Factual reasons why your company should provide coaching for your executives in China. Benefit from my 35+ years in business 22+ years in China, and Certified Professional Coach training and experience.

1. 1
Over 75% of expatriate assignments cost
companies between 2 and 4 times that of similar
positions in the home country.(1)
The average failure rate - when an expat does not
complete the assignment period – is 4-6%.(2)
Hard
costs of a failed assignment can be calculated, but it
is more difficult to calculate the costs of and to
expatriates who complete the assignment period,
but are under-performing due to the stress and
frustration common with overseas assignments.
Coaching to improve expat performance can
happen anytime, and is most effective if provided in
the first 6 months of the assignment.
Coaching to Reduce Culture Shock and
Improve Performance
Making Expatriate
Assignments More Productive
Keith Lomason
MBA, CPC
Shanghai-Based
Certified Professional Coach
According to a survey published by the American
Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, three of the
top four attributes that employers in China want in
new managers are Cultural Fit, Stress
Management, and Flexibility. (4)
In the same survey, the number-two reason given
by companies who lost newly hired managers
within the first year of assignment is “issues with
management/work culture.”
All of these challenges can be influenced directly
and positively with coaching.
From his book “The Inner Game of
Work”, Tim Gallwey postulates this
“Equation for Performance”:
p = P – I
Where:
p = an individual’s actual
performance;
P = their Potential;
I = the “interference” that can get in
the way of “peak performance.”
Good coaching helps to identify and
remove interference from the
executive’s life, enabling a more
productive and successful
assignment.
(3)
3-6 months from Arrival
To Culture Shock

2. 2
A COACH IS A GUIDE FOR FINDING FOCUS AND MOTIVATION.
A COACH PROVIDES PERSPECTIVE AND HELPS CLIENT DEVELOP SELF-ACCOUNTABILITY.
IN A CORPORATE SPONSORED ENVIRONMENT, A COACH IS A PARTNER IN MAKING THE
CONNECTION BETWEEN COMPANY AND CLIENT GOALS.
• Expatriate Assignment Coaching, with a
focus on high performance while managing
the effects of culture shock, are best started
within the first three months of arrival to
China, or even before the employee makes
the move if possible, and can be initiated at
any time a client is feeling added pressures
due to working overseas. Expatriate
Assignment Coaching will typically last 6
months and includes eight sessions of 60-90
minutes each.
• Executive Coaching focuses on the skills to
lead self, lead others, lead an organization
and lead in society all while maintaining a
healthy work-life balance. Executive
coaching starts with a minimum of 5
sessions over 3 months, which can be
extended as desired.
• Career Coaching is focused on helping
clients enhance their current performance
and to identify and choose which path to
take when they are at a crossroads in their
career. Career Coaching is also a 3 month,
5 session engagement.
Career Coaching can also be very helpful
for expats preparing to return to their home
country as they near the end of their
overseas assignment in order to better
prepare for reverse culture shock and
dealing with the pressures of a new job.
o All coaching engagements begin with a
“Baseline” session where the coach will
gain a deep understanding of the client’s
goals and challenges.
o At the second session, the coach provides
tools that create focus and motivation,
and is the foundation for developing the
habits the client chooses to move
towards their goals.
o The third session digs in to focus on top
priorities and specific action steps from
which an action plan will be created.
o Subsequent sessions are spent marking
progress against the action plans,
making adjustments, reinforcing new
habits, and developing self-
accountability.

3. 3
Most coaching engagements are arranged
directly between the Client and a Coach, but
more and more businesses are offering
coaching to their employees as a supplement to
their internal development activities. When a 3rd
party arranges and/or pays for coaching it is
called “Sponsored Coaching.”
The partners in corporate sponsored
coaching are:
• Sponsor – the company that hires the
coach to engage with its employee;
• Coach – the person providing the
coaching;
• Client – the person receiving the
coaching.
For Expatriate Coaching, the sponsor should
establish coaching as standard practice and
inform all incoming expatriates that they will be
participating.
Executive and Career coaching are most
effective when an employee moves into a new
position requiring leadership, or is struggling
with the current position, or is preparing to
repatriate at the end of the overseas
assignment.
Before the first coaching session, the coach will
meet with the appropriate executives of the
sponsor organization to understand the
company culture and expectations of the
expatriate.
Certified Professional Coaches who have
attended an ICF-Approved coach training must
pass detailed education and training
requirements, and are bound to a strict code of
ethics, which help ensure sponsors and clients
that their coach is competent and will be
professional throughout the relationship.
As coaching requires trust between the client
and the coach, the sponsor understands that
details of the sessions will remain confidential to
the client. The first client session, the Baseline
Coaching Session, allows the coach to gain a
deep understanding of the personal goals and
motivations of the client.
Notes from meetings are provided only to the
client, and the Coach keeps copies only as long
as the Client is active. In the rare situation
where client’s goals may not be in alignment
with the sponsor’s goals, the coach will
encourage the client to address these concerns
via normal organizational processes.

