How to Assess an Organizational Change Coach

One of the things I am often asked about is how should we assess the performance of a coach. Some days I wonder this about myself…“Am I living into my full potential? What kind of impact am I really having?”

To answer this question, it’s important to first define the North Star of what a coach should aspire to. While you will have something different, here is what I use:

“A fellow human with the ability to create an environment of hope and possibility, the energy to inspire others to visualize a new future, an approach to guide them along a journey towards this new future, and finds deep satisfaction in observing others grow and flourish as this future becomes a reality for them.”

Again, this is what I use for a vision for a coach but you can see what words are included – hope, possibility, visualize, future, inspire, guide, observing, and flourish. As you can imagine, using words such as these to describe an impactful coach makes assessing “success” or progress a challenge. And without a tangible product, specific targets or goals, or any physical output being produced to gauge performance the difficulty is escalated further.

In addition to the ambiguity of the role and the lack of a physical outcome to probe for quality, there are other reasons for us to treat the assessment of coaches a little differently than other roles.

• Styles and personalities. Outgoing people or extroverts may get more accolades from those being coached. Good public speakers or facilitators are sometimes viewed as highly competent coaches. Some coaches intentionally take a more hands-off approach while others take a more active role. The style of a coach may lead to “false positives” or even worse, “false negatives.”
• Variation of experiences and approaches. There isn’t one way to coach. With so many different certifications, training classes, scaling techniques, and methodologies it becomes confusing to know what success looks like.
• Gaps between interaction and actual impact. The time between a coaching engagement and the visible manifestation of impact is often lengthy. Short-term positive indications, while welcomed, may be misleading when we haven’t had the chance to see lasting change or if actual improvement has happened.

Thinking Differently

The ambiguities and challenges faced when assessing a coach will require us to think creatively about how we go about it. If you are one who is assessing a coach (either for yourself or for other coaches), traditional performance assessment approaches will need to be abandoned and replaced with fundamental shifts in assessment techniques and behaviors.

A shift:
From feedback gatherers to evidence seekers. We are not looking at what people are saying about the coach…we are looking for clues that those people being coached have actually changed.

From quality control police to movement creation sensors. We are not looking for perfection in our coaches…we are looking for movement creators and resistance fighters.

From performance reviewers to change impact monitors. We are not looking to assign ratings to our coaches or to categorize them…we are looking to reward them for their ability to manifest change.

We will bring these fundamental shifts to life by looking for evidence, movement creation, and change impact in 4 distinct areas.

The In-Between Hours

I call the time before, between, and after coaching activities the “in-between hours.” During this time, a coach has disengaged from actively coaching groups or individuals. These blocks of time, sometimes lasting from a few hours to a few days, are the launching pad for coaching growth and the strengthening of the coaching community if used wisely.

A coach is preparing the soil during this time by doing the work necessary so they are ready to coach. This is when coaches are “putting their back” into their craft or as Steven Covey would say, this is when we are sharpening the saw. How coaches spend their “in-between hours” is as important as the time spent with those they are coaching and if not used with purpose and intent they waste away.

Also, being in a coaching community during the “in-between time” cannot be stressed enough. We need each other and this is one role you cannot do alone. Believe me, I’ve tried. We all get demoralized and tired sometimes but “lone wolf” coaches become ineffective, miserable, and often quit.

Seek evidence of:
Learning from the community. Are they soaking in new knowledge and experiences from other coaches? (inside and outside of the organization)
Preparing with creativity and context. Are they designing vibrant experiences and activities for the people they are coaching? (the right thing at the right time for the right people)
Connecting with the community. Are they sharing what they are learning with other coaches? (inside and outside of the organization)

Sense and monitor for:
A heavy dose of inquisitiveness. Without continuous learning, coaches become irrelevant.
A spark of ingenuity. Without creativity, coaches become stale.
A heart for sharing and connection. Without community, coaches will struggle.

In-the-moment Presence

The moment a coach leaves the “in-between hours” and begins a coaching interaction we will notice just how well they have soaked in knowledge, designed with creativity, and learned from their community. We are looking to see if a coach is turning their God-given gifts into meaningful experiences for those they are coaching.

A coach is planting seeds during this time and the only impact we can measure is if they can stimulate the start of a journey towards growth in a fellow human or change in the broader organization.

