Executive Coaching Process and Framework

While the executive coaching marketplace offers a wide array of approaches, we believe the most effective coaching is directly linked to the strategic objectives of the business. Each coaching engagement focuses on the skills, abilities and behaviors that lead to improved business performance and results. With input from key stakeholders, our executive coaches work with leaders and managers to identify critical skill areas that focus on individual growth needs.

Each face-to-face coaching engagement includes the following:

• Specific coaching objectives in the context of individual growth needs and business requirements
• Building a development plan to address key issues and needs relative to the business
• On-going, personalized developmental coaching using state-of-the-art methodologies, such as action-learning
• In some cases, we find the need to conduct an assessment process, which could include instrumented 360º assessment and/or structured interviews
• The use of assessments is driven by the coaching objectives and tailored to the specific engagement. CMA Midwest is a certified consultant of Managing Performance in Organizations (MPO). – link to MPO

Coaching Process

• Behavior change is challenging. We believe face-to-face coaching is critical to the success of an individual’s ability to remain focused on learning and living the new behaviors
• Each engagement is tailored to meet the individual needs of the coachee, respecting the boundaries evolving from the culture of their respective organization

Alignment

Flexibility and agility are at the core of CMA’s value proposition and coaching experience. While we leverage a consistently applied framework, systems, and processes across coaching engagements and coaches to help ensure high quality service delivery, our business model is based on the notion that we must be completely flexible in tailoring solutions to meet our individual clients’ needs.

As golf phenomenon Tiger Woods states, “Professionals hire a coach to increase their chances of winning; amateurs don’t.

WHEN TO ENGAGE AN EXECUTIVE COACH

Engaging an executive coach can provide benefits not available elsewhere in your organization. Here is a brief list of situations that lend themselves to coaching:

• An executive seeks to be more focused or re-energized in terms of specific performance objectives
• A leader needs an objective, unbiased partner with whom to be open and frank about problems faced in the organization
• A leader has assumed a new role and wants to accelerate the adjustment.
• Your organization is defining and strengthening its succession plan and wants to prepare leaders for the pipeline
• A talented leader continues to run into obstacles and roadblocks and seeks help.
• A manager is making a leap in scope shift to a larger leadership position and needs help transitioning from a tactical focus to being more strategic
• A team is not achieving desired results, and the leader needs help to identify what to change in team performance, and how to do so
• Follow-up to a Leadership Development Program that entailed strategic goal setting and development planning to support success
• At the first sign of burn out

Onboarding Coaching

Onboarding Coaching supports the early success of leaders. Leaders who are either new to an organization or who have recently taken on a new role with expanded scope and responsibilities, understand that demonstrating effectiveness and adding value quickly is key to success. Onboarding Coaching provides a framework for leaders to clearly define their mission, and gain buy-in. They will build necessary relationships, team dynamics, cultural norms, and generate a 30 – 60 – 90-day action plan to ensure early positive engagement.

Developmental Leadership Coaching

Leadership Coaching is utilized in situations where a leader has a specific developmental need but lacks the self-awareness to make an adjustment. This blind spot impacts the leader’s current effectiveness and will limit their ability to grow into roles of greater scope and responsibility. Data collection, observation techniques, and direct feedback are utilized.

High-Potential Coaching

Created to further enhance the leadership skills and successes of an organization’s most promising upcoming leaders, this coaching program focuses on the specific needs of each individual. High-Potential Coaching identifies key areas for personal leadership improvement by conducting stakeholder interviews, self and 360 assessments. A practical, fact-based action plan is co-developed by the leader and coach, and successfully implemented during the coaching process.

Team Coaching

CMA Midwest assists organizations in improving team function at any level. An effective team evolves through clarity of purpose, aligning expectations, managing conflict, and clear accountability. Whether focusing on enhancing relationships, achieving collective results, leading a multigenerational workforce, or helping a newly formed team define its purpose, Team Coaching can help a team rise to higher levels of effectiveness. Team Coaching can include team development sessions, utilizing team effectiveness assessments to understand the current state of the team, or working one-on-one with a team leader. Team Coaching is helpful for both intact, local, and remote teams.

Targeted Coaching

Targeted Coaching focuses on improving a leader’s performance by emphasizing a specific skill or behavior. Examples of Targeted Coaching can include enhancing presentation skills, interactions with the media, or building executive presence. Specific behavioral and mindset adjustments are identified and personal strategies are developed for the leader to enhance performance in a specific, targeted area.