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2014 Executive Coaching summary from the Conference Board

Hello friends,

I thought you may want to see some recent trend data for external coaching and internal coaching, by industry and size of company.

Highlights:

  1. After the recession, companies are investing more than ever in leadership development and key talent, with both external and internal coaching  
  2. 39% of these 140 companies use internal coaches for leaders who are lower in the organization, and over 75% use external coaches for their senior leaders (directors and above)
  3. The top 3 types of coaching remain 1) development-focused coaching, 2) performance-focused coaching, and 3) 360 debriefs
  4. Fees invoiced at a standard or fixed rate per engagement, rather than an hourly or variable rate, have increased from 26% in 2012 to 38% in 2014
  5. Hourly rates for executive coaching range from $600+/hour for CEOs and direct reports to $300/hour for directors and above; naturally, those rates vary by size of the company, industry, and level of the leaders
  6. The top 3 topics covered in coaching engagements have not changed for many years; they include:  1) executive presence/ influencing skills, 2) relationship management, and 3) leading teams and people development

If you should have any questions, please let me know.

Doug Gray, PCC,  CEO/Founder www.action-learning.com

2014_TCB_Executive_Coaching_Survey

What is the core of every physician-patient relationship?

The core of physician-patient relationships is trust.

But what do you know about your physician’s values regarding end of life decisions, or women’s reproductive choice?  What do you know about the treatment and care suggested by your physician, who may be eligible for a $5,000 referral fee or $2,500 volume price incentive?

Leana Wen, MD, is a Rhodes Scholar and author of “When Doctors Don’t Listen.”  Her TED talk, called “What your doctor won’t disclose,” has been viewed by over 1.3 million people.

Her story includes role models from her childhood in China, to a campaign called “Who’s my doctor?” designed to encourage doctors to share their values and be more transparent with their patients.

She states, “we need to change the paradigm of medicine from sickness and fear to openness and healing.

Riding a bicycle, learning, and neural plasticity

Like most of you, perhaps, I have demonstrated some expertise at the ability to ride a bicycle since the age of 3.

Unlike most of you, I have perfected that skill in multiple expedition bicycle races, featured on CBS Sport three times, bicycle tours throughout Europe, the maritime provinces, and the U.S.  Big deal, right?

So what would happen if I tried to UN-LEARN that skill?

1.  In this cool video clip, a bicycle was re-engineered so that when the handlebars were turned one way, the wheel would go in the opposite direction.

2.  It took an adult 8 months to LEARN how to ride this new bike.

3.  It took his 3-year old son 3 weeks to LEARN how to ride this new bike.

What do these two facts say about the brain’s ability to learn a new behavior, then to unlearn that behavior after 8 months of reinforcement?

(Pause and reflect here…)

 

One of my Dartmouth College professors, in an obtuse course called Developmental PsychoBiology, taught me that we have neural pathways that reinforce certain behaviors.  Call them habits.  When we practice using our right hand with a fork to eat spaghetti, we can reinforce that pattern until it becomes “learned.”  If we want to eat spaghetti with chopsticks we need to learn a new neural pattern, until it becomes a habit.

Too many adults say “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”  Nonsense.  There is abundant empirical evidence to the contrary, for both dogs and humans.  Such a perspective is based upon ignorance.

So an executive coaching question may be, “What new behaviors do you need to learn?”

Examples include:

  • calling 10 former friends to say “Hello, how are you? I miss you.”
  • being kind to someone who needs kindness
  • supporting the strengths of your loved ones, immediately, by doing or saying something complimentary and true.  Immediately.  Repeatedly.
  • learning a new skill, such as how to play the banjo, speak Spanish, or write javascript
  • self-advocate for that promotion or new challenge at work
  • re-design your career or future

If you need a boost (and we all need a boost at times) then give me a call today.

 

I’d like to know what you are interested in doing.  Or UN-Learning.

 

 

2014 Articles Published in Professional Safety

I have been asked to submit 6-8 articles for publication in Professional Safety, the professional journal for the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Here are the published titles from 2014:

1.  “Succession Planning 101.”   March, 2014.  p. 35.  PS_Article_SuccessionPlanning_3.2014

2.  “Trends in Safety Leadership Coaching.”   May, 2014.  p. 35.  PS article Trends 5.2014

3.  “Smartphone Apps; Making Smart Job Decisions.”  June, 2014. p. 46-47.  PS Article Apps 6.14

Please forward these articles to your friends and colleagues.

Then call me to discuss best practices for your business or your self.  Initial consultations are free.  Contact us here.

Nashville: A new address and 7 examples

After 7.15.14 our new address is:

3482 Stagecoach Dr, Franklin, TN  37067

704.995.6647 cell

Special Offer:  Please call for a free consultation in your Nashville area office to discuss your leaders or your business.

Why did we relocate?

1.  Personally: to support my wife’s career, and her recent promotion.

2.  Professionally:  to develop new relationships in a new geography, while continuing to provide value to clients in any geography.

Life requires adaptation to new environments.  A coaching question is:  How are you moving?

Here are 7 examples of new affiliations and movement in the last 13 months:  

  1.  The Brentwood, TN Rotary Club (a long time Paul Harris fellow) committed to “service above self.”
  2. Member of the Williamson, Inc Chamber of Commerce, in Franklin, TN
  3. The Association of Talent Development (ATD) board member in professional development (2015-15) and membership (2015-16);  created a Special Interest Group (SIG) for Consultants and hosted monthly meetings on countless topics since January, 2015
  4. Member of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
  5. Member of the Nashville Technology Center (NTC); accepted by Launch TN grant funding program to apply for federal grant to the NIH or USDA, using consultants Mark and Catherine Henry, with mentoring from Jim Stefansic PhD, to assess the impact of telemedicine programs in rural disparities
  6. Promoted the TN-HIMSS conference in October, 2015 for healthcare leaders, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Information Officers
  7. Created and hosted monthly meetings on “Talent Analytic Trends” at local businesses, including Rustici Software, the “best technology company in Nashville” and a global leader in SCORM and Watershed, their Learning Record System; those meetings featured leaders and new technologies that are redesigning how we measure talent, careers, and human achievement.

