Impact of Executive Coaching Program on Leadership Development

It has never necessarily been about pursuing one implementation option over the other. It all comes down to choosing the option that is best suited to achieve the change which the client anticipates. It is about choosing the best way to arrive at the desired destination. The primary question, in this case, is would the change envisioned be best expedited through an individual support or a team approach? And what really are the considerations to take before settling on an implementation option?

American Express

With a culture pillared on service and sustained by steadfastness towards innovation, American Express has over the years grown to becoming a global services company that is reputable for providing both local and global customers with eminent products, acumens and experiences that build lives and enhance business success ("American Express - Bluepoint Leadership Development", 2018). In 2010, on account of extensive internal surveys conducted, American Express came to a deduction that coaching was not part of their corporate culture, and so they embarked on a mission geared towards to embracing coaching as a common practice on a global scale ("American Express - Bluepoint Leadership Development", 2018). Following an extensive vendor search, American Express partnered with Bluepoint, a leadership development company, who were delegated to lead the initiative.

In order to uphold a sense of continuity for coachees, the intended coaching program would be centered on the already existing internal leadership development they had been accomplished. The model adopted was more inclined towards offering team executive coaching for the internal leadership ("American Express - Bluepoint Leadership Development", 2018). Various modules incorporated into the program included assessments, webinars, workshops, prework and weekly virtual lessons. As a result of the initiative, close to 3000 leaders stationed in 15 different countries around the world have received coaching ("American Express - Bluepoint Leadership Development", 2018). Considering the multicultural workforce, American Express has translated its coaching program to seven different languages in a bid to accommodate its diverse employee base.

American Express has leveraged on executive team coaching rather than an individualized approach so as to promote the pursuit of a unifying goal. For the company, unveiling the true impact of the leadership training is of the essence. The company takes into account the perception of the entire workforce on any notable developments (Ades, 2014) since the inception of the program. As a metric strategy, findings demonstrated that executive subordinate relationships were improved and as a result, there was increased productivity. Asking leaders to evaluate themselves was not an efficient method of gauging the impact of the program considering the possibility of biasness.

Deloitte

Certified coaches conduct practicums while co-facilitation is overseen by Deloitte practitioners ("Leadership development | Deloitte LLP | Inclusion", 2018). In executing the training process, the Coaching Relationship Compass is implemented which is a model designed to foster adopting the correct mentality towards understanding and participating in the program. Fostering trust and harmony between coach coachee relationships encourages a growth mentality that promotes a common language and shared goals ("Leadership development | Deloitte LLP | Inclusion", 2018). The primary focus of the company has been to inspire all personnel in its workforce to appreciate the coaching culture. Nurturing a future-oriented mindset amongst its employees and executive teams, Deloitte has through coaching established collaboration and common language towards providing solutions in its employee base.

Deloitte’s team coaching modules are conducted in multiple phases. Prior to commencement of a session, coachees conduct a counsellor-led assessment segment where they get to talk about and outline goals ("Leadership development | Deloitte LLP | Inclusion", 2018). Coachees can also enhance their coaching experience by making use of the e-resources and the introductory reading materials. Personalized “BizChem” profiles for coachees are made so as to map their business personalities ("Leadership development | Deloitte LLP | Inclusion", 2018). During the program, coachees actively engage in the coaching process to formulate their customized course of action. As a part of the evaluation criteria, they liaise with their counsellors at Deloitte on evaluating and refining their trips.

In measuring the impact of the leadership training program, success indicators were reevaluated and demonstrated a significant growth with respect to performance and productivity (Ades, 2014). Revenues and profit margins were on the incline. The results corresponded to the timeline in which the training was initiated. Conducting surveys was not appropriate in measuring the significance of the impact (Mattone, 2015) considering that executive members were also required to take the survey.

USAA

USAA embraces the belief that individual and corporate productivity is optimized when inclusion is appreciated as part of the company’s culture ("Senn Delaney | USAA culture", 2018). Maintaining a wide outlook, there is great business value in workforce diversity as this is a platform where diverse perspectives, thoughts and ideas are laid. On this account, the company has conducted team coaching and training sessions where executive teams are sensitized on inclusion and receive essential skills on the same ("Senn Delaney | USAA culture", 2018).

Efforts have been deployed by the company where coachees have been given access to career development and mentoring resources (Mattone, 2015). As a strategy of measuring the impact of this coaching, multiple feedback channels have been established where participants can convey their opinions and ideas. The company also conducts engagement surveys (Mattone, 2015) where all non-executive give their opinions on the processes and the various benefits obtained.

References

American Express - Bluepoint Leadership Development. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.bluepointleadership.com/client/american-express/

Leadership development | Deloitte LLP | Inclusion. (2018). Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/inclusion-leadership-development.html

Senn Delaney | USAA culture. (2018). Senn Delaney. Retrieved from http://www.senndelaney.com/viewfromthetop_USAA_joerobles.html

Mattone, J. (2015). How to Gauge the Success of Executive Leadership Coaching. Retrieved from https://johnmattone.com/how-to-gauge-the-success-of-executive-leadership-coaching/

Ades, K. (2014). How to Measure the Impact of Your Coaching Program. Retrieved from https://www.td.org/insights/how-to-measure-the-impact-of-your-coaching-program