The Internal Coach - managing the conflicts

Posted: 31/07/2009

In addition to strong management there will circumstances where a more formal coaching relationship is needed but an external coach is not appropriate. The internal coach can play a valuable and important role in the suite of talent development strategies within your organisation. But there are challenges for the internal coach...

 

What is your relationship with the coachee? For the professional external coach this is clear and unambiguous because in the majority of cases the only relationship that exists is coach to coachee (or client). However as an internal coach within your organisations you are likely to have more than one relationship with the individual you are coaching. Indeed as a manager or leader within your company your role will come with a ‘duty of care’ responsibility – all the more so with members of the HR community. We recommend that guidance be given to internal coaching resources regarding potential coaching topics related to stress and bullying in the work place. It is important at the outset to be clear on the boundaries of an internal coaching relationship; for the coachee, the coach and the organisation.

We would always recommend that formal internal coaching relationships are formed with individuals who are not within the same reporting line. The additional dynamic of a common reporting line will complicate the coaching conversation and could easily lead to conflicts of interest for either party, not to mention creating a challenging confidentiality arrangement. There is great value for both the organisation and the individuals involved in encouraging cross departmental/silo coaching relationships. Mentoring programmes tend to follow this same principle. An exception to this is ‘one-off’ formal coaching sessions to provide support for a specific topic or issue. These can work well between a line manager and a member of their team. Reviewing the outcomes from an assessment centre or preparing for an important presentation would be a good examples of where a line manager could take on the role of ‘coach’ to provide valuable support to a member of their team.

Coaching works most effectively within a framework of an agreed number of sessions – a defined beginning and end. This is equally important to establish for internal coaching relationships. It helps to mitigate against building a dependent relationship on the coach or the relationship becoming stale. We would recommend framing the coaching relationship around a specific outcome or set of outcomes so that there is an end point to the coaching relationship.

These are not hard and fast rules, they are guidelines and principles. What is important in any formal coaching relationship involving an ‘internal coach’ is transparency of roles and agendas. One of the principles of coaching is the coachee is responsible for the content of the coaching conversation, it is their agenda. You the coach are responsible for the structure of the coaching conversation and the overall coaching relationship. However, if you are the manager you have a vested interest in the outcomes of a coaching conversation. The coachee is looking to get something from the relationship and so are you. Be clear and transparent and put it out on the table. There may well be things that are ‘not up for debate’ so be clear and lay out the lines on court. If you have a mandate to reduce costs by 20% that is not to be negotiated, how it is achieved could be a productive topic for coaching.

It is important to remember that you do not always need a ‘formal’ coaching conversation or relationship. For the manager and leader using a coaching approach with members of your team does not require formal contracting or indeed disclosure and consent. You can adopt a style of leadership that encourages the full potential of those around you to flourish and facilitates top performance. Coaching is not there for you to outsource good management practice.

 

If we can be of any help in building and developing your internal coaching capabilities or if you are curious about our ‘lines on the court’ metaphor please get in touch.