AN INTERVIEW
WITH AN EXECUTIVE COACH FROM LONDON, GRAHAM ALEXANDER, THE AUTHOR OF
"SUPERCOACHING" AND "TALES FROM THE TOP"
Fiona
Narburgh interviews Graham Alexander as part of the 'Get A Coach' video, by FN
Productions
(Note about transcription: XXX means
that the words were inaudible while transcribing)
Q: What does coaching mean to you?
A: Well, to
me, it's ultimately about performance. Certainly that's true in an
organisational context. In other words, if somebody is coaching or being
coached in businesses or in public sector and so on, the organization wants
performance – so that's what it's about. It may be about things that aren't
obviously directly about performance, but they all absolutely need to track
back to: this will help this person ultimately perform better, and therefore
the organization perform better. That's to me what it's about. Which, in
essence, it's the same as it is in sport.
Q: So how does it work then? How does
coaching unlock that performance?
A: I think
it, firstly one thing it does, it stops the action. If you sit down with
somebody, or stand up with somebody, to coach them - even if it's on the fly,
in a taxi or whatever – you are talking about something, rather than in the
middle of it. So that, to me, enables reflection, seeing things more clearly,
exploring things, without the cost of actually doing them yet, insight, it can
help build motivation.
So I think
it does it through stopping the action, with a skilled coach helping somebody
look at an issue, look at how they are behaving, looking at some aspect of
their own performance, look at something they want to learn, and in that
conversation come out at the end of it with increased understanding, sometimes
new insight, greater will to do something, and the committment to act.
Q: It sounds quite life-changing, are
there are examples in your experience where people have really turned their life around through coaching?
A: I think
coaching ought to and does, if it's done well, always add value. We shouldn't
any of us be coaching if the person or an organization can't say "That was
worth it time and it's been budgeted for, the money." Sometimes it changes
lives. It has the possibility for people to look, in some cases quite deeply,
into their situation or themselves, see things either anew or see things they
didn't want to see or whatever. And their life is not the same after that.
It can get
them to make a career decision. It can help them become more confident. It can
help them resolve an issue in their business or their life in some cases,
resolving moves things on.
What I
don't know when I sit down with somebody
- is this gonna be hopefully just something they get high value from or is this
gonna be something they will later say, "I look on that period when I was
being coached as a life-changing experience." I can't forecats that, but
yes, I can cite lots of examples.
Q: So in terms of ... there is a
whole mix of things people could do. They can go in leadership development,
they can go normal training. Do you think coaching has got a particular edge
that makes it more succesful in unlocking that potential?
A: I think
it's ... the return from coaching is generally speaking higher than from other
developmental activities. Why do I say that? Because it's focused on the unique
situation of the individual, so it can be tailored to their uniqueness, their
unique situation. Whereas in the main developmental training courses and so on,
are more broad brush than that.
They can do
a much better job than a lot of training and so on ... interventions, on
ensuring the person's will to implement. I think coaching is a very good
adjunct or follow on to training programs, leadership development, etc., and
indeed a good precursor. So in my organization if we are ostensively selling
leadership programs, which we tend not to do of-the-shelf stuff, but we've
designed the leadership thingy for a company, we will "coach" the
participants in advance: what they wanna get out of it, tell us their current
situation – get them ready for it in a very, I think, very effective way.
But
crucially afterwards, translate whatever they've learned whatever new tools
they've got, whatever new frameworks they've got, actually to implemet. And
we've all heard the statistics that people say,"Well if I get one useful
thing out of this training course that would be great."
I don't
think that's good enough. Or people say that 24 hours later they forgot 80%.
You know these things. All of that to me is not good enough. So coaching to me
is adjunct. But yes I think coaching, if you kind of XXX it to up, done well,
it's incredibly high value for time spent.
Q: And have you got any good stories
yourself of people where you've seen them blossom. Any particular, practicial
examples?
A: Yeah, I
was thinking about that. There is two that came to mind. One was a woman and
mother, who was really wrestling in a big, big, big retailer. She was a
Financial Controller. So she was high up the organization but not executive
board level. And she was going through the often, kind of, challenging question
of "I am loving my career. It's getting on very well but it's a kind of
... sort out the kids, and so on." And I think I can genuinely say through
that coaching of her she found a way to ... Couple of things happened. One is
she realized how good she was and she owned that, "Yeah if I really wanted
to I could be the Finance Director of this business (big, big retailer), and I
couldn't go further away than that.
And she
found the balance. So she got in touch with her own capability, in a sense, and
her ambition. And she also found a way to not screw up the rest of her life.
And she is now, if you see any list of who are the 50 or 25 or 20 most powerful
women in UK business world, she is often cited as the most powerful. So that's
kind of an example, in a sense of just discovery XXX how even she was, but not
the way to do it but not mess everything else up.
The other
one was somebody that was one of three people that was in the frame to become
the CEO of footsy 10 insurance company. It's massive, global. There were three
candidates. He wasn't the most obvious one. Three internal candidates, plus
there were going out for an external search, which they had to do really. He
was not the most obvious. He was XXX the least obvious of the three, because he
was understated, he was a bit engmatic. He had a good track record. He's done
very well, he was a finance guy. Done very well, but people didn't see the kind
of leadership qualities of him. They didn't get him.
