So you’re embarking on your first experience with an executive coach—congratulations! Being selected for sponsored coaching is a significant step in your development; it indicates that others recognize the valuable long-term contributions you can make to your organization.
Whether your sponsor is your boss or someone from HR, you probably have questions about the sponsor’s role in your coaching. How can they help ensure executive coaching success? Does your boss get to dictate what your coach discusses with you? Will your coach report the results of each session to your boss or sponsor? How big a role will this third person have in your coaching sessions?
While each coaching program is uniquely designed for a leader’s needs and an organization’s preferences, the role of the sponsor or boss should not be adversarial; rather, a sponsor should support you and ensure you have the resources you need to be successful in this coaching experience.
Table of Contents
How Bosses Ensure Executive Coaching Success
1. Set Expectations
Whether your sponsor is your boss, an HR representative, or some other party who is interested in your career development, that person probably has some clear ideas about the path your coaching should take. For instance, you and your boss may have already discussed development goals for you and decided that hiring a coach would be the best next step to achieve those goals.
Your sponsor also likely has expectations and guidelines for the coaching experience itself. There may be a budget you need to adhere to when selecting a coach, or you might be required to use a coach from a particular organization that already has an arrangement with your company. These expectations and other guidelines given by your organization will guide your coach selection process.
2. Keep Everyone Aligned
One key way that your sponsor can help create a platform for your development is by meeting with you and your coach at regular checkpoints to make sure all three of you are still aligned in the goals, focus areas, and expectations of the coaching experience.
While assessment reports and coaching conversations are confidential, goals and action plans are commonly shared with sponsors. As you, your sponsor, and your coach meet, the three of you can discuss progress toward goals, provide feedback as necessary, and make sure everyone’s priorities are still aligned.
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3. Commit to Regular Check-ins
Your sponsor should meet with you and your coach to communicate priorities, goals, and focus areas for your coaching engagement. Coaching engagements typically include four checkpoints where you, your coach, and your sponsor should meet:
- Introduction: A chance to introduce your coach to your sponsor and discuss initial expectations, communication preferences, and the coaching format and procedures.
- Alignment: An opportunity for all three participants to establish detailed priorities and goals for the coaching engagement. This discussion could take place during the introductory meeting under some circumstances; for example, if the coach is already known to the organization, or if some communication about priorities has already taken place.
- Midway Check-in: About halfway through the coaching engagement, you, your coach, and your sponsor should meet to ensure expectations are being met, share observations and feedback, and celebrate successes so far.
- Final Debrief: A final meeting is a great time to review the journey, discuss additional support needed or next steps for development, and share improvements for future coaching engagements with the organization.
4. Encourage and Support Learning
Any development endeavor is going to come with some discomfort—and that’s a good thing! Discomfort is key to growth.
But discomfort can sometimes turn into discouragement or frustration. When development gets tough, it’s good to have someone who can offer a word of encouragement or support for the process.
Good sponsors will share insights from their own coaching experiences or development processes. They can offer feedback about the improvements they’ve seen so far, and they can ask questions and show interest in the development. Remember, even though your coach is bound by ethics to keep your meetings confidential, that doesn’t mean you can’t talk about your learning with someone who is curious and open to hearing about the process.
Having a sponsor can be a tremendous boon for your career. As Carla Harris suggests in her 2019 TEDTalk, a sponsor can help you get ahead at work by “carrying your paper into the room.” As you embark on your coaching engagement, make sure your sponsor is included on the coaching journey.
Ready to learn more about the Stewart Leadership coaching experience? Contact us to find out how we can help you develop leaders who deliver results.
Self-check:
- Do I have a sponsor in my organization? If not, is there someone who might be willing to sponsor me?
- What is one way my sponsor can improve my coaching experience?
- Is there one additional resource that would improve my coaching experience? Can my sponsor provide it?
