Coaching still suffers from errors of youth

He sought a way out of the impasse. Co-founder of a company, Alexis Delb, current CEO of Locatel Europe, a company of multimedia technologies, feels cramped in its functions. The co-leadership of an enterprise is difficult: egos, the leadership crisis... The young leader has to leave for other horizons but without knowing to what move, nor to turn. "Take a coach", he then blows a friend.

More and more leaders faced with similar deadlock situations have recourse to this formula which is is almost unmarked in ten years, especially in large groups. Coaching actually entered the customs of business. But that makes really

With a few years back, Alexis Delb considers that his eight months of coaching especially helped him make the decision: leave the company. But also to better know professionally. "It allowed me to have a better understanding of the manner in which I fonctionnais my way, sometimes surprising, make decisions, to flee the conflict." Through the so-called method of the left brain and right brain, he thinks his "areas of effort" and these "comfort zones", have identified clear, there where it feels the most comfortable and the situations in which this sentence. "I'm a person of intuitive, I therefore learned to me of people who have a great sense of the Organization, to compensate for.

Neither therapy, because it is not up to the sources of a deadlock as the fact psychoanalysis for example, or Council, since the coach has no solutions, a priori, or training, because the issue is not the development of technical knowledge, coaching of executives is defined as a custom cover, and over a short period, to improve the professional performance... Problems to run his team, behavioural difficulties in its leadership, doubts about the strategy to follow... As many situations where coaching is more systematically prescribed.

Identify the areas of improvement

Louis Perrin, Director of marketing at Packard Bell, seen him, prescribe coaching for a next, but not immediate evolution towards greater responsibilities. An investment in the form of betting on this high potential. To identify the areas of improvement, his coach began by sending a questionnaire anonymous to his superiors and employees so that they define the type of management. It appears that, with very heterogeneous teams, composed both of creative designers, engineers, its management is monolithic and essentially policy. With his coach, Pascal Longeville (cabinet Eos), they define a pragmatic action on six-month plan. Conduct of meeting, management of the different teams of service time, each session is rooted in the reality of the leader. "Unlike a training classical management, where it remains at a very theoretical level, coaching proved both very concrete and effective", provides Louis Perrin.

Development on measurement

Custom support where the coachee is itself the solution to his... such questions is the main reason for the success of coaching in the eyes of its promoters. "It is a measure, in situ development, linked to problems encountered on the moment in the company, in that it is irreplaceable," says Nicolas Schilfarth, which has implemented a few years, as Director of the organizations and the development, a process of referencing of the coaches at Danone. Daniel Jouve, headhunting and pioneer in the coaching of leaders, "coaching is a time outside the hierarchy where these men who have significant responsibilities can, which is not always easy, express doubts about their skills."

Miracle solution See the recent explosion of the market (see above), some might be tempted to believe. "There is certainly a mode effect, inflation that is likely to lead to the devaluation of coaching", therefore prevents Vincent Lenhardt, President of the cabinet Transformance. Indeed, some questioned the risk of drift of this "any coaching." Number of managers are doubtful of the experience, as the framework of a large group of agri-food that admits having not very well before the interest of role-play proposed by his coach, tried "infantilisants and vain". Elena Fourès, coach itself, author of "Small Treaty of ordinary abuses of coaching" (1), shows even more skeptical and recalled that, in this still immature market, at best a bad coaching serves strictly no, at worst it was an adverse influence: psychological destabilisation, 360 questionnaires which saw massacre game, manipulation, decline in the results. What to encourage reflection. Nicolas Schilfarth, former head HR at Danone, explains that the coaches authorized by the company selection process were intended to guard against even the most far-fetched offers "the risks of intrusion of sects".

Bloated offer

Professionals admit indeed. Coaching still suffers from errors of youth. Hence the importance for businesses to better arm themselves against that heterogeneous also bloated offer. "Since the onset of coaching a decade ago, one finds that the level of requirement is more important. The HRD are a little more attention to which they have case. "No one does prescribe to the blind", says Charlotte Duda, HRD of Stream International, enterprise technology services and President of the ANDCP, association of HRD.

First place, so that anyone can improvise to coach, the focus is on the selection of true professionals. Companies who use coaching for a long time, and have regular links with Council offices, have type tender procedures. This is the case of Areva, which developed a guide to coaching to help prescribers to choose true professionals. The main criteria "An experience of at least ten years in business or in the Council, recognized in coaching, training be members of an association of coaches, be supervised regularly by his peers..." ", indicates a HR Manager, who pointed out that the list is certainly not exhaustive and should be completed by the qualities of"be"for the coach, as"his ability to listen, to be in empathy. " In smaller companies, who are not necessarily the means or the time, it favours instead-of-mouth. "It is enormously by network with recognized firms who have acceptable methods," explains Daniel Klumb, HRD in Socomec, industrial group specializing in the production and sale of electrical low voltage (1,100 employees in France), which said particularly attentive to the coach ethics, to respect rules of confidentiality. "A coach who was accompanied by a management team, cannot then coach of n - 3 and n-2."

After years of prescription to everything - goes, companies therefore began to better assess this that they may or may not, wait for coaching. "They are more specific in their applications: position, conflict management, problem of authority.". "They target better than a few years ago", note Joël Brugalières, President of the French society of coaching.

Before coaching costs about 10,000 euros on average for a dozen sessions , prescribers are also more interested in measuring the return on investment. A successful coaching must meet specific targets, are reminiscent of the professionals. "The goal must be clarified at the outset, is not coaching the wire of the water. For example, allow a person to complete a project. "The success is so measurable," says Xavier Lacoste, President of Professional Development Council Syntec, organization bringing together different coaching offices. Most of the time, these objectives will be defined in tripartite talks between the future coached, the coach and the prescriber.

For Marie Dubanton, coach at Altedia, the results are easily observable. "How many times in the fifteen days have you taken the initiative to go to such person with whom you feel not in phase." It is the daily training on very specific situations.

Finally, more and more of prescribers, most of the time the HRD, but also the leaders, not hesitate to go put the nose in the kitchens of the coaching. Or even to train themselves. "It is necessary for them to acquire a certain level of knowledge of this still-emerging profession", recognizes Vincent Lenhardt. "Lot of HRD will form in coaching schools and therefore know better what we talk about," said Joël Brugalières. For Thierry Chavel, it is simple, "the maturity of the customers is even higher than that of the profession." This seems especially true for large groups, which already have behind them a few years of practice, and setbacks, in coaching.