lead to unnecessary absence from work – all of which undermines productivity.  Conflict in itself is also costly. Litigating a workplace dispute can easily cost tens of thousands of pounds, and if the situation is serious you can add several zeros to that figure.

Then there’s the cost of employee turnover and absenteeism, the cost of managerial time spent in conflict resolution or defense against complaints, and the cost of lawsuits. These costs are typically overlooked, because they are not immediately associated with conflict and are accounted for as part of the normal cost of doing business.

Rikki Hunt

Executive coach, entrepreneur, Top 100 MD, investor, author, philanthropist, adventurer and business speaker, Rikki has worked at a senior level across many industries, including oil, mobile, sport, web, retail, financial services, automotive and the public sector.

He has raised venture and debt capital (£100m on one acquisition) for private acquisitions, run a premiership football club, skied to the Magnetic North Pole, climbed some of the words highest mountains, talked business on TV and Radio, and authored a book called 'Creating a Thinking Organization', with world renowned author Tony Buzan.

Feedback is always welcome so leave a comment or email me at rikki@thinking.co.uk You can also visit my site www.Thinking.co.uk.