David Coleman - Principles and Guidelines for Practitioners

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During the past fifteen years, I have served as coach to a number of

lawyers, economists, accountants, and scientists whose jobs entailed man-

aging the work of others. Some of this work was part of a formal coaching

program designed to support the management development of profession-

als (including those identified as high potential by their organizations).

Other aspects were related to larger, organization development interven-

tions, e.g., coaching leaders to prepare them for guiding their organizations

through strategic planning processes. Still other aspects involved targeted

interventions with key professionals who were highly valued for their tech-

nical contributions but were having difficulty managing others.

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A C O A C H ’ S L E S S O N S L E A R N E D

Principles and Guidelines for Prac titioners

D A V I D C O L E M A N

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This chapter distills the key lessons learned through my work as an exec-

utive coach. It is divided into four parts:

● General principles to guide thinking about a client’s issues

● General principles to guide taking action with a client

● Five paradoxical guidelines for engaging in the coaching conversation

● Practical suggestions that are specifically related to beginning coaches

Throughout, I will illustrate my points with examples from my practice,

with names and situations altered to protect clients’ confidentiality.

Principles for Thinking about a Client’s Issues

There are six principles that inform how I understand my clients and the

situations they face (Table 1). Some might describe these as principles of

diagnosis, but I prefer to conceptualize them as principles for framing client

issues and for identifying areas that may need to be examined more thor-

oughly as we begin our work together.

E X E C U T I V E C O A C H I N G

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Ta b l e 1

Principles for Thinking about a Client’s Issues

1. Some weaknesses are strengths overdone.

2. Persistent behaviors most likely have positive purposes.

3. Assuming similarities when they do not exist can lead to unrealistic

expectations and conflict.

4. An outdated view of the self can lead to behaviors that are disproportionate

to current reality.

5. Being both differentiated and connected is essential for effective

leadership.

6. The ability to see one’s responsibility in each situation and the willingness

to take calculated risks are key to making progress.




Thinking Principle 1: Some Weaknesses Are Strengths Overdone

The very behavior that was key to our survival at some point in our lives

often becomes overdone, thereby becoming a deficit (Atkins, 1982). This is

my cardinal principle of coaching. I have observed with some regularity that

a manager’s problems are often caused by some trait or approach that was

in the past a strength and a key to success. It makes sense that a manager

might overuse an area of strength, that he or she might continue, or even

increase, the behaviors that led to positive outcomes and promotions in the

past. The dilemma is, of course, that the contexts and the manager’s role

within those contexts are continually changing. Thus, the behavior that was

once essential to survival and/or success may be overdone (used too

frequently, across too many contexts, or with inappropriate intensity) or

overly relied on to the exclusion of other, more functional skills. As a result,

the manager may not be able to grapple effectively with new contexts and

new roles. When this happens, the once-productive behavior can actually

begin to interfere with the manager’s effectiveness and thereby becomes

a weakness.

Framing weaknesses as overdone strengths may be comforting to clients

as it normalizes the problem for them. Frequently, however, these overdone

strengths are somewhat difficult to change because the manager’s life expe-

rience categorizes this behavior as necessary for survival or success. The

coach’s goal then becomes to help the manager determine when and how to

use this strength. Honoring the value of the strength in past situations while

shaping its application in the present can have an enormous effect.

Let’s illustrate this principle with an example. Gail, a senior executive,

was known for her ability to shut out distractions and focus productively on

work for extremely long periods. Only a few individuals truly understood

the substantive issues in her highly complex and technical field, and Gail’s

ability to concentrate had been key to her being recognized and promoted

to a managerial level, where she was responsible for other technical profes-

sionals. Yet, despite her senior position, Gail was regularly working all night

to accomplish tasks. When I was asked to consult with her, her boss

explained that she was isolated from her co-workers, did too much of the

technical work herself, and was experiencing great personal pain due to

problems that had developed with her spouse and three young children.

On exploration, we discovered that Gail’s focusing strategy had emerged in

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A C O A C H ’ S L E S S O N S L E A R N E D



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David Coleman - Principles and Guidelines for Practitioners