By Susan Battley 

High achievers are turning to executive coaches to supercharge their productivity. Yet, as a CEO coach, I often hear leaders voice skepticism about coaching.

Appreciation of the business value of coaching starts with debunking 10 common myths:

Myth 1. Successful people don't need coaches.
Coaching helps the best get better. For better or worse, "plug-and-play" performance has become the norm in the executive suite. So, the more successful you become, the higher are the stakes in delivering results and sustaining excellence. As you advance to senior leadership, non- technical skills such as communication, influencing, and teambuilding are more critical. Executive coaching often focuses on these soft skills. The right coach can help you deploy your strengths, add new capabilities, and eliminate blind spots. Professionals have coaches; amateurs do not.

Myth 2. I get all the feedback I can possibly use now.
The more successful you become, the more difficult it can be to get unfiltered, unbiased information and feedback. It can also be difficult to gain access to people who will challenge you or stretch your thinking. People may avoid bringing your problem behaviors or issues to your attention. Or you may not be using how to use existing information to best advantage. A coach can help you maximize the benefits of the feedback you have and identify what other feedback and performance data you might need to achieve your goals.

Myth 3. Executive coaching is just another name for therapy or counseling.
Although executive coaching and psychotherapy use similar methods, such as private one-on-one discussion, assessment, and introspection, they differ in scope and objectives. Coaching focuses on professional goals. It deals with work roles, career aspirations and bottom-line business results. It is present and future-oriented. By comparison, psychotherapy or counseling can be more comprehensive. A therapist is a healer. A conch is a supercharger.

Myth 4. Coaching fosters an unhealthy dependency on others.
We're all dependent on others to maximize our performance and potential. Would you do without financial, legal, and medical advice to avoid a dependency risk? Executive coaches are no different from other professionals you rely on. In fact, rather than foster dependency, a coach is likely to push and stretch you in ways that increase your capabilities and self-confidence. Coaching is a tool for professional growth and empowerment, not dependency.

Myth 5. Executive couching should only be short term.
Budget considerations aside, desired results should determine the duration of coaching. It's unrealistic to expect ambitious goals or major behavioral change to occur in a matter of weeks. For example, scaling up from an individual contributor role to a management position is a complex challenge. The duration of coaching programs rises with seniority. The purpose of your coaching should determine its duration.

Myth 6. Executive coaching should be reserved as a last-ditch effort to fix problems.
Executive coaching is primarily used to supercharge peak performers and prepare next-generation leaders, not to salvage underperformers or those at risk of derailment. Tune-ups and checkups optimize performance better than treating acute problems. Waiting until someone's behavior or needs reach a crisis point may limit what a coach can accomplish. Perceptions about the person may have hardened. Teamwork and interpersonal trust may be compromised. Coaching is less successful when a person's issues reach critical condition.

Myth 7. Executive coaching is the same as mentoring.
While the terms mentoring and coaching are often used interchangeably, differences exist. A mentor is usually a more senior person in your same industry or profession who can pass along specific knowledge and possibly open doors. Mentors function in a voluntary, unpaid capacity and may serve for decades. By contrast, an executive coach may be someone with complementary expertise to your own. He or she may be older than you. Typically, you would only work with one coach at a time and on a paid, time-defined basis around specific outcomes. A mentor does not typically facilitate specific skill acquisition or behavior change. There are basic differences between the roles of mentor and coach.

Myth 8. An executive coach should have a background and experience similar to mine.
The last person you may need as your coach is someone like yourself. Why? Consider that executive coaching frequently deals with enhancing leadership and managerial effectiveness rather than acquiring more technical know-how. Often what is needed is complementary expertise, say, in people management. Many effective coaches possess backgrounds and credentials that are different from your own.

Myth 9. Everyone is coachable.
Your coachability at any time depends on how much you want to change, plus how much you can change in an area. Both personal (internal) and situational (external) factors come into play. Working with a coach per se will not motivate, let alone facilitate change in you, unless a clear benefit is perceived. Most people are coachable some time, but not all people are coachable all of the time.

Myth 10. There's no way to measure ROI from executive coaching.
The benefits of coaching not only can be measured, they have been measured. Studies have documented ROI in the range of 400 to 600 percent when qualified coaches were used. Several robust metrics can be used. You should not assume fuzzy results, or settle for them. Expert coaches frame and monitor client progress in terms of tangible value-added impact. There proven ways to measure coaching ROI.

By replacing these 10 myths with accurate information, you can make smarter decisions as either a consumer or sponsor of coaching services.

ACTION: Engage a coach.

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Susan Battley, Psy.D., Ph.D. is the CEO of Battley Performance Consulting, and the author of Coached to Lead (Jossey-Bass). 631- 751-6282, www.battleyinc.com.

Copyright Executive Excellence Publishing Jul 2006 - Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.