Use Coaching Research to get Clients

Do you want more clients in your coaching practice? Then present your target audience with evidence that coaching is a sound investment. Research can show clients how coaching was used in situations similar to their own and what results were obtained. The studies also help coaches determine which techniques and tools are most effective in specific settings.

Where Can I Find Coaching Research?

The best resources for coaching research are university library databases. In addition to finding information through coaching oriented publications, pay particular attention to journals in the fields of Psychology, Management, Human Resources, Organizational Development, and Training. Coaching research is also available on the internet. While some websites require a subscription, many offer free or trial access to coaching material. Here are a few coaching research sources accessible online:

• BlessingWhite workplace studies on employee engagement, coaching, leadership, and career. [i]
• Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice. Publishes original research, reviews, interviews, techniques and case reports. [ii]
• Dissertation Abstracts International from ProQuest. The database contains bibliographic citations and author abstracts from virtually all accredited institutions in North America that award doctoral degrees.[iii]
• International Coach Federation (ICF) Research Portal. Website provides a variety of resources about coaching research.[iv]
• International Coaching Psychology Review (ICPR). Publication focuses on theory, practice and research in the field of coaching psychology.[v]
• International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring. The journal features coaching-related research in some issues.[vi]
• Questia. An online library that carries a wide selection of books, journal articles, magazines, and newspaper articles. Searchable by keywords or phrases.[vii]
• The Coaching Psychologist (TCP). Publishes articles on research, theory, practice and case studies in the arena of coaching psychology.[viii]
• The Foundation of Coaching (TFC) Research Division. Promotes sharing and access to coaching research. The foundation also sponsors coaching related research that is needed to advance the field. Grant criteria are located on the website.[ix]
• The International Journal of Coaching in Organizations (IJCO). Journal focuses on coaching for organizational performance and development. Coaching relationships are aligned with both the organization and the individuals involved in the coaching process. [x]
• The International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching (EMCC). Promotes the understanding of how theory relates to practice.[xi]

What Type of Research is Appropriate to Share?

The answer will depend on your target audience, their background, and what they are familiar with. In general, there are two approaches to any research project - quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative studies are highly structured, technical and scientific. They answer questions about relationships among measured variables. The purpose of quantitative research is to explain and predict, confirm and validate, and test theory. A relatively large body of literature is usually available on the subject matter. Quantitative research focuses on the breadth of discovery, using a representative sample and standardized instruments for data collection. Studies can be completed in a relatively short period of time and don’t require a lot of personal interaction. Quantitative findings are communicated through numbers, statistics, aggregated data, and a formal voice. Common quantitative research designs include:

• Observation studies – focus on a particular aspect of behavior


• Survey research – draws long-term conclusions from a collection of data at a particular point in time.


• Experimental research – examines cause and effect relationships

Qualitative studies are communicated in a narrative or literary style that is similar to how articles may be written in popular publications. They answer questions about the complex nature of phenomena, with the possibility of multiple points of view. The purpose of qualitative research is to describe, explain, evaluate, explore, interpret, verify and/or build theory. Literature on the subject matter is limited. Qualitative research involves in-depth study for relatively long periods of time in a loosely structured environment. Studies require personal interaction within a small sample of the population and include observations and interviews. Qualitative findings are communicated through words, individual quotes, and personal voice. Common qualitative research designs include:

• Case studies – to understand a particular person, program, or event


• Ethnographies – to understand how behaviors reflect the culture of a group


• Phenomenological studies – to understand an experience from the participants’ viewpoint


• Content analysis – to identify specific characteristics of a body of material

When choosing research for your client, it is best to share studies that match their concerns, personality, and environment. Use research to show how coaching was successful in situations similar to what they may be experiencing. For example, business leaders wanting to improve their performance at work would relate to research on executive coaching. The same applies to clients with personal goals. There is plenty of research out there but if you cannot find information in a particular coaching area, conduct your own research. First, purchase a good book on research planning and design to help structure your study and adhere to ethical guidelines.[xii] Then locate specialty coaches on the internet and ask them for case studies of their own experiences, interviews, or to fill out a survey. Analyze and interpret the data to draw conclusions. Finally, share your findings with the participants and your own target market. Don’t forget to review books written on coaching topics. Many contain case studies that may be useful in your own practice.

A Final Word about Research

The quality of research you find may vary considerably, so look at each study with a critical eye. Consider these questions when evaluating research:

• Who sponsored the study? Do they have a vested interest in the outcome?


• Was the research reviewed by experts before being published?


• How was data collected and analyzed?


