Nearly 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies invest in executive coaching for their employees in leadership. With so much emphasis on employee development and team dynamics, becoming an executive coach requires more than scheduling a few sessions. Coaches in this niche have to offer something that sets them apart.
Having the right coaching model is a game-changer in providing unmatched results. By implementing an effective model, an executive coach demonstrates professionalism and provides consistent results for their clients.
But which coaching model is right for you?
Let’s explore three powerful executive coaching models that have proven to be exceptionally effective in enhancing leadership skills, team performance, and communication abilities.
The Importance of an Executive Coaching Model
When companies hire executive coaches, they want to receive results that will increase the bottom line and keep the company on a path to success. These
companies focus on three areas to achieve their overall goal:
- To improve relationships with employees and stakeholders.
- To boost morale within the company to gain employee loyalty.
- To increase overall job satisfaction.
In order to provide the best results, the executive coach must have a proven system to help the company hit its target.
An executive coaching model serves as a foundational structure for the coaching process. It provides a systematic approach that helps in identifying goals, exploring solutions, and implementing strategies that work. These models are essential for guaranteeing progress and measuring success.
A good coaching model should be flexible and customizable to suit the executive’s needs. Adopting a well-defined coaching model will create a more meaningful, efficient, and transformative coaching experience.
The most significant benefit of having a coaching model is the consistency it provides. An executive coach with a proven framework has more leverage and can guarantee results as they move from client to client. Over time, this builds trust and credibility, which ultimately leads to booking more clients.
Three Effective Executive Coaching Models
1. Golden Circle
The Golden Circle model, popularized by Simon Sinek, is a unique framework applied in leadership and executive coaching. It’s designed to help individuals and organizations identify and articulate their core purpose — the why. This model is especially effective for executives seeking to enhance their leadership impact and organizational influence.
The foundations of the Golden Circle are:
- Why: Identify the core purpose or belief that drives the individual or organization to understand the underlying reasons for one’s actions and decisions.
- How: Outline the specific actions or processes that realize the why by exploring the strategies or methods employed to achieve goals.
- What: Describe the end result or the tangible products, services, or outcomes.
How to Use the Golden Circle
An executive coach can use the Golden Circle to help a CEO redefine their organization’s mission. Starting with why, they would explore the CEO’s fundamental beliefs and values that drive the business. Next, in the how phase, they would strategize how these beliefs translate into business operations. Finally, they would articulate what these operations achieve in terms of products or services offered.
2. GROW Model
The GROW Model is one of the most widely used coaching frameworks. It stands for Goal, Reality, Options, and Way forward. This model effectively sets clear objectives, understands current realities, explores various options, and commits to action. It’s ideal for executives seeking to enhance decision-making and strategic planning skills.
How to Use the GROW Model
For an executive struggling with decision-making, a coach using GROW would help them set a goal to improve this skill (Goal), analyze their current decision-making process (Reality), explore different decision-making techniques (Options), and commit to practicing a specific technique (Way forward).
3. OSKAR Model
The OSKAR model is a solution-based approach developed by Paul Jackson and Mark McKregor in 2002. It’s effective in executive coaching for shifting the focus from problems to solutions. OSKAR stands for:
- Outcome — The client defines the desired outcome for addressing a specific challenge.
- Scale — The client assesses their current position relative to the desired outcome, often rated from one to ten.
- Know-how — Coach and client discuss how to bridge the gap between the current state and the desired outcome.
- Action — The coach highlights the client’s positive achievements and strengths, motivating them towards action.
- Review — Together coach and client make an evaluation of the outcomes and progress, considering past, present, and future aspects.
How to Use the OSKAR Model
Imagine a manager needing to improve team performance. Using the OSKAR model, the coach and manager would first define the desired team outcomes, then assess the current team performance level, discuss improvement strategies, affirm the manager’s leadership skills, and regularly review progress.
Choosing the Right Executive Coaching Model for Your Clients
Choosing an appropriate coaching model is crucial for the success of any executive coaching engagement. The right model should align with the executive’s personal and professional goals while still operating within the broader objectives of the organization.
Here are four things to consider when choosing an executive coaching model.
Step 1: Understand the client’s current needs
Begin by thoroughly assessing the goals, challenges, strengths, and areas for improvement. Use interviews, surveys, and feedback from colleagues to get a clearer picture of the client’s current situation.
Then ensure the executive’s goals align with the organization’s strategic objectives. This alignment is critical to ensure the coach’s method will positively impact both the executive and the organization.
Step 2: Evaluate each coaching model to see which one fits the goals of the client
Determine what the executive aims to achieve through coaching. This could range from enhancing leadership skills to navigating career transitions.
- If the client wants to achieve a specific goal or tackle defined challenges, choose a model, like the GROW model, that emphasizes goal setting, action planning, and accountability.
- Some executives might benefit from the Golden Circle, a flexible and adaptive model. It works well in dynamic business environments or during periods of transition.
- For clients who need to enhance their problem-solving and creative thinking skills, the OSKAR model encourages innovative thinking and solution-focused approaches, which is ideal.
Step 3: Examine the organization’s culture and environment
The chosen coaching model should resonate with the organization’s culture. For example, a more hierarchical organization might benefit from a structured model like GROW, while a creative, innovative firm might find the Golden Circle more applicable.
Step 4: Make adjustments
Be prepared to adapt the coaching model as you progress or when you move from client to client. Coaching is not a one-size-fits-all solution so flexibility is key to addressing evolving goals and challenges.
Sometimes it helps to combine coaching models to create different outcomes for each client. So, don’t be afraid to experiment with a combination of all three models. Browse the Coach Factory resource library for copies of the models in this post and other useful client tools.
