The Case for Coaching

In this article, Simon argues the case for executive coaching, a concept that is often misunderstood and consequently under-utilised by many firms. He examines its recent evolution in the world of business and offers evidence that it can be one of the most powerful tools to unlock the potential of people in professional service firms.

In 1984, I qualified as a lawyer in London. Other than my law school studies, my professional development then was confined to my apprenticeship (then called ‘articles’) and subsequent learning on the job with a small litigation practice.  My employers’ idea of professional development was to throw me a case file and let me get on with it!  It was the sink or swim approach adopted by many firms back then. I had no other training or professional development during my five year tenure and in time, became disillusioned with my job and my career.  My work was neither fulfilling nor was it providing me with opportunities to develop and discover my potential. I was eager to learn and to change. So I decided to do something about it.

I engaged an outsider, - a career consultant, to help me clarify my thinking and future direction. I found it hugely beneficial and his intervention put me on a new path that was to lead to full time study for an MBA  (Master in Business Administration). Soon after embarking on my studies, I realised that I had ventured into completely new territory and that there was so much more to learn about life and business than they ever taught me at law school or that I would ever learn on the job as a criminal defence lawyer. The curriculum changed my perspectives on life, gave me a broader outlook and presented me with career opportunities way beyond my imagination.

Since then, I have gone on to work with professional service firms worldwide helping them to grow and develop their practices and, critically, their people. Over time, I have observed how firms have readily adopted conventional management techniques and systems to develop ‘the business’ (e.g., strategic planning, HR, IT, Marketing, and the latest practice management software).  However, they have been less than proactive in adopting techniques to develop their people. Considering people are often regarded as being ‘the most important asset’ in a firm – especially in a service industry, I still find it puzzling why there hasn’t been more investment devoted to helping them with their professional development.

Of course, there have been advances since the days of my apprenticeship. For example, many firms have introduced performance and appraisal systems, organised staff retreats, introduced teamwork programmes and invested in training programmes to develop non-technical skills. Indeed, the MBA has now become a sought after qualification with several UK universities now offering a tailored programme specifically for lawyers. While all these initiatives are to be welcomed, there is still one performance tool that appears to be under-utilised but that has the potential to offer the greatest return on investment: coaching.

What is coaching?

Basically, coaching is a professional development process built around conversations with a coach designed to raise self-awareness, improve performance and encourage changes in behaviour.  It can be led internally or externally. In the case of external intervention it is often referred to as ‘executive coaching’.  It can serve several purposes; for example, to develop leadership capabilities, to assist with career transition, to provide a confidential sounding board, to help, direct and structure business development efforts and/or to improve productivity generally.

Although originally used as a device to assist troubled team members with behavioural or performance issues, coaching is now widely accepted as a powerful tool to enhance an individual’s performance and productivity.   For years, it has been widely used by Fortune 500 companies and is now gaining acceptance in many professional service firms.

Does it work?

There have been various studies carried out to test the efficacy of coaching.

In 2001, The Manchester Review[1] published a report following a study of the effect of executive coaching on 100 executives over a 6- 12 month period. The study produced strong evidence of the effectiveness of coaching and concluded that the return on investment was 5.7 times the initial investment of the coaching.

In 2009, the Harvard Business Review[2] published the findings of a survey of 140 executive coaches by Diane Coutu and Carol Kauffman. The coaches who participated in the HBR study relayed that their work had helped executives “become more strategic, navigate tricky political waters and transitions, and increase leadership skills”[3]. The majority of coaches interviewed reported that their clients kept coming back and that this trend accounted for the healthy growth of the coaching industry in recent years.

In the professional services sector, there is also plenty of evidence to support the contention that coaching is a highly effective professional development tool.

In 2009, the global body for the accounting profession, - the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) carried out a quantitative survey of 735 of it members to assess the value of coaching in its profession.[4] 85% of those surveyed felt it would be beneficial to use internal or external coaches to develop their professionals although only about one third were actually using coaching for this purpose.

The report acknowledged the need for professionals to develop their skills beyond the ‘technical’:

            “Finance professionals must develop not only their ‘finance’ technical skills but they must embrace the competencies of business leaders: analysis, planning, risk identification, team building, leadership, communication and control. Finance professionals and their employing organizations often refer to these as the ‘softer’ skills. A more contemporary description of these ‘soft’ attributes would be ‘high performance’ behaviours, attitudes and styles. The challenge for all organisations is to ensure that their finance professionals and finance leaders have these attributes.”

The report went on to conclude a positive correlation between the implementation of a successful coaching programme and corporate profit.

