Coach Development Centres

Supporting the development of internal coaches

What is a coach development centre?

Coach development centres are based on established good practice from assessment centres used to select external executive coaches. They differ from assessment centres in that they:

• Are aimed less at selection than at helping coaches create and pursue personal development plans, based on objective feedback on their coaching practice
• Take place at least twice for each individual, to allow coaches and their supervisors to assess progress against coach development plans
• Are integrated with a coach development planning process and a portfolio of resources for learning support

A number of organisations internationally are exploring the concept as a practical means of building an internal coaching capability, which can to a greater or lesser extent replace external resourcing of executive coaches.

How do they work?

Participants in a coach development centre are typically internal coaches within an organisation, although they could be independent executive coaches wanting an objective external view on their practice. Coaches will normally have at least a foundation certificate accredited by a coaching professional body (e.g. EMCC, ICF AfC) and/or at least six months of practice in the role.

The development centre involves both written and practical elements, as follows:

Preparation

For coaches:

• Written reflection before the event on their learning as a coach to date; and on their initial perceptions of development needs as a coach
• Feedback from their coachees
• Pre-reading about the development centre process
• Complete psychological profiling instrument

For the HR team:

• Training of assessors
• Customisation of the development centre exercises

Development centre one

Coaches attend a one-day event, in groups of six to eight. Each group requires a minimum of four assessors – typically two external specialists and two internal HR/coaching professionals. Volunteer coachees – staff with real issues to discuss – are recommended rather than using coaches as coachees.

Coaches engage in three activities

• Discussion of their psychological profile in the context of coaching
• Interview about their practice and philosophy as a coach
• Observed “real play” – a practical demonstration of how they coach

The day is topped and tailed by:

• Group discussion about the learning journey as a coach
• One to one feedback from the assessors, followed by co-coaching to develop a clear personal coach development plan for the next 12 months. Where practical, these individual plans are dove-tailed into a wider initiative to develop coaching capability.

After development centre one

Some internal coaches may select themselves out of the development process, being content with the level they are at. Those that wish to continue their development as coaches will have access to:

• On-line feedback at regular intervals from their coachees
• Telephone supervision (four hours per participant)
• A series of 6 one hour webinars on various aspects of coaching (techniques, processes etc), based on their personal Coach Development Plans
• Access to a database of on-line support resources
• An on-line peer support network, facilitated by a CMI supervisor, where they can share experiences and raise questions. (Participants are also encouraged to meet in person in self-facilitated action learning sets.)

Coaches are expected to maintain a learning log and to continue to practice coaching (recommended at least four coaching sessions with different coachees each month).

Development centre two

Development centre two takes place 8-12 months after the development centre one. It involves only two elements – the panel interview and the real play – plus feedback and co-coaching to create development plans for the next stage of their journeys as coaches. If appropriate, participants can repeat this shorter development centre at intervals in subsequent years. With sufficient experience, some coaches may opt to continue their development to advanced coaching accreditation (e.g. EMCC IQA), based on the evidence of practice, of which the development centres can be an important part.

The benefits of a coach development centre

The development centre approach:

• Ensures internal coaches are comparable in coaching competence with the upper quartile of external executive coaches
• Is highly flexible and accommodates individual learning needs (i.e. it does not require everyone to follow a generic curriculum)
• Focuses learning on the practical requirements of each coach – so they don’t spend a lot of time learning academic stuff they are never going to use!
• Focuses resources and attention on those people, who are motivated to become more effective coaches
• Provides a credible measure of improvements in coach competence
• Reinforces good practice
• Provides peer support
• Is adapted to the culture and needs of the organisation
• Develops the capacity of the internal HR team to recognise and support effective coaching
• Is exceptionally cost-effective compared to other forms of coach development at this level.

© David Clutterbuck, 2015

Prof David Clutterbuck
Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd
Woodlands, Tollgate,
Maidenhead,
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ

www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
e-mail: info@coachingandmentoringinternational.org
Company registration number : 08158710