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More and more companies are looking seriously at the skill of coaching as a method of developing
and enhancing the performance of their staff and teams. The more enlightened organisations now
insist that all line managers are competent in the skill of coaching whilst others are going even
further and creating specialist 'coach' roles in order to support employees and teams within the
organisation. There are, however, six major challenges that the internal company coach has to
face and overcome before they can really excel in their coach role and thus bring tremendous
benefits to themselves, the employees and the organisation itself.
In this article, Performance Coach, Allan Mackintosh, who was himself an internal company coach
for six years, outlines these six major challenges that the internal coach has to face, and ways that
the coach can face these with confidence.
Challenge No.1 - Recruitment of Coaches
Correct recruitment is vital in any role if the organisation is to get the maximum for their employees
and it is no different in relation to the recruitment of coaches. Great care has to be taken to recruit
the right person in terms of their beliefs and their potential to take on the necessary skill set that is
required for a competent coach. When I first became an internal company coach in the
pharmaceutical industry, the recruitment was done internally with some people identified as
potential coaches but the majority coming from a pool of 'potentially redundant' line managers who
were in this position after a major company re-structure. The result was that certain individuals
were 'forced' into a role in order to stay within the company. This was far from ideal and as a result
a number of people did not take to the role and subsequently left the organisation. Others stayed
in the role but really struggled to take on the role of the coach and actually behaved more like
'trainers'. In order to avoid these challenges, organisations really have to take great care in the
selection process of coaches in order that they get the right people with enough potential to
become great coaches in the workplace. Shoddy recruitment only leads to great financial loss in
the long run! Those employees wishing to become coaches should look at what they really
believe about people and if they do not believe that everyone has the potential to become
excellent in any role they undertake, then they might want to think twice about becoming a coach.
If you do not believe in people then do not become a coach!
Challenge No.2 - Does the organisation really understand what a coach does?
It is vital that the coach role and what coaches do and can achieve, is fully understood by
everyone in the organisation and not just a few 'supporters' of coaching. From the Board to the
'shop floor', everyone must know what coaching is, what coaches do, how coaching works, and
what coaching can achieve. Otherwise, confusion reigns and chaos can ensue. In my own
experience, in the early days, coaching was being promoted by the Chief Executive and a leading

2. HR executive. Senior Management played along without really understanding what coaching was
and what coaches were supposed to do. The coaches were expected to work with line managers
in order to support them through the vast organisational change that was happening along with
supporting and enabling them to develop their skills in leading their teams to success. On
reflection, the role of the coach varied enormously throughout the organisation with coaches in
some areas acting like 'mini-managers', others like 'trainers' and a few actually doing some
coaching! In many respects, some coaches simply did the senior manager's 'bidding'.
It is essential that everyone understands why coaching is being promoted, especially the line
managers who may be supporting the coach. They have to agree objectives and methods of
working so that there is consistency across the organisation. The coaches have to understand
what they are supposed to be doing and they have to have the skill (and the courage) to stand up
to senior management when, perhaps, the management wants them to operate in a way that
perhaps is not actually the coach role. The objectives of the coaches must be consistent and
clear, and where possible measures should be put in place in order that the success of the
coaching interventions can be measured and communicated, in order to further the understanding
within the organisation.
Challenge No.3 - Contracting the Role
Many of the challenges within the 'understanding' of the coach role arose due to the fact that the
coaches never really learned how to 'contract' their role with their senior management, their peers
and those people they ended up coaching. Contracting is simply a process whereby two people sit
down and discuss expectations and agree a way forward. It is an opportunity to get to know the
people you are working with, to understand their roles and to agree how best the two are going to
work together. It is an opportunity for the coach to get know the person, to get them to fully
understand the coach role, to learn what coaching can do for them, and how coaching can work
for them. Only this way will be the managers and coachees gain a full understanding of the role,
the skill and what it will mean for them. In the early days in my organisation, coaches ran straight
into task and started attempting to coach individuals and teams without going through the
contracting phase. As a result of a lack of understanding, there was confusion and in may cases
mistrust. Many coaches were seen as the senior manager's 'little helper' or 'right hand man' and
as such huge barriers appeared between some coaches and the people they were supposed to be
coaching. Contracting done effectively starts to build understanding, trust and respect. Coaches
cannot survive without this!
Contracting with senior management is a must and it is in this area that coaches have to be very
wary. Many managers will expect the coach to divulge information gained from coaching sessions
from employees. This can put the coach is a tight spot because as confidentiality is a pre-requisite
in almost every coaching conversation and relationship, what happens if the coach lets something
'slip' to a senior manager? If this leaks back to the coachee then all trust with the coach will be
lost. The coach must contract effectively with both senior management and the coachee and this
is where the internal coach may have to be courageous and outline to the manager that there may
be aspects of the coaching conversation that will not be fed back! Similarly the coach has to
contract with the coachee what can and cannot be discussed with a senior manager.
Challenge No.4 - Learning the Skills