Quite a list for 13 months in a new town.

Back to that coaching question:  How are you moving?

Call any time to discuss what is next for you, your leaders, or your business.

5 Hot Tips for Succession Planning

This article was published in the March, 2014 issue of Professional Safety magazine, at their request.

Here is the pdf for you to share with others: SuccessionPlanning PS 3.2014

Here is the article:

At a recent ASSE meeting I asked, “What is your leadership succession plan?”

After a blank stare from several members I heard:
“We don’t have one. What is it, exactly?”
“You’re looking at it. I’m all we’ve got.”

Safety professionals are not alone. Let me explain what succession planning is, and provide the 5 steps you need to develop a succession planning process.

Definition
Succession Planning can be defined as a process for identifying and developing key leaders within your company. The primary purpose is to increase engagement and retention by providing a career ladder. Some people talk about “bench strength” as if it is a number- how many people do we need to replace the “first string” or senior team in the “hit by a truck and all down scenario?” (Sorry for such a morbid view for safety leaders.) Another purpose of succession planning is to create a talent development culture that affirms individual strengths and develops competencies that drive results. For instance, if you need more safety leaders with business development expertise to review proposals, then you would consider including the safety leaders on sales calls. Over time you would promote the best safety leaders who also generate new business.

Trends
By 2020 some 25% of the workforce will be baby boomers, over age 65, called the “silver tsunami.” These boomers may not be able to afford to retire. Sadly, the average retiree in the U.S. has a median household net worth of less than $190,000. And men will live to 86 years of age. Your senior leaders may be forced to continue working. Your younger safety leaders may become so discouraged that they take other positions in related fields in order to make more money or develop their careers. Look closer to home for trend patterns: There is a dearth of ASSE members in that 25-50 age cohort. Some job sites look more like country clubs- dominated by silver-haired veterans and young workers. Too many companies lack mentoring or coaching programs. My conclusion: there is a tremendous need for simple, effective succession planning processes.

How to create a succession planning process?
Imagine a wheel with 5 spokes, or a calendar item that tickles you every 5th month, or assigning these 5 steps to 5 different people. These are the 5 steps in an ongoing succession planning process:
1. Identify key roles (such as managers and above) that may require replacement in the next 3 years. List each role and each person.
2. For each role, list the job competencies and personalities that are a) required and 2) recommended. Keep it simple. Lean on your HR colleagues. Solicit updates from those in the role. We know that the best workers compensation people, for instance, have a high attention to detail. If uncertain, or if you desire confidential expertise, hire an external vendor like us.
3. Assess your current people based on their a) status now (e.g.: ready now, development needs defined, development needs to be defined) and b) potential (e.g.: skills, ability, longevity, health, etc.) Then list concerns for each person such as job performance, health risks, medical needs, family concerns, job potential, or ability to travel. Create a database or flow chart.
4. Identify a pool of potential talent. Great people are everywhere. “Talent scarcity” is a myth perpetuated by managers who choose not to invest in their people. Your primary talent pool is internal; your secondary talent pool is external. Please hire internally. Internal promotions lead to higher levels of retention and engagement at lower cost. External hires typically cost more and drive conflict (which can be a necessary motivator at any company.)
5. Use progressions of experiences to actively develop key people so that they can be “ready now” for advancement. Succession planning is not a checklist or software package. It is a series of meaningful experiences. For instance, action learning teams of cross functional managers may be selected to develop a breakthrough product. High potential managers may be tasked with a business development opportunity or leadership training experience. Senior leaders can be partnered with 3-4 “hi pos” for quarterly mentoring sessions. Note that none of these experiences is expensive. For expertise contact any external vendor with experience in succession planning and leadership development experiences. Avoid wasting money on events.

Review your metrics
You all know the value of “What gets measured leads to results” attributed to Peter Drucker. You need to know the corollary, “What gets rewarded gets repeated.” There are two parts to that maxim. If your reward compensation is not tied to succession planning, then you are wasting your time and resources. As a graphic example, one CSP recently told me about a company where they were tasked with setting up goals on an annual performance review sheet. But they did not need to ever attain those goals. If they completed the sheet they were rated “satisfactory.” They were measuring the wrong metrics. Good people left. They wasted time, money and careers.
A better metric for effective succession development is the % of vacancies that are actually filled with internal promotion vs. external hire. Your job as a leader is to encourage people to stay in your company. They must believe in your “leadership pipeline” or “career development ladder.” Pick your metaphor. In fact, at some publicly traded companies, if 45% of the promotions are external hires then it begs questions about the quality of the senior leadership team and the board. You should be developing people, not hiring externally.

The bottom line? You only have 3 options for succession planning:
1. develop succession planning internally
2. develop succession planning externally
3. ignore the inevitability with a “wait and see” approach

In reality, you only have 2 choices if you have 20+ employees. See options 1 or 2 above.

A coaching question to leave you with is: How are you identifying and developing your best people?

Bio: Doug Gray, PCC, is a leadership coach who helps safety leaders develop and retain their leaders. Reach him at 704.895.6479 or www.action-learning.com