Hey, I’m Roel
I started my coaching journey a long time ago. Before I got into the executive coaching industry, I worked as a manager for the IT Infrastructure department of General Electric in Hanover.
Tools, processes, and procedures were my daily business. Back then, GE was being sold to Banco Santander. Several managers were internally trained as business coaches. That was my starting point as a coach!
My goals were to be a member of the ICF Germany, get myself certified, and build my network in the coaching scene. I did my external training in Business Coaching in Berlin, but did not pass the practical exam. I did not consider that a failure. I consider that a redirection. Now, I am a life coach and a mentor. I use objective tools in coaching, instead of merely asking questions.
The more I learned about coaching, getting mileage and keeping myself surrounded by top coaches, mentors, and coach trainers (I suggest you reach out to this amazing team at the SolutionsAcademy. They will be very happy to meet and accommodate you!), the more I understood that coaching is actually very simple. Just follow the ICF PCC markers.
First, ICF stands for International Coaching Federation. It is the gold standard in the coaching practice. And PCC means Professional Certified Coach.
So, what are ICF PCC markers? First, you want to demonstrate ethical practice. Hence, no pushing for or implying any religion or sexual preferences. Second is to always assume and maintain a coaching mindset. This means no rendering of any consultancy function. The next marker makes your coaching easy or difficult. Have a clear coaching agreement. Why is your client with you? Coaching works well only if you are able to build trust and bond with your client. As a coach, you not only want to be brave, but you also want to really be listening deeply. Ask good questions and let the client decide how to end the sessions with some actions, if needed.
How do I close the loop? First of all, I use assessment tools. When I start a coaching journey with my new clients, I conduct several assessments. A full-360 assessment will give me an understanding of their observational behaviors, their internal drivers, level of emotional intelligence, how they learn, how they make decisions and a snapshot of their leadership styles. The assessment data will be used as a guide in planning the coaching strategy. And at the end of the workshop, the assessment tools will be used to gauge the improvement and effectiveness of the changes implemented by the client.
But again, it is just a snapshot. To give you a number, when leaders hire new staff, they use assessment tools for recruitment and selection, but these tools give the company only 20% maximum insights on the candidates. Nonetheless, using assessment tools is a good practice in hiring. It is still a wise and practical addition to your hiring toolkit. But I admire organisations who include coaching as part of their training and development program for their leaders. It shows their commitment to continuous development for their people. Because executive coaching is more than just a development program. It is an investment. If you, your team or your organisation have a challenge in this area, connect with me and let’s find out if we can be a good fit for a collaboration.
