Should A Coach Have Been Coached To Be Effective?
I was recently at a coaching seminar when I met an executive coach who said that he had never been coached. He had been on the receiving end of coaching as part of his training course in role plays. When I asked why he had never employed a coach himself, he said that he didn’t need anything “fixing”. I have to admit, I was gobsmacked. I don’t feel I would be the coach I am without having been coached. I have never thought of myself as needing fixing but there are so many layers to who we are, that exploring them, developing, stretching and challenging has been a fundamental part of my development. It has also been fascinating to be on the receiving end of different types of coaching and knowing what it feels like to be the client. Having said that, I don’t necessarily think that a coach needs to have a coach all the time.
I mentioned this to another coach I know and she commented that she had also come across coaches who have not been coached themselves – that it is not as rare as I would have thought so I wanted to open up the discussion to others and find out what they think.
Anna said,
January 17, 2007 @ 4:08 pm
Can you be a good chef if you don’t try other chef’s food? I suppose, technically, that you can - if you are talented enough you could be a great chef just by following other people’s recipes. But you would surely be a more rounded chef, and a more experienced one, if you dipped your finger in somebody else’s cooking every so often.
My instinct is to say that the coach who has never been coached and who doesn’t need “fixing” is an arrogant coach - and one that I wouldn’t necessarily want to be coaching me!
George Talbot said,
January 31, 2007 @ 9:17 pm
I was really surprised to read that there are coaches out there who have not been coached. I am looking into becoming a coach and at this stage, can’t imagine how you can believe in what you do and yet not have been on the receiving end. This has been a revelation though and, when selecting a coach for myself in the future, I am going to make this a key question. I want to respect who I work with and I wouldnt respect someone who didn’t see the benefit in what they are selling.
Adrian Gilpin said,
February 8, 2007 @ 1:43 pm
This is shockingly common! I’m not sure I would call it arrogance but it is certainly very odd that one should have such a faith in the power of coaching and yet not tap into that power for oneself. I would ask what is the coach frightened of? The need to ‘fix’ and ‘heal’ is a common one in many people drawn to coaching and while I it is hard to be critical of someone’s desire to help others, I believe this need comes from an unhealthy place. Coaching is not about fixing or healing but about holding a space for someone to grow, and grow faster perhaps than they would on their own.
On our Inspired Coach accreditation programme all coaches must complete, and document, thirty hours of being coached and in my view this is an absolute bare minimum. To renew accreditation, they must provide evidence of being coached. It is absolutely vital to the development of the coach - and if the coach isn’t developing then how can the client?
I agree that one of the first questions to ask a potential coach before you sign up is, who is your coach and how often do you see them?
Terry James said,
February 9, 2007 @ 11:24 am
I was disturbed to read that this is still happening. I used to come across it a lot but thought the industry was getting more professional and utilising the skills that exist within it.
I am now surprised when I come across someone who has not worked with a supervisor - I find the work I do with my supervisor to be so important to my work and has definitely helped my skills get stronger.
TJ
Janine said,
February 9, 2007 @ 12:13 pm
Adrian/Terry - your comments are really interesting and insightful - thanks. I am quite a young coach (only been coaching for 2 years) and have always had a coach. I am quite interested in supervision, but do you think it needs to be every month as some other coaches have suggested to me, or just when I have something I need to work through from my coaching clients?
R said,
February 9, 2007 @ 1:17 pm
Interesting, and begs a related question as to why people actually become coaches in the first place (I’m not one by the way, but work with them/you a lot).
May I suggest that one of the problems with continual training/supervision etc. in your profession is that some coaches feel - or want clients to believe that they feel - that they have been drawn to coaching because of a higher knowledge or insight into what makes people tick. Therefore they are above training and learning and supervision. I may be wrong on this, but from a perspective of validating your profession, I think you need to be careful about selling your unique authority and insight.
I also suspect that there are many many different models of training and supervision for coaches, which in turn creates a market force around which one is ‘right’ or ‘best’ or ‘most effective’. R