• How many participants were in the sample population?


• How was the sample population drawn?


• Does the outcome coincide with other literary knowledge?


• Can the findings be generalized to other contexts?


• Do the conclusions correspond with the data collected?


• Is there hidden information between the lines? If 25% of coachees found their coaching sessions helpful, does that mean that 75% of coachees felt it was a waste of time? Numbers can be skewed to support a particular viewpoint.

Think of coaching research for your market as a ConsumerReports Buying Guide. When people make large purchases, they want to be sure the items they are buying have a strong history and are reliable. Research provides a historical background and evidence of reliable methods. By reading and sharing coaching studies, coaches create a win-win situation. They gain expertise, best practices, and proof that coaching will work for their target market, while their clients get confirmation that coaching is a viable option for goal achievement and confidence to invest in a coaching program. It’s time to take action. Find research, share it, and grow your practice.

Notes:
[i] Blessingwhite.com/research.asp.
[ii] tandf.co.uk/journals/rcoa
[iii] Proquest.com/en-US/catalogs/databases/detail/dai.shtml
[iv] coachfederation.org/research-education/icf-research-portal/research-articles/
[v] bps.org.uk/coachingpsy/publications/international-coaching-psychology-review/international-coaching-psychology-review_home.cfm
[vi] brookes.ac.uk/schools/education/ijebcm/home.html%21
[vii] questia.com
[viii] bps.org.uk/coachingpsy/publications/the-coaching-psychologist/the-coaching-psychologist_home.cfm
[ix] thefoundationofcoaching.org
[x] ijco.info/
[xi]emccouncil.org/eu/public/international_journal_of_mentoring_and_coaching/volume_vii_issue_1_extract/index.html
[xii] For more information on the research process, review the book Practical Research: Planning and Design, by Paul D. Leedy and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod.

Ten Strategies to Profit

Sales are the backbone of organizations. Without customers, there is usually no business. Sales personnel must be managed and held accountable for results. This means they must make an effort to call on their accounts regularly for add on business and to seek out new business. Not many commissioned sales personnel are allowed to wait around for calls to come in. It would be much easier and less costly to hire an internal employee to take orders, market, and call on the companys' existing customer base for add-ons and relationship building. For a base plus small commission, one would have a person consistently producing in the office. Use these ten strategies to get your sales staff moving towards profit.

1. Repeat/recurring business strategy: Are there ways to build a consistent revenue flow? Consider service contracts, memberships, or monthly pledges.
2. Referral strategy: What system do you have in place to consistently get referrals? For example, sending out thank you letters after a sale with a few business cards enclosed or offering a discount or free item if someone they refer makes a purchase.
3. Sales strategy: What do you require your sales people to do weekly? Meet goals? Cold call? Call their client list? Market to potential clients? Attend networking events? Ask for referrals from previous customers?
4. Marketing strategy: Think of 3 ways to market consistently. For example, attend a networking event once a week, direct mail potential customers monthly or call existing accounts for add-ons weekly.
5. Message strategy: How do you want to be perceived by your customers? Low price leader? Best customer service? Free delivery?
6. Viral strategy: How do you spread your business message? Word of mouth? Article writing? Speaking engagements?
7. Online strategy: What are your online goals? Are you making money or wasting money? Is the company website kept up to date?
8. Joint Venture strategy: Who can you partner with that has complementary products to what you sell? Can you provide referrals for someone else’s products and get paid for it? Could you pay another company for referring buying customers to you?
9. Time strategy: Who is going to do what? When? How often? Where?
10. Resources strategy: What do you need to get the job done? Who gets what?

Whatever you do, do it consistently and keep this in mind…..Would you want to do business with yourself? What makes the experience pleasant? What could improve? Many businesses are hurting economically. What can you do to take care of the customers you have so they continue to do business with you? Cutting corners is usually not a good answer. I will give you a personal example. I took my son to lunch at a well established restaurant in town. My son ordered a coke to drink. When I got the bill I found I had been charged 25cents for the straw the waitress put in his coke. When I complained to management I was told it was their new policy. I had just bought 3000 straws from Sams Club for about $10. The restaurants policy saved them very little money and irritated all their customers. I will never go back and I will tell everyone I know. Do you want that kind of publicity for your organization?

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Many profit based organizations focus on their sales numbers when they should be more concerned with their gross margins on sales. The gross margin on sales is the difference between sales revenue and cost of goods sold (the price paid for inventory). The term gross indicates that the expenses necessary to operate the business must still be deducted to arrive at your bottom line. If the gross margin of sales is less than the operating expenses, the difference is a net loss for the period.

