Executive Coaching Reminders from Marshall Goldsmith

I was talking on the phone today with The Coaching Association Coach John Alexander, past president of the Center for Creative Leadership who now runs a successful executive coaching practice called Leadership Horizons.  I mentioned that I had been cleaning out some files and had run across an interview John had conducted in 2001 with Marshall Goldsmith.  At the time, Marshall had been named one of the five top executive coaches by Forbes magazine and John, as CCL President, was interested in his perspective on the growing field of executive coaching.

There were a few things in this article that I found compelling and good reminders about our work as coaches:

Process – Marshall described how he does his work.  First, he asks the question, “What are the desired behaviors?” Then he finds out who can give honest and valid feedback on those behaviors.  Then he provides a multi-rater assessment and finally a plan for improvement – usually focusing on only one or two areas at a time.  I find this to be a pretty tried and true approach to executive coaching and a good set of guidelines for those doing and receiving coaching to follow.

Successful People – Another “pearl of wisdom” from this interview was how Marshall framed his work.  I found this an excellent reminder of both the challenge and the fun of executive coaching.  Marshall’s frame is that he works with successful people, people who have achieved in the past and who have overcome challenges in the past.  These are people who believe that they can change their behavior and they enter into a coaching engagement intending to do the work needed to achieve long-term interpersonal behavioral change. Working with successful people and helping them identify what Marshall called the “in spite of list” is the heart and soul of executive coaching.  The in spite of list are those things that you succeeded in spite of.  You have the list of reasons you have been successful and then you have the list of things you were successful in spite of.  Marshall’s suggestion was that you acknowledge successful behaviors, then try to improve the “in spite of list.”

Limits – Finally, I greatly appreciated reading this quote from Marshall Goldsmith, “Behavioral coaching does not fix all leadership problems.  I will not do coaching if the following conditions exist:  One, the person is unwilling to try.  Two, the person is not given a fair chance.  Three, their issue is not behavioral; it’s intellectual or strategic. Four, their issue is integrity.” I think this is a credo many executive coaches live by, but to see it succinctly and clearly articulated was extremely helpful.

After reading the article and reminding John about it, John told me what he remembered from the interview, Marshall Goldsmith’s focus on the future.  John said to me, “Marshall always said to look forward when working as an executive coach.  If your suggestions are about what you can change in the future, they are far more well-received.”

The conversation was from 2001, but it had been one that John remembered and that I learned something from more than eight years later.  So maybe that’s one file I won’t throw out just yet.