80
50 TOP EXECUTIVE COACHES
an eternity in a business setting. Finally, it is the coach’s ability to judge the
pace and frequency of interaction that could be one of the most important
traits. Over the years, I have learned that some
coachees require contact
every week while others require little communication, once they are clear on the
action required and are comfortable about the next steps. This does not mean
that the relationship should be totally guided by the coachee’s wishes, but
rather, on their needs.
The coach knows their efforts have been successful when the coachee and
the key players around the coachee agree that the coachee’s actions are
providing more positive impact and effectiveness in their day-to-day business
conduct. The sustainability of the change goes unquestioned when the
coachee feels comfortable that he or she is more effective and has adopted the
steps necessary to perform at their highest level. Put another way,
sustainability feels secured when the return on investment for the company and
the coachee has become clear.
Ken Siegel
Kenneth N. Siegel, PhD, ABPP, is President of The
Impact Group, Inc., a Los Angeles-based group of
psychologists who consult to management. Over the
past 20 years, Dr. Siegel has provided management-
consulting services to a broad array of multinational
companies. He has lectured around the world in his spe-
cialty areas of leadership development, cultural clarity,
strategic alignment, team enhancement, management
development, conflict, and executive coaching. Ken is also the author of the
recent book, So . . . You Call Yourself a Leader: 4 Steps to Becoming One
Worth Following. He can be reached by e-mail at KSiegel105@sbcglobal.net.
I
n my view, executive coaching is somewhat symbolic in nature and ulti-
mately hollow because it rarely acknowledges (let alone treats) the self-
absorbed arrogance and interpersonal ineptitude extant in positions of
power. Even the use of the word “coach” taken from the socially competi-
tive, high-flying world of sports, is a euphemism—a corporately acceptable
 |
 |
 |
 |