Absolutely! A recent McKinsey war for talent survey2 research indicates that a high performer generates from about 50% to 70% more than an average performer. Also research shows3 that of those who are highly engaged 59% intend to stay and 31% are open to offers whereas amongst those who are disengaged just 24% intend to stay and a worrying 39% are open to offers. So how can firms ensure they attract and retain their top performers and access their discretionary effort?
There are many answers from how you select, recruit and train to the quality of your buildings and the food in your canteen. However, when it comes to increasing the engagement and commitment of employees one approach above all others is increasing in dominance executive coaching. It’s highly focused, personalized development tailored to the needs of each individual. When done well it’s an approach that goes deeper than skills training it addresses not just skills and behaviours but also also the most significant obstacles to performance which are often mental relating to issues of attitude, belief and self image.
Decade of the mind
In 1990 Congress declared the nineties the decade of the mind. According to Lewis L.Judd, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health : the pace of progress in neurosciences is so great that 90 percent of all we know about the brain we learned in the last 10 years.
In sports it is increasingly recognized that the mind has a powerful influence on performance recently it enabled Cape Town’s Lewis Gordon Pugh to master his fears to swim a kilometre in freezing, killer-whale infested waters of the North Pole a feat previously thought impossible. In medicine doctors recognize the power of the mind to heal disease through the placebo effect caused by the mere suggestion that a patient is receiving a drug even when all they are getting is an inert sugar tablet.

This understanding of the power of the mind is now starting to be taken into business through executive coaching. For example, a major global pharmaceutical company approached business coach, Ron Hyams Managing Partner of the executive coaching firm, Praesta, to develop a programme for their sales reps. Says Hyams. They didn’t need to input more technical skills training rather they wanted an approach that would develop emotional intelligence and draw out more of the self responsibility, and good ideas that they knew was already in their young top performers they wanted the focus to be less on teaching and more on learning.
Hyams started by asking their existing managers what distinguished their best managers. Interestingly, the answer was not just about technical skills. Rather it was about having a combination of hard technical competence and soft skills emotional intelligence, pro-activity, ability to build relationships.

Key principles

There are a number or key principles that underpin the programme:

• The belief that everyone has more potential than they realize
• The recognition that the biggest obstacles to our potential are often mental and that we can transform these obstacles by understanding the beliefs that shape our self image
• To fully engage people at work you have to consider the whole person and find the right balance between home and work

Over a series of workshops the participants learn models and techniques to coach each other. In between workshops they also receive one to one coaching from Hyams and his team enabling participants to address highly individual development challenges and to understand and re-shape limiting mental programming.
For example, a coloured woman the first in her family to get into higher education struggling to break the mould and fully step into her power. Or the young Afrikaans woman with a strong work ethic who had to let go of her perfectionism pattern and realize that as you get more senior and your job gets bigger you can’t actually be in control of everything. Paradoxically, she realized that sometimes you have to let go to get on.

And does the coaching approach work? Well, the programme is now in its 2nd year and the results are starting to come through. Those on the programme are delivering outstanding business results the programme includes two Rep of the Year award winners. A high percentage of participants have moved, or are about to move, up into management. And those who have made the move are well regarded as leaders.
External coach or new style of leadership
Businesses seeking to introduce coaching can proceed in a number of ways: coaching can be delivered by an external coach and/or the skills can be developed internally as a new predominant style of leadership which, ideally, means putting managers through a structured and long term process of coaching skills training from an accredited training organization. When coaching is a primary management style then people can expect the following benefits:

• an opportunity to do what they do best
• recognition and praise
• care for them as a person
• encouragement of them as a person
• opportunities to learn and grow

Significantly, Gallup research with millions of employees indicates that these are precisely the sorts of factors that are consistently found to motivate people. Indeed, it is not primarily pay, company culture or working conditions that cause people to stay or leave a company but rather the quality and style of the manager.
So coaching is an approach whose time may well have come. Coaching is particularly in tune with the values and aspirations of today’s Generation Y workforce (born 1981 to current). Gen Y’s approach to work can be summarized as “what can you do for me?” They dont want to be told what to do and will resist a more traditional authoritarian “tell” style culture. Coaching appeals because the questioning approach encourages self responsibility and this resonates with Gen Y values including:

• Growth and development opportunities
• Individual contribution
• Doing it your way
• No rules