In the legal sector, coaching is also gaining legitimacy. In the US, accredited law firm coaches (often former lawyers) have been practising successfully for many years. Thomson Reuters’ White Paper [5] in 2009 examined the value of coaching in law firms and concluded:

            “Coaching, either one on one or in small peer groups, is a time- and cost-effective method to help lawyers increase their productivity, improve their job satisfaction and prepare for taking on new responsibilities and leadership roles within the firm. Even in a time of financial uncertainty, coaching helps law firms boost attorney confidence and ensure the firms’ position at the front of the pack when the economy moves in an upward direction once again.”

 ‘In the UK, the Solicitors Regulation Authority gave coaching the nod by recently accrediting the Business Coach Programme from leading European trainer of coaches Meyler Campbell.  So why are the leaders of professional service firms now embracing coaching? To gain a fresh perspective for this article, I asked John Boyd, a lawyer, Meyler Campbell graduate and partner at qv career counsel [6]:

            “The long established professions (law, accounting, architecture) are sceptical of all the new kids on the block (HR, marketing, management consultancy), but especially of the emergent profession of ‘executive coaching’. Businesses built on giving advice, for a fee, find it hard to conceive of a business relationship where the coach encourages the client to arrive at a solution from within, rather than from being told. Yet the leaders of professional firms are increasingly turning to expert and qualified coaches to lift individual and organizational performance.

Why? Firstly, because the self-motivated and self-managed professional is a much easier colleague than one who takes up the law firm leader’s time. Secondly, because law firm leaders themselves, trained as great lawyers but mostly having leadership thrust upon them, find the personal experience of coaching to be beneficial. Thirdly, because all the research shows that the right coaching intervention improves individual and business performance, supports people at pivotal career points, and leads to an ROI of between 5 and 10 times the investment.

 Anecdotally, there have also been many reports of the value of coaching in the legal sector. In my last book Legal Eagles, Neville Eisenberg, Managing Partner of Berwin Leighton Paisner offered this advice to law firm leaders:

             “Make sure you have someone you can turn to who is a coach or a mentor or performs the functions of a coach. There is a need to keep inspired and to continually challenge yourself. So, find some people whom you can talk to from time to time and discuss how things are going and who will challenge you about your views. It is important every now and then to do this, even for an hour or two with someone who isn’t working in the firm and who has an objective view about things.”

 Based on this evidence, it would seem the jury is no longer out!

Coaching of course should not be seen as a substitute for other management initiatives but as a potent supplement.  A recent case study may illustrate my point.

Recently, I worked with a regional law firm that, as part of its operational strategy, decided to put in place a planning and meeting protocol spread across its practice groups so as to involve all their people in the activities and development of the group. This was a positive development, but to make this process effective, it would require leadership from the group heads.  This raised a secondary issue: whether the group leaders had what it took to lead a group of people and bring the best out of them. They were, effectively being asked to assume the role of internal coaches, - a role that requires more than seniority. It requires, at the very least, skill and a keen interest in the development of people. 

David Maister, in his excellent book ‘Strategy and the Fat Smoker’[7] outlines the qualities of a good coach as being someone who:
- enforces agreed standards
- is focussed on the ‘coachee’
- doesn’t criticise
- is helpful
- is focussed on the first steps not the ultimate goal
- gives confidence, and
- keeps his word.

He goes on to describe the challenge of professional development as akin to losing weight or getting fit. To lose weight, you have to stick to the diet; to get fit you have to follow a fitness regime and it often helps to have a qualified fitness instructor. However, no matter how good the diet, the fitness programme or the instructor, there is a pre-requisite. You have to be dissatisfied with your current situation, you have to want to change and you need to have the resolve to make the necessary changes;  dissatisfaction, desire and determination.

The days of young professionals learning on the job as part of their ‘articles’ like I did 30 years ago are long gone thankfully.  Today’s working environment requires firms to develop a more sophisticated, conventional approach to develop the leaders of the future.

Coaching may just be the answer.

To learn more about Simon Tupman's Coaching Services click here

[1] The Manchester Review (2001) Volume 6, Number 1
[2] ‘What Can Coaches Do For You?’ By Diane Coutu and Carol Kauffman , HBR, January 2009; http://hbr.org/2009/01/what-can-coaches-do-for-you/ar/1
[3] ‘The Value of Coaching in a Law Firm’ by Cynthia Pladziewicz Ph.D (Thomson Reuters) 2009.
[4] The Coaching and Mentoring Revolution – is it working?  - ACCA Insight series (2008)
[5] The Value of Coaching in a Law Firm’ by Cynthia Pladziewicz Ph.D (Thomson Reuters) 2009.
[6] http://www.qvcareercounsel.com
[7] ‘Strategy and the Fat Smoker’ (The Spangle Press) by David Maister (2008)

© Simon Tupman 2011