Let’s look at a simplified example: The XYZ Company purchases widgets for resell at $5.00 each. The sales staff sells these widgets to their clients for $8.00 a piece. This month, sales were $80,000 (10,000 widgets sold x $8.00 each widget). The cost of the widgets to XYZ Company is $50,000 (10,000 widgets purchased x $5.00 for each widget). XYZ Company’s gross margin on sales is $30,000 ($80,000 sales less $50,000 cost of sales). This means that their expenses cannot exceed $30,000 for the month if they want to stay profitable.

To stay profitable:

• Calculate your expenses for each month so you know how much gross margin on sales you need to cover them.
• Focus on how much you need to make on each sale and how many sales you need to stay in business.
• Selling fewer products for more money will give you more free time and less hassle.
• Make sure you only sell to clients who can afford to pay you.
  

Coaching: Why Are Soft Skills Important?

In many positions and occupations, job performance is soft skill dependent. Companies use assessment tests, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, so they can get an idea of what soft skills employees possess. These skills are often intangible and, therefore, not easily taught. They tend to be more a function of personality characteristics. Some examples of soft skills include:

Responsibility
Self-esteem
Sociability
Self-management
Integrity/honesty

Examples of interpersonal soft skills include:

Participates as a member of the team
Teaches others
Serves customers
Exercises leadership
Negotiates
Works with cultural diversity

Hard and soft knowledge are both important in the working world but employees who lack the ability to manage their lives, take responsibility for their own success, and follow through on commitments need to learn soft skills along with the hard skills required for a job so they understand how all aspects of their lives connect. Soft skills provide a way to get the highest return on investment when considering human capital. They can build great people. Few individuals are fired because they lack technical knowledge. Most are fired because of a deficit in soft skill knowledge. Ultimately, what we know is not nearly as important as what we do with what we know, and how well we do it.

Some organizations will attempt to train soft skills but training is a use it or lose it proposition. While a participant may be motivated and excited after returning from a program, preexisting thought patterns can work against implementation. Many trainers will admit that follow up is necessary for retention. The transfer of training includes both generalizations of training on-the-job and maintenance of learned material. For this to occur, abilities must be learned and retained through practical experience and repetition. The work environment, including cultural climate, management and peer support, and performance opportunity, is vital to this achievement. Coaching is a tool that can help arrive at transfer of knowledge by recalling the lessons learned, reinforcing their importance, and motivating the client to move forward, despite obstacles or roadblocks. It is suggested that peer coaching, group coaching, or manager to employee coaching take place as follow-up. These techniques will make soft skill retention possible.

Teams, Socio-Technical Systems, & Organizational Values

High performance and self-organizing teams have become an important part of organizational design to maintain a competitive edge. One of the most progressive team designs was developed in the 1950’s by social scientists Trist and Emery. The theory of socio-technical systems (STS) is a process-based, team oriented approach to work that evolved as a way to extend democratic and humane values into the workplace. The organization is viewed as an open system structured to integrate two independent but linked systems; the technical subsystem and the social subsystem. The technical subsystem, following the rules of physics, chemistry, and engineering, includes equipment and transformation processes which are technologically and economically driven so the most desirable method is the most productive at the least cost. The social subsystem, following the rules of psychology, sociology, and politics, incorporates interpersonal relationships that develop among people and build a mutual trust. The system recognizes that commitment to work is conditional on the work experience and assumes technology can be adapted to fit people. The best match of solutions is explored through joint optimization and discovery (see All Teams Are Not Created Equal by Lyman D. Ketchum and Eric Trist, 1992).

STS requires those who work to get a great deal more authority, control, skills, and information than what was customary with scientific management. Socio-technical designers seek to broaden each individual’s knowledge of social and economic consequences, and encourage each worker to develop a range of skills to get results. The work group becomes the focus of change. Organizations using STS should structure the task, authority, and reporting relationships around the work group by delegating decisions regarding job assignments, training, inspection, rewards, and punishment to the group. The aim is to optimize both technical and social subsystems for the benefit of the larger system. Management is responsible for coordinating the groups according to the demands of the work and task environment. Their role is to monitor the environmental factors that effect internal operations and coordinate the two subsystems.

One STS design goal is to produce a system that is capable of adapting to change and making the best use of an individual’s creative abilities. Turning to socio-technical values, objectives, and principles can simplify overly complex production systems and may provide answers for current problems, such as the challenge of reinforcing corporate values. Values are something of worth and importance where learning and experience are the two greatest forces shaping them. Organizational values involve individuals working together to achieve a common goal and help us create our standards of conduct that drive business decisions. As Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computer put it, “The only thing that works is management by values. Find people who are competent and really bright, but more importantly, find people who care exactly about the same things you care about.”

