Does a consultant need a coach?
What do coaches do? And can they add value to a consulting firm?
This article was written by James Anderson, Executive Coach and Honeycomb Trainer.
With the end of the European Championship, we can (at least in England) look forward some time off from the various national psychoses that football brings to the fore. In particular, we seem obsessed with the performance of the team coach – an individual who commands enormous attention and scrutiny, and whose reputation oscillates between brilliance and ignominy with the ebb and flow of the team’s performance on the pitch.
You are less likely to get a break from discussions of “coaching” online, though. It has become a hot topic over recent years, and looks like it is with us to stay. Market estimates vary, but it’s clear there are now over 100,000 coaches worldwide, and the industry is showing consistent double-digit growth1.
However, I know for many people it’s not clear exactly what coaches do, and in particular how they can add value to consulting firms. So, as someone who is both a consultant and an executive coach, I would like to share my perspectives on this.
What is coaching?
There are plenty of definitions of what coaching is. This, from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) is a good starting point:
Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.
This definition summarises some important points – in particular the centrality of unlocking potential, and the application of coaching to both the personal and professional settings. But it doesn’t quite capture the huge variation in different approaches to coaching, in terms of context, focus and style.
In terms of context, coaching can sometimes be about surviving (fixing a difficult situation at work, or staying strong in adversity) and at other times focus on thriving (finding the “next big thing” or “being your best self” at work).
When it comes to focus, there can be a huge range of topics for coaching, from the very practical (how do I get better at time management?) through to the profoundly philosophical (what is the meaning of my [professional] life?). I like to think of these as two extremes – well described as “doing” coaching and “being” coaching – with lots of points in between.
As for style, there are many different ways that coaches work. For example, I am an existential coach, which broadly means I really like to focus on issues of freedom, authenticity and responsibility (you can read more about this on my website: www.brockspark.co.uk). Many coaches, myself included, put the ultimate responsibility of finding solutions on the client – but others are more comfortable to play an advisory or mentoring role.
There is, however, one thing all these variations have in common: the importance of the coach-client relationship. Ultimately, for coaching to work, you need a safe space to explore complex, difficult and occasionally even embarrassing issues – and without a strong, trust-based relationship, this is never going to happen.
How can coaching help consultants?
The broad benefits of coaching are increasingly well understood, as nicely summarised in this graphic2:
But, what about the value it can offer to consultants and consulting firms specifically?
I have been lucky enough to have three good coaches over the course of my career, and I think they illustrate some of the different ways that coaching can help an individual in a consulting context.
My first coach was at a time of career transition – I was ready to move on from a firm and role I had been in for some time, and wanted to get the next move right: should I move to another consulting firm? Or take the plunge and find a job in industry? My coach helped me balance up the various considerations (not just professional but personal, too – I was about to become a father for the first time), and take a measured and ultimately successful next step.
The second time I had coaching was when I was heading up a new organisation and wanted to set strategic direction. I had a lot of leeway in terms of where I could take it. My coach helped me work through options, and set a direction that was both relevant to stakeholders, and authentic to my own values.
The third, and last, time I was coached, was much more of a survival situation. I had re-entered the consulting world, and found myself really struggling to deliver a complex and high-profile project. My confidence was battered, and I was wondering whether I had made a terrible mistake. My coach helped me think through the challenges I was facing – and we identified the biggest stressors, and how I could manage them better. Ultimately I fought on, and built a great career there – a fantastic return on the original investment in coaching!
When I coach consultants, the three examples of career transition, strategic direction, and survival come up fairly regularly – but there are others, too. I’ve supported consultants with preparing for promotion, building confidence, managing difficult relationships, leading teams, and skills development (for example, structured communications or critical thinking).
This can be especially powerful when a consulting firm takes a more holistic approach to supporting their team through coaching. Honeycomb have a number of clients who prioritise coaching in this way, and they are great advocates for the benefits. Deri Hughes (Honeycomb Founder & MD) provides an example:
One of our pillar clients has really bought in to the benefits of coaching this year. They often come to us with a specific development need and ask how we might help. When those needs are focused on an individual the answer is often not training, but coaching. In these cases we typically introduce a trusted coach - whether a suitably qualified member of our training team (like James!), or a third party specialist.
For this particular client we’ve helped individuals get coaching on Sales habits, confidence and clarity communicating with senior audiences, and specific development areas relating to personal gravitas and presence. The common theme is that these are less about ‘skills’ and more about mindset, self-awareness, and confidence - tangible growth that is paying dividends for them, and their firm.
Where to start with coaching for consultants
If the above scenarios sound familiar and you think you or your team would benefit from coaching, here are some practical things you might want to consider doing next:
Get familiar with the ‘use cases’ for coaching. I have shared some above, but there are others. To learn more, you can follow coaches like me on LinkedIn, and also speak to peers about their experiences. You can even talk to the coaches themselves – I can’t speak for all of us, but I’d certainly be happy to talk through how it could work for your team!
Understand the coaching industry. Coaching is not a regulated profession – so anyone can call themselves a “coach”. There are, however, organisations such as the International Coaching Federation, European Mentoring and Coaching Council, and the Association for Coaching, which provide robust professional accreditation and can give you confidence in the services you are procuring. It’s not a ‘must have’ (there are fantastic coaches out there who are not accredited) but it’s a good thing to be aware of.
Upskill your team with training. A number of the Honeycomb leadership and management training modules include coaching skills and related topics such as handling difficult conversations. Coaching skills are not just valuable for your team, they are valuable for building and cementing client relationships too. Book a call with Deri to discuss tailored training if your team may benefit from this.
Create ‘safe spaces’ in your company. This could be through peer networks, or formal or informal mentoring relationships. Ideally at least some of these should sit outside line management relationships, and give people somewhere they can really open up about the challenges they are facing, in a coaching-style environment.
Bring on external coaches when you need them. This doesn’t need to be for everyone, and it doesn’t need to be particularly expensive, either. There are organisations out there like CoachHub or BetterUp that provide a good value online service that can be deployed widely across a team; and you can always supplement or replace that with more bespoke coaching from a qualified/ accredited professional (such as those in the Honeycomb team).
I hope this article helps prompt some useful thoughts for you on how you might make more or better use of coaching. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or the Honeycomb team.
Thank you for reading The Skilled Consultant. If you haven’t yet subscribed, please do so to receive all our articles direct to your inbox.
There are several other ways you can interact with Honeycomb Consulting Skills Training….
Connect with Deri Hughes (Founder & MD) on LinkedIn
Connect with Colin Mann (MD) on LinkedIn
Book a 30 minute intro call with Deri Hughes
Stay informed about our free workshops and webinars - follow Honeycomb on LinkedIn or visit our website.
 | A guest post by
|