Executive Coaching - A Guide For The HR Professional.pdf

90 EXECUTIVE COACHING
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to discover that the boss and the HR representative have agreed
on what needs to change, but no one really told the client about
it. Bosses are the ones who need to do this, in clear terms. The
boss is the person who knows what good things might lie in wait
for the employee who develops new competencies. The boss is the
one who will need to take action regarding the employee who
doesn’t change a counterproductive style. The boss creates the case
for change.
A related task is for the boss to become reasonably sure that what
the employee is being asked to do is achievable. Is the boss comfortable
that the changes can be made? Has the boss checked to see that
the organization’s culture or systems, or even his or her own way of
managing, aren’t the reasons why performance is hampered? If it is
likely that the organization’s way of doing business will foil attempts
by the client acting alone to make the desired changes in performance,
then thought needs to be given to other change strategies.
Defining Success
Following directly from the above notion, the boss is the one who
will say “Well done” when the employee (with the coach’s help)
makes the desired changes. Or the boss might say “Not so well
done.” It’s the boss’s job to lay out the picture of success, at least in
rough terms. The coach and client will massage the sketch, but they
need something reasonably useful as a start.
Authorizing the Coaching
Whether or not the boss initiated the idea, it is the boss’s decision
to authorize the coaching. He or she is authorizing that the
employee, the client, may use significant time and resources for this
purpose. Along with you, the HR professional, the boss is declaring
a vested interest in seeing the client’s performance improve or his
or her potential be more fully realized. The boss is expressing the