Organizations need to establish a shared set of values and beliefs that align with the social and technical aspects of project management to achieve the organizations business objectives. These values provide the linkages between the organization’s members, structure, systems, and processes used in the adoption of management project methods. There are several principles leaders can follow to design a socio-technical system based on organizational values:

1. Express the needs and hopes of workers in design criteria and values to insure greater worker investment in organizational purposes. Participants share expectations while working to achieve agreement on the goals and objectives of a design team. The outcome is a set of shared values and assumptions that reflect the process.
2. Express values in the language of the organization and refer to the experiences of its members.
3. Clarify Values. Value clarification is a process of making explicit the premises that inform design choices.
4. Guide and test design decisions against explicit values.
5. Fit the workgroup to the technology. Technology should not determine work organization or design.

A supportive climate must exist between employees and leaders to strengthen organizational values. Management has a social responsibility to employees to ensure technology-based changes are introduced properly. Here are a few recommendations:

1. Let everyone know about the new technology changes through “selling and telling”.
2. Introduce the system to management first (to gain support), then to employees.
3. Make sure the technology works as promised.
4. Get rid of the old system once the new system is working.
5. Provide hands-on training.

How is your Organization Structured for Today’s Economy?

Structure facilitates the creation and implementation of strategy and the overall coordination of the enterprise. Organizational structure determines the placement of power and authority. It embraces two relationships: who is responsible for what, and who reports to whom. Organizations can become more “structure influenced” when they hit market maturity, there is a decline in competition, their industry is stabile, tasks are routine, or they operate in a politically charged environment. Movement away from a strong structural influence may be caused by industry upheavals, deregulation, economic decline, and legislation.

Businesses with structure-driven configurations buffer themselves from the need to change. In many ways they resemble a closed system and will use politics to capture key environmental resources. Organizations that can ignore the environment either reside in stable markets or have market power and resources to resist pressures to change. Uncertainty is reduced by pursuing routinization, standardization, and formalization. Performance in structure driven organizations is usually measured against internal standards like cost. Ironically, structure can also serve as a major factor in extreme open and flexible structures where rich organizations are well-adapted to their environment or operate in an unchanging setting.

Organizations with high structural influence may confine themselves to existing and predictable market niches. The choice of strategy is limited to adherence with specified power distributions, inviolate rules, and procedures with specific modes of interaction. Innovation and differentiation are rare, as norms of efficiency would be pursued. Managers within a structural influence are comfortable with existing functions and will have very little personal discretion. This uniformity reinforces the status quo.

There are five common ways to structure an organization: function, geography, product, customer, front-back hybrid.

Function
The functional structure is organized around major activity groups. It provides advantages in knowledge sharing, specialization, leverage with vendors, economics of scale, and standardization. This structure is most effective for managing a single product or service line and can create barriers between different functional areas. Each area tends to develop a unique perspective that can make collaboration difficult. Functional organizations operate most effectively in small companies, businesses with little diversity in product, or markets that don’t compete based on speed. Common criteria: single line of business, small, core capability requires depth of expertise in one or more functional areas, product diversity or fast product development cycles not critical, common standards important.

Geographic
A geographic structure is organized around physical locations. It provides the advantage of local focus because power is given to the regional manager but slows down response time when a global solution is needed. Common criteria: high cost to transport, service delivery on-site, proximity to customer for delivery or support, local perception.

Product
The product structure is organized around product divisions. It can evolve from a functional structure when a company diversifies and each line is large enough to support its own production. This structure has the advantage of a product development cycle, product excellence, and a broad operating freedom. Its challenges lie in divergence issues, duplication, lost economies of scale, and multiple customer points of contact. Common criteria: product features or being first to market is important, multiple products are produced for separate market segments, short product development time is an advantage; products have short life cycles, the organization is large enough to achieve the minimum efficient scale required to duplicate functions.

Customer
The customer structure is organized around major market segments. It provides customization, relationships, and total solutions. Difficulties arise in divergence, duplication, and scale. Common criteria: important market segments where buyers have strength, customer knowledge provides an advantage, rapid customer service and product cycle times are required, the organization is large enough to achieve the minimum efficient scale required to duplicate functions.