4. 4
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Understanding how busy and overwhelmed many expatriates and executives are, my goal is to make the coaching
experience highly productive and efficient. I take the notes and deliver them to the client for review and discussion. I
document the Action Plan from client input and deliver to the client for review, adjustment and confirmation. All
coaching packages include prep-meetings with appropriate sponsor’s management, notes from the meetings, action
plans, updates and communicating with the client between meetings as necessary. All client and sponsor meetings
are priced based on phone/internet calls or can be face-to-face if in Shanghai. Arrangements can be made for other
options.
Expatriate Performance Enhancement Coaching: Focused on assisting newly assigned expats cope with culture
shock while also establishing action plans to achieve high performance on the job.
15,500RMB for first client; 14,500RMB for subsequent clients from the same sponsor organization.
Includes baseline session (90-120 minutes) and 7 follow-up sessions (60-90 minutes each) for establishing action
plans and developing personal accountability to goals. Suggest Weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 15, 19 and 23.
Executive & Career Coaching: Focused on enhancing performance and managing career decisions and changes.
10,000RMB for first client; 9,000RMB for subsequent clients from the same sponsor organization.
Includes baseline session and 4 follow-up sessions for establishing action plans and developing personal
accountability to goals. Suggest Weeks 1, 3, 5, 9 and 13. Additional sessions at 1,500RMB each.
As a Certified Professional Coach with the Center for Coaching Certification, an ICF-approved program, I adhere to the
ICF Code of ethics even though I am not yet a member.
ICF Core Values:
ICF coaches are committed to reliability, openness, acceptance and congruence and consider all parts of the entire
ICF community mutually accountable to uphold the following values:
Integrity: We uphold the highest standards both for the coaching profession and our organization.
Excellence: We set and demonstrate standards of excellence for professional coaching quality, qualification and
competence.
Collaboration: We value the social connection and community building that occurs through collaborative partnership
and co-created achievement.
Respect: We are inclusive and value the diversity and richness of our global stakeholders. We put people first, without
compromising standards, policies and quality.
Ethics:
Ethics are guided moral principles underlying how coaches behave congruent with the above ICF values.
What we expect of ICF Members when abiding by the Code of Ethics:
To elicit the best in each and every ICF coach, ICF Members and coaches are committed to:
Ethical behavior as the foundation of the coaching profession.
Continued learning in the field of coaching as required.
Search for continued self-awareness, self-monitoring and self-improvement.
Acting and being an ethical individual in all professional interactions.
Full accountability for the responsibility undertaken as an ICF Member and coach.
Complete engagement with and commitment to the coaching profession, setting an example both to the profession
overall and to the community.
Uphold the highest standards in a manner that reflects positively on the coaching profession.
Be fully present in each and every interaction in which we engage.
Recognize and abide by the applicable laws and regulations of each country, municipality and local governing body.
Provide a safe space for trainers, service providers, coaches and coaches-in-training to learn, excel ethically and strive
to become professional coaches of the highest caliber.
Embrace diversity and inclusion, and value the richness of our global stakeholders.
For more information, please visit: http://coachfederation.org/index.cfm
Keith Lomason, MBA, Certified Professional Coach (CPC)
Shanghai-Based, Experienced Expatriate Executive Helping Others Through Coaching
With Specialties in Expatriate Assignment, Executive, & Career Coaching
keithlomason@hotmail.com +86 13901712880
Citations (All retrieved May 29-June 2, 2016)
(1) (1)http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/07/focus-3
(2) (2)http://expatresearch.com/files/7713/7661/6157/Cole_Nesbeth_2014_ISMO.pdf
(3) (3)http://80couches.com
(4) (4)http://www.amcham-shanghai.org/NR/rdonlyres/CE184DA7-09AA-4035-AEED-4F3A262FE9BE/14717/HR_Services_Directory.pdf