Perhaps the best sign of success of a coaching programmes is when managers further up the organization start to ask for coaching. Coaching is a trend that is not going to go away. It’s a new industry and whilst there are undoubtably cowboys operating it’s also a clear that – when done well – coaching works. Business people may not be entirely sure what coaching involves but they like the impact it is having on those being coached in terms of performance, clarity of direction, emotional maturity, confidence and receptivity to change.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ron Hyams is Managing Partner of Praesta, South Africa. Praesta (www.praesta.com) is a global coaching and leadership development organization with offices in 14 countries the firm recently won the European Mentoring and Coaching Council award for quality in coaching. Ron coaches senior leaders, teams and high potentials and trains managers in coaching skills. Contact Ron on +27 82 923 0774 or ron.hyams@praesta.co.za

REFERENCES
1 Enterprise IG 2004
2 McKinsey War for Talent survey
3 Towers Perrin Workforce study 2005

Nobody seems exempt from this process of acceleration – expectations are higher for directors and more senior people who face the demands of busy time schedules, more days working away from home. At the same time pressures are created by employment equity legislation encouraging more diversity of colour and gender. Young black executives tell us that part of their drive to work hard is to prove a point – so that they succeed on merit rather than just getting promoted because of colour. And working women, particularly young mothers, tell us about the challenges of balancing the demands of work whilst still carrying the expectation of looking after the home.

Yet, although many are feeling the strain, we also discovered that a few individuals thrive in this pressured environment. How is this possible? We decided to explore this question and draw together what other executives could learn from those who cope well, because this shift to a “faster-faster world” has been so noticeable in our coaching practice.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE – HAVE THINGS REALLY CHANGED?

Some point out that senior executives were expected to work long hours in the 20th century, often in highly pressured environments. But executives tell us that the nature and pace of work has changed noticeably in more recent years:

• There is far less time for leaders to settle into bigger and more demanding roles.
• These roles hold challenges that are more varied, numerous and complex.
• Decision making must be faster, leaving little time for consultation and reflection.
• Information from voicemail, email, text messages, websites and “hard copy” documents can deluge senior executives and distract them from thinking and maintaining strategic focus.
• Boundaries between work and personal time are more porous. Many executives have global responsibilities in different time zones, their sleep and work patterns are disrupted by world travel, and there is a creeping sense of needing to be “available” constantly, with the help of communication technology.

It is notable that those who thrive in this new environment appear to see these trends as opportunities – opportunities to move quickly on major initiatives, to engage with employees and customers around the world using today’s exciting communication technology, and to build new businesses.

So, what skills, disciplines and attitudes underpin the executive who thrives in this faster-faster world?

KEY SKILLS AND DISCIPLINES

We have observed that there are certain skills and disciplines that allow some individuals not only to survive but even to thrive. The first is a classic set of skills that every successful executive must have. These non-negotiable skills have become even more critical given the sheer complexity and speed of business today. They provide the foundation for success. But there is also another set of disciplines that gives some executives the edge, allowing them to thrive in a faster-faster world. This paper explores these “faster-faster” disciplines, starting with “shaping the role of work in one’s life.”
1. SHAPING THE ROLE OF WORK IN ONE’S LIFE

We have noticed that executives who believe “my life is my own” are a step ahead. They have clarity on the key tenets of their life – what is important to them, what they would like to achieve, and how they want to lead their lives. They may not have been successful all the time, but they approach their life and work with a positive attitude. They have a sense of choice about the role of their career in their life.

One size does not fit all. Some are fulfilled by working hard in demanding jobs – and they have made that deliberate choice. For others, a different balance between work and family life is appropriate. Some protect weekends and holidays, others appreciate the flexibility of interweaving work and personal life throughout the day – for example, taking children to school, working, getting home early, and working late at night. The notion of uniformly separate times for work (e.g. 8am-6pm) and personal activities (e.g. evenings and weekends) is shifting towards each individual finding a balance that works for him or her.

Whatever their personal rhythm, executives who can see choices feel liberated from the sense of “being done to” or out of control. They may not get all they ask for, but they are often surprised at what they can achieve.

The following is a list of quotes from executives at Simba who we interviewed on their strategies for coping in a Faster, Faster World as part of a Balance of Life project initiated by their CEO, Lauren Siebrits:

Plan Ahead

• I plan ahead with both family and colleagues. My husband and I sit together on Sunday afternoon to plan our work and family commitments. When I get a meeting request, I copy him in on my outlook invitation so he can schedule this into his diary.

Be disciplined

• I leave the office at 4pm so that I can be with my child and I do that 95% of the time. And that requires instilling a discipline in my colleagues. People have learnt to say “I know you are leaving at 4 so can I have a quick few minutes to ask you a question?”
• I push back on after hour commitments such as dinner with suppliers, entertaining overseas visitors or evenings out with the team – because I have young kids I ask can we move the meeting from a dinner to a lunch time?’.

