Executive coaching - experiences from a subordinate perspective

Penny Bergman Marie Langenfeld June 2005

Executive Summary
This thesis explores executive coaching as a leader and leadership development intervention. Studying this area, we noticed that most of the literature focuses on the superiors point of view and only few on the role of the subordinate. We therefore wanted to know how executive coaching was experienced by the subordinates. First, we established the status of research and explored executive coaching as a leadership development intervention. Executive coaching was defined as: Executive coaching is defined as a helping relationship formed between a client who has managerial authority and responsibility in an organization and a consultant [the coach, authors remark] who uses a wide variety of behavioural techniques and methods to help the client achieve a mutually identified set of goals to improve his or her professional performance and personal satisfaction and, consequently, to improve the effectiveness of the clients organization within a formally defined coaching agreement. We then explored the seven most common areas for the executive and his/her coach to work with: (1) Personal development as a leader; (2) Leader efficiency; (3) Communication skills; (4) Teambuilding; (5) Motivate and develop the subordinates; (6)Task allocation; (7) Conflict management. From this theoretical foundation, we defined our purpose(s) as: 1. Do subordinates have a role in executive coaching. If yes, what role? 2. Do subordinates experience changes in the behaviour of their coached leaders in any of the seven defined areas? To what extent? In what way? 3. Do subordinates experience that any of these changes in the behaviour of their coached leaders have led to changes of themselves or the group/work unit? To what extent? In what way? 4. Do subordinates believe that it pays off for a company to coach their executives? Next, we explored the seven areas in more detail in the chapter Theoretical framework. We also explored the subordinates impact role in the organization and the reciprocal relationship between the superior and the subordinate. As a next step, we performed an empirical study on two companies. The research was conducted by the use of a questionnaire with multiple-choice questions and interviews with a number of participants. The results were analyzed and compared with the theoretical framework and, to summarize, we can conclude that: 1. Yes, subordinates have a role in executive coaching. Furthermore, this is an important role since the superior and the subordinate have a reciprocal relationship. The subordinate may help the superior to develop and vice versa. 2. Yes, subordinates experience changes in the behaviour of their coached leaders in all areas. The area experienced to have changed the most was personal development. 3. Yes, subordinates experience that the changes in the behaviour of the leader has led to changes both for themselves and for the group/work unit. Subordinates want to take part in the development of their leaders. Subordinates are not only receivers of the effects of executive coaching but also carriers. 4. Yes, subordinates believe that it pays off for the company to coach their executives. We think that due to the subordinates being positive about executive coaching it will make them better receivers and carriers of the results of executive coaching.

To conclude: The subordinate plays a very important role when it comes to leader and leadership development programs and should be included to a larger extent to ensure the success of leader and leadership development programs.