Executive Coaching - A Guide For The HR Professional.pdf

serves as the catalyst in helping the client to make it happen. The
impetus for change must come from the boss during discussions with
the client regarding the client’s job performance and its impact on
business results.
Employee Selection
What Is the Coach’s Role? 101
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Another inappropriate task for a coach is to evaluate the client as
an employee to see whether the client is the right candidate for the
job. Some coaches also do “psychological assessments” of candidates
for jobs, and these assessments may have recommendations in them.
However, asking a coach to determine whether the client is the
right candidate for a job is not a good practice for both legal and
practical reasons.
On the practical side, in a given coaching engagement, if the
client has a sense that the coach is sitting in judgment on career
issues, the coaching relationship is over. The bond of trust between
coach and client cannot exist, and the client will, at best, be reluctant
to share information needed for the coaching to be successful.
When to Discontinue Coaching
Coaching assignments don’t always go smoothly. They can hit
snags. When a snag is recognized, the HR professional has to get
involved. It is also possible that the coach will not speak up and so
the HR professional will have to step in. It is a good idea to have a
meeting with the coach and the client.
Sometimes it’s not just a snag, but a dead end. A coach might
recommend that the coaching process be stopped, temporarily or
permanently. This decision is usually made after a great deal of consideration.
In discussions with the client and the HR person, an
agreement might be reached that the client doesn’t have a coaching
problem, doesn’t want to be coached, or that the chemistry just
hasn’t been good. These can be difficult truths that must be faced by
the coach, the client, and the organization. If the coaching engagement
has involved communication among the HR professional, the