Executive Coaching
Behind successful executives at as many as half of all U.S. corporations lurks a helping hand. No, not an executive assistant--a personal coach. Coaching--helping executives develop their skills and change behavior that's getting in their way--is becoming big business in the United States. Corporate heavyweights like American Express, eBay, Charles Schwab and Pfizer all make use of coaches. Pfizer, for instance, spends about $1 million annually on such services at its headquarters alone.
"Coaching isn't charm school, it's not psychotherapy, it's not changing anybody's personality, and it's not about business issues," says Hank McKinnell, CEO of Pfizer, a global pharmaceutical company, who has used a coach for the last two years. The coach's main job: gathering anonymous performance feedback on McKinnell's management style from his 34-member management team. "When you become a CEO, you tend to lose frank feedback from your colleagues," McKinnell explains, "because you don't have any peers at that point internally. You really need to know what to watch out for and what you're doing that's helpful or counterproductive."
Most CEOs keep their coaching to themselves, but McKinnell posts his appraisal on the company intranet to demonstrate his commitment to continuous improvement. He also sets goals based on the feedback. One of this year's is to spend more time helping to manage the pending $60 billion purchase and integration of drug maker Pharmacia.
Other coaching relationships are broader. Faced with major decisions about company growth, Tricia Tamkin, president of Padigent, an HR and recruiting-methodology company, hired Tim Ursiny of Advantage Coaching & Training (for $350 an hour). In meetings of a few hours each month, he coaches her on her professional needs and goals and helps her keep her life as an entrepreneur in balance. "He has helped me define very creative business strategies, and I role play my approaches to customers with him. He coaches me through both fear of failure and fear of success. I wouldn't be who I am--or as profitable as I am--without him."
As coaching becomes more popular, however, the question of who's holding the coaches accountable is being raised more often. Critics say many coaches are doing nothing more than taking their own difficult childhoods, book-authoring credentials, sports stardom or meditation experience and peddling them to corporate America. The field has no formal standards or credentials, though various coaching associations are trying to establish some. So it's buyer beware. And no exec worth her salary should need a coach to tell her that.
