Executive Coaches Share Openly and Unselfishly: Dynamic Panel Discussion at ICF Annual Conference 2003

Linda: I want to add one more thing regarding the comments on ROI. If you don’t set it up in the beginning, it’s really challenging. A lot of times, we’ve been in places where the company will say: “We don ‘t need to do that.” We have to help in the learning process and in the educating process. Our clients should know that when they get down the road two or three or four months, they may have to come back again and it’s not easy to measure at that point. So, one of the challenges has been to determine at the very beginning if you’re going to measure and be sure you’re really clear on what and how you’re going to be measuring.

Some Sage Advice

Moderator (Linda): What advice would you give to experienced coaches?

Val: Ok, I’ll start. My advice would be whether you’re experienced or new to the field, decide to be a player–get a vision of what it is you want for corporate America. Not just what do you want in terms of a client: What do you want? I’m talking about executive coaching for corporations. What do you want to see for corporations? There are some really practical reasons to do it. First, it will organize your marketing effort. If you want to build a practice, you can market around a message. Secondly, it’ll move you out of the position of: “Please hire me. I’ve got something really valuable to offer.” This will move you into a situation where you are an equal partner with an executive and capable of assisting in some real and positive changes in the world. So, that’s my advice: be a player, be bold, and have a vision.

Klaus: I suggest everyone identify their core values because they keep you grounded. I feel this is important. You must also speak your mind all the time without exception. Don’t be shy. What personally has helped me along on the executive level is having a natural disrespect for hierarchical positions. They simply don’t impress me just because someone is a CEO. So what, who cares? I have a deep respect for each human being and I approach them as such and that has always enabled me to enter the true conversation a lot faster.