We do not need flashy presentations or flamboyant facilitation – we need coaches who can educate, inspire, and motivate people to take the next step along a change journey towards a new future.

Seek evidence of:
Sharing with clarity. Can they blend what they are learning and have experienced into an easily consumed message?
Interacting with energy. Can they get people excited about what is being coached? Can you tell that the coach believes in what they are coaching?
Engaging with bravery. Can they address tough situations? Can they overcome resistance with grace and stamina?

Sense and monitor for:
Smiles and laughs per hour. The presence of a coach should stir something up within the people they are coaching. We are delivering a message of hope and leading the way forward towards a new reality. This should cause a few smiles.
Furrowed brows per hour. But change is often painful and introducing new habits aren’t always fun. Sometimes, what a coach is sharing will sound like a foreign language because it is radical compared to how people are working today. If all we have are smiles then we may not be pushing hard enough. People should be questioning what they previously believed to be true about how work gets done.
Twinkles in eyes per interaction. Ultimately, through all the highs and lows of working with a coach, people should find hope in themselves and others. And coaches should find belief in themselves so look for the twinkle in the coach’s eyes as well.

Short-Term Evidence of Potential Impact

The reason a coach exists, I believe, can come down to one word…transfer. The transferring of enthusiasm, of experience, of knowledge, of confidence, of belief. With each coaching interaction, we can begin to look for evidence if this transfer has occurred.

This transfer manifests itself by seeing sprouts and saplings emerge from the presence of a coach. A coach is transferring the necessary nutrients to those being coached and creating the proper environment for growth to begin.

Upon exiting a coaching experience there is a temptation to assess the success of a coach on accolades from those being coached. We often hear of people “liking” their coach or giving high satisfaction scores in post-session surveys but nothing changes in behaviors or habits. This usually means there were too many smiles and not enough furrowed brows.

Seek evidence of:
Excitement generation. Has their presence generated enthusiasm for what is being brought to life?
Convert creation. Are people joining the movement? Do we actually see new behaviors or habits in people?
Incremental results. Are the people being coached taking the knowledge and experience transferred to them and immediately producing valuable outcomes by working in fresh new ways?

Sense and monitor for:
“Revolutionists” gained per day. We don’t look at the coach…we look at those being coached. They should be coming alive and helping spread a healthy virus to others in the organization.
Small behavior and habit changes. Those being coached are practicing new things in small ways.
A few scars. Being a coach in the trenches of organizational change can be treacherous. Sometimes the seeds being planted won’t sprout no matter how good a coach is…and that’s ok. Every time this happens should be treated as a blessing and used as nutrients to bring back into the coaching community.

Long-Term Evidence of Actual Impact

Over time, we should see the fruits of preparation, presence and short-term evidence turning into meaningful impact. This will take many months and years and is often witnessed well after the normal yearly performance appraisals.

The impacts we should be seeing are trees and forests emerging from the sprouts and saplings planted throughout the career of a coach. This means, there should be a visible trail of growth in the lives of others, the teams they have worked with, and the organizations they have served. And not just any growth…but a deep-rooted strength built upon the nutrients transferred from the coach.

This will require patience to assess but the only true measure of the impact of a coach takes time.

Seek evidence of:
Sustained growth in those being coached. Has the presence of a coach caused others to be strengthened, encouraged, and emboldened?
Running towards “meatier” problems. Is the coach actively pursuing the most challenging coaching opportunities in the organization?
Greater thought-leadership. Is the coach becoming a force in the broader coaching community?

Sense and monitor for:
Stories from the trenches. Listen for stories from those a coach has interacted with throughout their experiences. Stories of bravery, of experimentation, of being uncomfortable, of increased strength. Sometimes the language is subtle so you may need to listen closely.
Large(r)-scale presence. The coach has become a powerful force within the community and organization. You’ll notice them just “showing up” at places as they have the instinct of where they will add the most value. People are naturally following the coach and seeking out advice from the coach.
A legacy of change agents. There should be wave after wave of up-and-coming coaches and change agents by our coach sharing with and mentoring less-experienced coaches.

In summary, notice preparation and connection, search for short-term clues of potential future impact, and then, if you have the privilege of observing a coach for a more extended period of time, begin to scan for evidence of actual impact.

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