Today’s post is from guest blogger, Stan Woster, of Coachmatch. As the name suggests, this is a company that matches coaches to clients. So I asked Stan to give us his top tips for matching.
Stan writes: As Head of Client Services at Coachmatch, I hold responsibility for the delivery of our Coaching services into our customers and support our team to build a World class, global network of Coach Partners, Facilitators and Consultants.
Strategic partnership as a precursor to coach matching
We know from our most successful client relationships that many of the critical requirements necessary for successful delivery stem from a genuine strategic partnership and we achieve this through establishing strong relationships with our customers and with the most effective and experienced development professionals. Over the past 4 ½ years, I have personally matched Coaches to several hundred individual leaders across a variety of functions, sectors and geographies which, when coupled to the 25 year heritage of building up knowledge, contacts and experience within Executive Development that Coachmatch has built means we have significant experience in this field.
But what makes a successful ‘match’? It’s a question, I’m often asked. In short, the more you can understand about your client AND the Coach, the better the chances of a successful match. As with all the simple things in life however, it’s hard to do this consistently well – so how do we do it?
Understanding the people involved in coach matching
At the heart of any successful Coaching relationship is a solid partnership between two professional people. To allow that relationship to begin, evolve and ultimately, deliver tangible results, a clear understanding of the people involved, the context in which they operate and the priorities that lie ahead for both parties are key. The more appreciation you have of these areas, the better chance you have of connecting together two people who can establish an effective, working relationship.
Quality of the coaching brief aids coach matching
Our belief is that the starting point for ‘the match’ is in the quality of the Coaching brief taken in the first instance. Therefore, we partner with our clients to tailor a Coaching request form that fits the organisation and gets to the heart of the assignment, thus enabling a great match. This form is aligned to the leadership competency frameworks, organisational culture and values and typically covers the basic details of the Coachee including role, location and contact details. More importantly though, it seeks clarity regarding the reason for Coaching, intended objectives, desired outcomes, timescales and benefits, the style and experience of the Coach and any other organisational context that may be relevant. This process is always enhanced where we are able to talk directly to the Coachee or a key stakeholder in order to probe for further context.
Quality of coaches for coach matching
We are always keen to get to know experienced Coaches and Facilitators who share our passion for Coaching and learning as a highly effective tool for individual and organisational development and transformation. The core competencies we work with are those of the ICF or EMCC or an equally robust equivalent. We require Coaches to abide by the ICF/EMCC joint code of conduct and ethics. But, in a sense, this knowledge (or the foundation stones) only goes so far in supporting effective matching, on a regular basis. Rather, the use of these automated processes (a database) should in my opinion be complimented by a level of intuitive thinking as well.
Intuition in coach matching
But where does intuition come from in this sense? For me, the foundation stones (Coaching accreditation and regular Supervision for example) are the starting blocks for intuition to flow – what do I ‘feel’ might work for the individual client and organisation in question? It is this layer of intuition, built over many years of relationship building that is the fairy dust that we can sprinkle on the matching process and it can only realistically come from getting to know a Coach well over a period of time.
You understand, appreciate and get these areas established, you are on to a winning matching formula
For more on creating a coaching culture, take a look at the previous posts, which are all captured in this diagram: Creating a Coaching Culture