Front-Back Hybrid
The front-back hybrid structure contains elements from the product and customer structures. It allows for product excellence at the back end while increasing customer satisfaction at the front end. This structure is best for large organizations that have multiple product lines and segments, serve global customers, need to maximize both customer and product excellence, and have managers capable of managing complexity. The front-back hybrid has several advantages, such as a single point of interface for customers, cross-selling, value-added systems and solutions, product focus, and multiple distribution channels. The complexity of the design can overwhelm an organization.

What Else is Important?
The size of an organization is another aspect for structural decision-making. Small organizations tend to have flat, simple, structures. They cannot afford to duplicate functions, so a functional structure will be most efficient. As an organization grows, it will have the resources to specialize its products and services by market or industry. This usually happens when an organization’s volume increases to a point where they hit the break-even point. The size of an organization does not change the design process, only the number of iterations in the process. For example, a one hundred person firm may only have one level of design. The resulting units will not be large enough to be structured more than one level further.

Every organization experiences the pulls that underlie their structure: pulls to centralize by top management, pulls to formalize by the technostructure, pulls to professionalize by the operators, pulls to collaborate by the support staff, and pulls to divide by the middle line managers. Since organizations tend to configure around the pull that dominates, structures can serve as a tool for diagnosing the problems of organizational design.

How is your organization designed and structured? Is the structure the dominate influence on how things get done? Maybe leadership or environment is more important. Does your organization have the right structure to grow and expand? What could change?

Is Your Organization Influenced by the Environment?

Environment is usually a dominant influence for small firms in highly competitive environments with few resources, and midsized firms in uncertain situations. In this scenario, there is little potential for product differentiation and few barriers to entry. Small profit margins lead to simple, centralized, cost efficient strategies that can respond quickly to changing markets. In an unstable economy, more organizations will move towards environmental influence when there is an increase in external uncertainty. They will only move away from environmental influence when their company accumulates sufficient market power through size, differentiation, vertical integration, and diversification.

According to the book, Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations, there are 4 types of structures found under specific environmental conditions. Simple, stable environments result in organizations that rely on standardization of processes and centralization for coordination. Complex, stable environments lead to decentralized structures that coordinate through the standardization of skills. Dynamic, simple environments rely on flexible, organic structures while remaining centralized. Dynamic, complex environments have decentralized organizations so managers or specialists can understand the issues. The structure provides flexibility so the firm can respond to unpredictable changes. Extreme hostility in the environment will drive organizational types to temporarily centralize their structures.

There are seven external categories that can influence an organization and affect their bottom line:

• Economic - inflation, interest rates, employment, incomes
• Social - births, housing, population trends
• Cultural - consumer values, safety, needs, beliefs
• Resources - materials, labor, credit, investors
• Government - laws, regulations, contracts, trade
• Political - policies, tariffs, taxes, elections
• Industry - competitors, prices, technology, markets

Supporters of environmental influence suggest that organizations must adapt to their surroundings because constraints determine which forms of strategy and structure are practical. The environment, as a cause, imposes uniformity by extinguishing organizations that ignore it. It is assumed that gross departures from industry standards will lead to failure. This position is held by many traditional contingency theorists and industrial economists.

Environmental scanning can provide the information needed to strategically plan for change. In a study of 20 nondiversified companies, profitability was greater when executives had an accurate perception of industry volatility. A study of 65 organizations concluded that active participation by top leaders in monitoring the external environment was associated with a more accurate perception of the market.

When the environment is a major influence, organizations should develop intelligent systems that scan for threats and opportunities. Here are some questions likely to be important to your organization in these hard economic times:

• What do clients and customers need and want?
• What is the reaction of clients and customers to the organization’s current products and services?
• Who are the primary competitors?
• What strategies are they pursuing?
• How do competitors’ products and services compare to ourorganizations products and services?
• What events affect the acquisition of materials, energy, information, and other inputs used by our organization to conduct its operations?
• How will our organization be affected by new legislation and by government agencies that regulate its activities?
• How will new technologies affect our organization’s products, services, and operations?
• How will our organization be affected by changes in the economy?
• How will our organization be affected by changing population demographics?
• How will our organization be affected by international events?

There are several guidelines leaders can use to monitor the external environment. First, identify the relevant information that needs to be gathered. Look for timely information about specific sectors of the environment on which the organization is most dependent and for competitor performance. Second, use multiple sources of relevant information. For example, informal network contacts, journals, newsletters, trade and professional publications, and government reports can help avoid biases. Interpretations are likely to be more accurate if many people are involved in the process. Third, learn what customers want and need. Market surveys are a common source of information. Fourth, learn about the products and services of competitors. This information provides a basis for evaluating your own organization. Fifth, link environmental information to strategic plans. Use the information to measure the relevance of current goals.