Coaching Services:
A look at Coaches, Clients & Practices
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Anne Liljenstrand and Del Nebeker
www.badergroup.com
Transformations within the field
…greater Demand
Then… …Now
Implemented as last resort Support an already successful ee
Focus on “rising star”
Coach as “Expert” Coach as “Thought Partner”
Sounding board creating less
resistance
Mainly offered to higher ups Broader clientele: expansion from
boardroom to living-room
…everyone has a coach
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Transformations con’t
…greater Supply
Low barrier to entry
Solicit clients
Telephone & internet
Potentiallyhigh monetary rewards
Increased managed care – consulting calls
Training/ certifications NOT mandatory
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Who provides coaching?
Wide range - “BA Japanese studies, Master’s of
Social Work, PhD Systems Engineering, PhD in
Psychology… (Hollenbeck, 2004)
90% of sample had master’s degree in either
Business or Social Sciences (Judge & Cowell, 1997)
60% hold degrees from Business or Social Sciences
(Gale, Liljenstrand, Pardieu, Nebeker, 2002)
Psychologists are “uniquely qualified” (Brotman, 1998)
Differences between the subfields of Psychology
also exist (Glaser, 1958, Maddi, 1997)
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Focus of our study
Explore potential differences between coaches with
different educational backgrounds:
Industrial-Organizational psychology (I-O)
Clinical psychology (CPSY)
Business (BUS)
Education (EDU)
General group (life sciences, engineering, law, etc.) (OTH)
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Method
~9,000 coaches contacted
CCL, RHR Int’l, PDI, APA Div. 13,
ICF, OD-Net, ASTD, WABC, etc.
Coaching Practices Survey based on review of
literature
42 topics, 11 with subsets, totaling 120 items
Web-based survey
Are there differences in how long coaches in
different disciplines have practiced?
Are there differences in titles used?
Are they hired for different types of
engagements?
What differences are there in use of assessment
tools?
Do they charge different fees?
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Findings
25% usable surveys ~ 2,200 coaches
Focus on:
Coaches’ personal attributes
Clients (acquisition methods & attributes)
Service delivery practices
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Coaches’ Personal Attributes
AGE:
Late 40’s to early 50’s - BUS youngest
group
GENDER:
67% females with more males in in BUS,
CPSY and I-O.
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Experience & Time spent coaching
I-O and CPSY worked as coaches the longest &
reported highest education (BUS 49% with Bachelor’s
degree or less).
More closely related to; extension of practice portfolio
Support idea of being the first ones to offer coaching
services
I-O & CPSY: fewer hours per week coaching & smaller % of
their work time coaching
BUS & OTH: worked fewer years but more hours
Focused their careers on coaching/ specialize
Started NEW career as coaches vs. adding to established practice
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Preparation methods
Prior career experience – MOST useful by ALL
Academic background – CPSY & I-O
Coach training programs – BUS, OTH & EDU
Also participating in coach seminars/ workshops, etc.
May be compensating for lack of applicable academic
preparation
Attitudes toward licensure:
BUS, OTH & EDU rated it as important
Those with more experience see less of a need (I-O & CPSY)
Maybe viewed as professional validation
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Income & Titles
I-O & CPSY $63K , BUS $58K, EDU $51K, OTH $45
I-O highest per session ~ $200 (…other types of contracts)
Could be estimated based on subcontractor rates
BUS highest per hour (hour by hour)
Titles used:
Executive Coach: ~ 1/3 of I-O, CPSY & BUS
Consultant: I-O & CPSY
Personal Coach: mainly used by OTH, EDU & BUS
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Session Format
Format:
Mainly Face-to-face: I-O
Mainly by Phone: OTH, EDU & BUS
Both formats: CPSY
Session frequency and length:
I-O & CPSY ~ 2.5 times/ month
I-O offer longer ~ 80 vs. 60 min, yet less frequent
sessions
BUS, EDU & OTH; more frequent but shorter sessions
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Client Acquisition
Referrals & Word of Mouth used by ALL
Hired by:
Client’s employer (an org.): I-O & CPSY
The individual: OTH, BUS, EDU
Consistent with Titles used Personal Coach vs. Consultant/
Executive Coach
Psychology groups assist individuals in workplace
Industries:
BUS coach entrepreneurs, tech firms
I-O & CPSY coach within traditional industries as well as
entrepreneurs & tech firms
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Clients & Competitiveness
Clients:
Entrepreneurs & Mid-level mgrs most frequently coached
client group
I-O: coach mid-level and top managers more often
Gender:
Females receive coaching more often than males
Clients are more likely to be coached by same gender
I-O group coach more males than other groups
Perceived Competitiveness:
OTH, BUS & EDU find field less competitive
I-O & CPSY: titles, hired by employer who
seek bids, coach large traditional businesses
& mid-top managers = more competitive
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Client Goals
BUS: task skills and sales
I-O & CPSY: work relationships; communication,
listening, building trust, delegation.
OTH & EDU: work/ life balance, personal goals,
managing stress & career
Hired less by organizations
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Assessments
Objective personality tests & 360 assm’ts used
I-O & CPSY use these most often
I-O use 360 more than any other group
Hired by organizations where such assm’ts are used.
Use what we’ve been exposed to in our training
Post evaluation method:
FB from coachee: used by ALL
FB from coachee’s supervisor &
Post-360: I-O & followed by CPSY
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Client referrals
Done “less than sometimes” by ALL
In work environment not same ethical obligation as in
therapy
Don’t perceive alternative resources as beneficial
…perception of “giving away business”
Coaches who are NOT trained within psychology:
Less like to successfully handle referral of client suffering
from psychological based problems (Wasylyshyn, 2001)
Psychological problems are discounted – continued
coaching could make situation worse. (Berglas, 2002)
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Predictors of Practice Size
Validated Multiple Regression
Cross
(R=.53)
42 potential predictors from coach and
client attributes as well as coaching
practices
10 predictors (Top Managers; ICF; % Long
term clients; # Years coaching; Telephone; Not
ASTD; Less Educ.; # Seminars; Not firm hired;
Middle mangers & professionals)
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Predictors of Coaching Income
Validated Multiple Regression
Cross
(R=.72)
42 potential predictors from coach and
client attributes as well as coaching
practices
12 predictors (Clients top managers; # Years
coaching; Eval. by observers; Large Orgs. as clients; Not
middle managers & professionals; % Long term; % Male
clients; Hired by employer; Not personal life goals; Not
entrepre.; Informal Mktg.; Not formal Mktg.)
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High Level Take Away’s
OTH, BUS, EDU:
Hired directly by coachee
Personal coaching market
Coach training sessions & workshops
Interest in coach certifications
I-O & CPSY:
Hired by organizations
Executive coach, Consultant
Find field more competitive
Rely on academic training
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Implications
Benchmarking services
Informing consumers
Competent decisions
Asking informed questions
Quantitative indicators
Adding credibility to field
Taking away the mystery and skepticism
Tailor coach training programs to fit participants
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Tying it to the REAL world
Executive’s preferences: Graduate training in
Psychology AND experience/understanding of
Business (Wasylyshyn, 2003)
Adjusting ones language
Without business experience a psychologist’s knowledge
may neither be HEARD nor ACCEPTED
DIVERSE EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY
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Questions?
Comments?
Input?
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