3. We were thrown into the 'deep end'. Although we were given some initial theory training we
became coaches without first learning the skills and as a result we 'bumbled' along using the
managerial skills that we had been brought up with. The result was that the coachees saw very
little difference in skills and behaviours. Coaches were still operating in a 'tell' fashion as opposed
to an 'ask' one. We were actually put through an intensive two year programme and although
some of it was very beneficial, there was some of the course which to this day, I wonder what the
reasons were for it! We were all given a personal coach in order to support us through the
programme and this, for me, was the turning point in my development and in many respects, my
life. My coach was excellent - challenging yet supportive with the knowledge and experience that
should go with a 'training' coach. Unfortunately, some of my coach colleagues had coaches
allocated to them whose coaching skill allegedly left a lot to be desired. It is vital, in this respect,
that 'mentor' coaches are chosen carefully and allocated appropriately.
When creating a coach role, I would advise organisations to think carefully about how they are
going to train their coaches. Training them from within an internal training department is very risky
unless the coaching capability is extremely sound and respected. It may be better looking
externally and choosing a training organisation which possesses a track record in training coaches
and who have good quality coaches on their staff. Do not go for one or even two day training
courses. All these do is highlight the skills needed - they do not build the actual skills necessary. A
programme which includes theory, practice and follow up coaching is a necessity. Whilst doing
this it is advisable to consider putting senior and middle management on such programmes
because in the future, who is going to coach the coaches?
Challenge No.5 - How do you know the coaching is working?
One of the major challenges the coaching industry faces today is actually proving that coaching
delivers what it promises. Many senior executives demand to see the link between coaching
interventions and the 'bottom line' - results. This can sometimes be a challenge because even in
the sporting arena, it is not the coach that gets the result it is the athlete or the team. How many
people know who the coach is behind the top athletes in the world? Team coaches are probably
better known due the exposure that they get from the media but very few individual sports'
champions' coaches are widely known. Yet, these sportspeople would never consider attempting
to do what they do without a coach!
In business, internal coaches have to ensure that their interventions are proving to be a catalyst to
success whether it is a team success or an individual one. Collecting feedback from coachees is
one way, although the coach will have to ensure that the coachee sees the link between the
coaches' interventions and the individual's success! Sometimes, the coaching can be so subtle
that coachees do not realise that the coach has actually made the difference even though the
coachee has actually carried out the successful action. Regular reports to senior management are
a must. They must be kept informed, highlighting successes and challenges, and emphasising
where the coaching intervention has brought success and why. Coaches really need to promote
themselves and their actions so that senior management sit up and take notice. One of your
greatest challenges in the early days as an internal coach was that, as a coach group, we did not
stand up for ourselves and promote what we did, why we did it and the successes that were
achieved.
Challenge No.6 - Keeping your Development going.

4. Within organisations there is a great need to deliver through action and as such ongoing
development can take a 'beat seat' with the result that skills are rarely enhanced unless through
the odd 'refresher' course. Coaches cannot afford to become 'stale'. Although the coach may have
gone through an intensive coaching programme over a period of time, it is important that not only
do they look to keep the skill levels to an acceptable level they should really be looking to
continually enhance them. Coaching is a skill that needs continual growth and there are more and
more ways to coach effectively being discovered as research into the skill grows. Many internal
managers and coaches can become insular in that they rarely network outside their organisation.
Coaches, in particular should look to join network groups, coaching communities and the various
institutes that are now accepting coaching as an essential business tool. Without continually
growing your coaching knowledge and skill, the danger is that your skills may become 'stale' with
the result that some of the learned coaching behaviours slip and before you know it, you are back
acting as a manager or trainer!
Allan Mackintosh is a performance coach, speaker and author dedicated to developing coaching
skills in all levels of management. Allan oversees the coaching consultancy, PMC Scotland, and is
also co-owner of teambuilding specialists, Teambuilders International Ltd. He is the author of 'The
Successful Coaching Manager' and the creator of the OUTCOMES, CHANGES, CARERS &
ASPIRES developmental models. He can be contacted on 00 44 1292 318152 or e-mail
allan@pmcscotland.com websites: http://www.pmcscotland.com
http://www.teambuildersinternational.com
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Questions on coaching? This is a great place to find out more:
http://bit.ly/ym3YLX
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