Coaching: To be…or not to be.. coached, that is the question

A friend of mine (let’s call him Peter) is “acting up” at a senior level in an organisation so he has just employed a coach.. Good idea – so how come it took Peter 6 months to get around to it?

Maybe he was new to the concept of coaching?
No – Peter had used a coach in a previous post and found it a useful space to reflect and focus on his own agenda.

Was the funding an issue?
No - he’s in an organisational position where he can access and authorise large amounts.

Then it must have been organisational policy?
No – his HR department seemed supportive when he finally got around to asking them to do some research on options.

Obviously, there may well be some factors that are internal to Peter and contributing to “the block”… and that could be an interesting dynamic for Peter to explore in a coaching session!

What other factors might have contributed to the block?
The two organisations were very different. The previous organisation was a “start up” and coaching was arranged for the whole team of directors, and their coaches were allocated so there was no need to choose. In contrast, coaching was not visible in the current organisation and seemed not to be “on the agenda”.

So there are two important organisational factors:

Firstly, the potentially remedial view of coaching; Peter may well have had concerns about his colleagues’ perceptions of the use of a coach? Would they perceive it as “remedial” – signifying a need for support in a bigger job?

And secondly, how to choose a coach?
Peter had many demands on his time. There was enormous choice and real difficulty in differentiating between the companies, let alone individual coaches. Add to this the sense of embarking on a fairly personal relationship based on only paper or electronic information - a bit like an internet date?

The solution was that Peter used a company I recommended and let the company chose the coach.

The experience of seeing a very rational and decisive person get blocked like this has stimulated my curiosity on the dynamics of choosing a coach. I’m starting to gather and analyse descriptions and I’d be really interested to hear about your experience – especially on any factors that supported or impeded your choices.