A coach is a coach, right? You may be employed in a coaching capacity, (often referred to as an internal coach). Or you may be an outsider, brought in as an external coach? Both internal and external coaches are equally valuable. Yet the internal coach faces challenges that the external coach doesn’t have to give a moment’s thought to. The fact that they stay within the organisation where they are coaching makes a huge difference.
Internal coaches: the challenges they face
- Awareness of the organisation’s agenda can significantly affect the coaching relationship. The coach may be privy to information about the growth of the organisation. They may know about HR issues in the team of their coachee, or relationship dynamics that may be volatile. The external coach only knows what they hear from the coachee, but the internal coach knows all sorts about the organisation. It could be an advantage, but often it’s not.
- Pressure to coach to particular outcomes. The line manager or the sponsor of the coaching may be tempted to have a quiet word with the coach. They may encourage them to drive the coaching towards a particular outcome that may suit them, their department or the organisation. But the outcome the manager is seeking may not be helpful or relevant to the coachee.
- Pressure to breach confidentiality. There are many circumstances where a coach may find themselves potentially compromised in the office. They may be asked to reveal confidential information about the coaching relationship. This is particularly true when the internal coach has other roles within the organisation. They may find themselves in operational or leadership discussions where their privileged information about the coachee may be enquired about.
Internal coaches: the advantages they have
The list above could also be turned to the coach’s advantage. Internal knowledge may allow the coach to ask tailored questions. Understanding the organisation’s challenges may increase empathy and awareness of the coachee. And the pressure to breach confidentiality can allow the coach to see, first hand, the pressures that the coachee is under. And in addition, there are more advantages:
- Relationships may be well established. Potential coachees, sponsoring managers and HR may all know the coach well, and the coach may be able to define and consolidate their position more easily than an external coach could.
- Shorthand. The coach knows the ways of the company, the jargon used, the shared problems and dramas that everyone in the organisation faces. So the coaching can be so much more fluid and in depth, as many local issues don’t need explaining.
- Reputation. The coach will be well known to many people, and if they are good will be trusted and appreciated. This makes it easier to start the coaching relationship and to work in partnership with line managers and HR.
What tips are there for internal coaches?
Since 2014 we have worked in a number of organisations, in all sectors, and have trained teams of coaches who work together within an organisation. These are the top tips some of these coaches have shared:
- Coach the willing. If people are resistant to coaching, avoid turning up to sessions or coming up with topics, they’re not in a good place for coaching. Worth pushing back and declining to coach them, rather than ploughing on regardless.
- Refuse the hidden agenda. One coach reported that he would receive a private email from the coachee’s line manager, with details of what the coachee needed to “fix”. The expectation was that the coach would fix these problems that the manager wasn’t prepared to discuss with the employee. The coach, eventually, pushed back and encouraged the line manager to share their views openly with the coachee. This allowed the coachee to either challenge the manager’s viewpoint, or work on the issues.
- Encourage publicity. Have your coachees share their experiences, at the water cooler or on the intranet. The more that people hear about coaching being successful, the more the stigma of coaching may disappear. It is a great step towards creating a coaching culture.
- Don’t switch to mentoring mid stream. There is a great temptation for coachees to ask for advice, and an even greater temptation for coaches to give it! I have written extensively about the risk of this approach, and encourage coaches to not start mentoring mid-session. Trust the process, trust your coaching, and trust your coachee to come up with their own outcomes.
- If you coach your team, or your mates, contract clearly. Don’t let them switch out of coachee role to a role that will avoid their chance to explore, reflect and make changes.
Final thoughts
The world of work is changing, and coaching is becoming a greater part of how things are done. Managers adopt coaching styles, and organisations employ internal coaches. Not everywhere, but it’s starting. These thoughts and tips give the coach the control and the structure that they need to do their job well. They will help to support their coachees for successful outcomes, and ultimately to help the organisation flourish.
Happy coaching.
