Results of The Bailey Group 2008 Research Project

Many organizations today are looking to coaching as a means to develop the capabilities of their leaders to achieve bottom-line results.  Yet, coaching is an emerging industry that is broad and ill-defined creating a challenge for organizations seeking coaching services.  The Bailey Group partnered with Kanan Marketing Group to explore the industry of coaching in general and to understand the relationship of our firm with our clients, referral alliances, and key decision makers in organizations.  Our findings in September, 2008 indicate what is important to clients in the coaching process, what makes a great coach, and how The Bailey Group can enhance the skills of leaders and impact organizations.

What is important for leaders and organizations in the coaching process?

Many leaders describe the process of finding the right coach confusing.  So, most leaders inquire within their personal networks for a referral.  The professionals who provide referrals emphasize credentials and demonstrated expertise in the criteria they use to refer a coach. Yet, the credentials for coaches are varied and there are no industry standards for training, qualifications or experience.

The process of finding the right coach is complicated further because many coaches have a distinct methodology that is not articulated in a way easily understood by a leader seeking coaching services.  Leaders are left to their own resources to decide what criteria are important in their selection process.

To break through this confusion, leaders often choose a coach based on chemistry or the connection they feel to a potential coach.  While this is very important to the coaching relationship, it is not always the most important criteria for success in coaching.

Achieving success as leaders and making an impact for the organization is an important driver for why leaders seek coaching services.  Leaders recognize that their success involves achieving measurable results that can be recognized by peers as well as managers.   Leaders and organizations have a greater expectation that coaches can identify measurable goals and demonstrate results.

What makes a great coach?

Coaching Skills

The relationship between coach and client is a personal connection that allows trust to be built and vulnerabilities to be expressed.  The relationship enables the coach to offer perspective into the client’s situation and deliver tough messages needed for a leader’s growth.

The coach’s ability to listen to the needs, ask the right questions, read between the lines and set action plans is significant.  A great coach is an incredible listener, but must also be a great interpreter.  They must understand a leader’s style, their environment and the business results they are accountable for.  A great coach uses this understanding to partner with leaders in achieving these results.

Business Acumen

In addition to great coaching skills, a leadership coach must understand the business objectives of their client.  If a coach has experience as a business leader or has specialized industry knowledge they are more easily able to understand and offer insight into the leader’s situation.

Many leaders are not looking for a one-size-fits-all approach to their personal development and growth as a leader.  They are seeking a coach that can draw upon their coaching skills and leadership expertise to develop a tailored plan addressing the unique challenges that a leader faces in their business.

Measurable Results

A clear picture of what success for coaching looks like is important in guiding the coaching process.  A great coach will work with their client to identify and agree upon goals up front and know how to measure those goals along the way.

The pressure of delivering business results and improving the performance of the organization is a concern of every leader.  Demonstrating the effectiveness of coaching in terms of business outcomes is essential for a leadership coach.

What is The Bailey Group known for?

We learned in our research that The Bailey Group is known for effective coaching skills.  This is the umbrella for all other services.  We are known for our ability to customize and adapt to meet the needs of our clients.  We focus on offering services within our core capabilities as a firm and support our client in finding the right fit for them, even if that is not us.

Many of our clients measure their experience with The Bailey Group in the context of their relationship with a particular coach.  They are unaware of the breadth of the capabilities we can offer to enhance leadership skills and improve the organization’s performance.   As our firm has grown, articulating the impact and value of each team member and the benefits of working with our firm is important for our referral alliances and clients alike.

From our research, we have learned valuable information about coaching as an industry and ourselves as a coaching firm.  As a result of this learning we have identified three core capabilities to develop as a firm:

• Communicate the strengths of our firm and how we improve an organization’s performance.
• Deliver services that demonstrate the breadth of skills and talent we offer as a firm.
• Demonstrate the impact of coaching during the process of selecting a coach, delivering the service and measuring results.

We are excited to announce to you our Introduction to The Bailey Group, available on a CD or as a web-link (www.welcometothebaileygroup.com) describing who we are and the services we offer to our clients.  Our research also points to the value The Bailey Group can offer by guiding seekers of coaching services through the process of selecting a coach and measuring the results of coaching.  Stay tuned in the future for efforts that will include demonstrating the results of coaching for leaders and organizations and more resources on selecting a coach and measuring results.