So in
working with him, firstly I think I helped him get ready for the process of the
board and with the help of headhunters and so on. They were doing a very
rigorous assesment process. To get ready in the dimension of "you gonna
have to put out a compelling vision". If you could really take this
business anywhere and you only had five years to live, what would you ... I
mean just wanna work, but if you ... this was your last row and you really
bowed out a hero, in the sense of you taking the business, the customers, the
business forward, where would you be able to take it?
So one of
this was helping him uncover - it was in there - uncover and own a very, very
inspiring vision. And then secondly, to just kind of unlock his humanness. He
just, he was very reserved. And to roll forward – he's got the job – and at his
first conference with his top 150 global managers, I worked with hom on
"what you gonna say, you know, every body's gonna be XXX, maybe the most
important speech you ever did". And I suggested that he talked about of
him as a human being before he goes to strategy. And he just blew everybody ...
people went "what?!" He's threw up a picture of his wife and his
kids. He talked about his own doubts about his ability to do the job but his
determination to learn.
He talked
about what people should know about him to work at their best. Often wasn't
obvious how he felt. If he wa being enigmatic. "Just ask me" - he
said. And people were just at a stroke. People said he, kind of, came out of
himself. And that's lived on for 3 years. He's now seen as an absolutely
inspirational and very successful leader.
Q: So inspiring story, that one. I
mean, people have said it's not just what you do, but it's the way you do it.
A:
Absolutely.
Q: I mean do you think coaching really helps with
those, kind of, softer skills?
A: Yes.
Wasn't it that thing that said there was a period we went through where it is
about the "what", business about the "what" and then was
about the "how", and now it's about the "why". What's the
meaning? Why should I do this? Why should I follow this leader? Absolutely I
think ... and this thing these days about authenticity. I think people want
human beings.
Maybe it's
also generational thing. I think younger people ... it's kind of much more
relaxed. You know, the old days of "the pin stripe suit" and going up
to the executive floor in fear and trembling. That's changed a lot. People I
think, a lot of people, want honest, open human beings leading them, and
creating a really inspiring game to play. I know we're in a period where
people, a lot of people haven't got jobs. So I fully accept that they say these
days "you either work too hard or you got no work". There's no middle
ground.
But people
are unfortunate to have no work at the moment. Yeah, I think they need, they
need human beings, and they need "Why shall I do this, life is short,
what's kind of get me up in the morning". And I think coaching can help
people, leaders, managers, uncover some of that in themselves. Some people are
naturally much more carismatic and so on but I think every body has some of it
in them.
And that's
vital. To get the best out of people.Vital. And therefore get the best out of
organisations.
Q: Ok, so if I've got a cynical
manager, who actually doesn't believe they even need coaching, what would you
say to try and convince them of the benefits to them?
A: Well, the
precursor would be that they are willing to be open and honest with me. So I
would set it up "this is a no obligation, confidential conversation, where
I'm gonna ask you just to talk about your current situation honestly". If
they are not willing to do that I don't think you can even get into it. But if
they are willing to do that I would do something no more complicated.
Firstly, I
am quite good (I'm not quite sure how I do it) in getting people very quickly
to relax and be themselves. So it might be a little shmoosing to start with.
And then I would just get them to talk about their current situation, their
issues, what they felt they were good or not so good about, how what they
thought they could learn, were there any people they are having difficulty
working with. So kind of go across ... how is your time management. Just go
across the teritory and expose some things where things weren't perfect.
I've never
sat down with anybody that hasn't come up with needs. If you ask the right
questions. Now they may be XXX live with those needs. Or they may be a real
problem for them. So I uncover a potential agenda and I say, "Ok if
coaching could help you in those dimensions, in measurable ways ..."
I'd probably
put it, "Coaching could, that's what I do, that's what coaching does.
There's no downside to you other than time, confidentiality would be straight
away, investment of time. All I need you to do is to explore these things with
me, with an intent of taking action out of those conversations."
And
generally ... so it's framed also as not remedial. I might say, "You know,
serious sports people have coaches. I wouldn't dream of them not having
coaches. Also these days most senior leaders have coaches. It doesn't mean to
say they are lousy at what they do. In fact, in most dimensions they are
absolutely brilliant, they're high performers. But they wanna get even better.
And if you
think you can't be helped or you think there's nothing you can do better,
that's very self limiting. So, and generally people say, "Ok I'll give it
a try." That's all you need. Then if you are any good and they are
committed, they'll get value, as night follows day.
Q: So have you come across any
brilliant coaching questions that unlock people's openness?
A (smiles):
I think that It sounds so facade, it sounds so simplistic, but a question like
"In relation to the situation you're describing, if you could do anything,
what would you do? If you had unlimited time, or unlimited resource or
unlimited money, what would you do?"
It's a way
of just unlocking the limits they put on what's possible. So that could be
pretty potent. It sounds a bit sort of simplistic but I've found it's
remarkable. "Oh, if I had nothing else to do this week, and all what I
have to do is address what would I do. Well, I'd do XYZ." Ok, so could you
do any of that? "Yeah, I could do some of that." So that's one answer
to the question.
The other
answer, if one's a coach, I think it's absolutely crucial, pretty early on in a
coaching conversation, to agree with a coachee what the outcome is from these
coaching sessions. Otherwise you're on the risk of it being a cozy chat, which
I think is absolutely not what we should be doing. It's nice if it's a nice
chat but ... so if I was coaching you, fairly early on I want us to agree,
"If you get up from that chair and you go "That was really valuable",
what is it you take away, and define that." That's what we shoot for.
It might
change during the course of a coaching session, but at least there's
contracting around tangibility of outcome.