Manage expectations

• Before I went on maternity leave I worked very hard with my manager to think through ways to get the job done and be able to leave the office at 4pm given the demands on me as a working mother – I realised it doesn’t matter what my colleagues might think – so long as I deliver.
• People learn that it’s going to be hard to reach me at the week ends. I don’t appreciate being contacted. They learn that for me my leisure time is sacrosanct and they learn to brief me for an important presentation in advance, and during the week – not at the week end.

2. MANAGING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

In the early 2000s, many executives found themselves swamped by emails and voicemails. They were sucked into the middle of issues that really belonged to other executives or managers. Communication technology can draw executives into a level of details that is unproductive, thus pushing decisions inappropriately up the line. Moreover, the ubiquitous “ccing” of email allows individuals to abdicate responsibility with the phrase “but we told you so.”

There is now published evidence that interruptions – e.g through emails, voicemails, instant messaging – reduce productivity. Not surprisingly, then, some executives are beginning to think carefully about the signals.
THE MUST-HAVE FOUNDATION SKILLS

One, perhaps surprising, insight from our conversations with executives is that thriving in a faster-faster world means really mastering some basic, classic management skills. These skills need practice and updating as responsibilities and circumstances change. Successful leaders master all three:

1. BUILD CAPABILITY AROUND THEM

Those who thrive in a faster-faster world recognise and act on the following principles in building a team:

• They cannot do it all by themselves.
• They understand where, as leaders, they can add value.
• They know when to be hands-off or hands-on.

With these principles and skills, leaders can shape a team with complementary skills. This enables them to focus their energy on the right issues, and it gives their colleagues the space to take on responsibilities.

2. DISTINGUISH CLEARLY WHAT MATTERS

Without question, a senior executive needs to master the skill of sorting and synthesising information to get to the heart of an issue. This includes:

• Asking questions so they really understand what is going on, what colleagues think, what the options are.
• Listening carefully to colleagues, clients and advisors to help build an understanding of what is important.
• Stepping back and asking oneself “what is going on here?”, “what matters?”

Many of our clients appreciate that they need tune to do this, either by themselves or in conversations with colleagues. What they find challenging is carving out that
time (see faster-faster skill number 3: Finding time to think and focus).

3. PLAN AND THINK AHEAD

This skill may seem self-evident, but it definitely helps to manage stress. It includes:

• Understanding when key initiatives will need attention
• Identifying important events and then managing one’s time and energy around these
• Managing the expectations of colleagues, friends and family.

Modern technology has increased the pressure to “be on call” or be available all the time, but our experience is that those who thrive in the faster-faster world make very clear where their boundaries are. At times, they switch off “being available” by turning off their mobile phones and email.

3. FINDING TIME TO THING AND FOCUS

Senior executives’ days are typically splintered – one minute conversations, two-hour meetings, social chit chat, a 15- minutes catch up with a direct report, a 30-minute video conference, and so on. In this world, executives are finding it more difficult to focus their attention and energy on a single issue, person or activity. IN spite of this, and because of it, carving out time to think and focus remains critical to the success of any executive.

Indeed, evidence is mounting from research that “our hyper-connected world is making it difficult to think.” First, technology has the capacity to overwhelm people with information from multiple sources. Second, the speed of today’s communication technologies encourages people to think that it is “good” to make decisions faster, respond more quickly to issues, and get projects done faster. Slow is equated with “bad”.

We have also seen increasing numbers of executives concerned about their ability to multi-task. Indeed, some see multi-tasking as a key part of their success. Work is defined as skimming from one topic to another, in a vortex of emails, voicemails and text messages, while moving from one short meeting or conversation to another. Our experience indicates, however, that this approach to work – operating in mini slices of time and constantly multi-tasking – is at times useful but is not a prerequisite for success at senior levels.

In this fractured working life, it is even more critical that executives find time for deep focus. This enables them to step back and reflect thoughtfully on a business issue, on how they are doing, or on a particularly knotty problem, without distractions. This focussed time has a different quality from checking off a to-do list or reacting to what others are saying or doing around one.

Executives have told us about some of the approaches that have helped them find time to focus: changing the physical environment (e.g. working away from a cluttered desk), engaging in conversation/dialogue with a trusted colleague/friend/mentor writing out pros and cons, going for a walk, working half a day at home. Or working with an external coach to act as an independent sounding board. Whatever the approach, finding time to focus and think pays dividends with greater clarity and perspective and renewed energy.

4. LEADING AMIDST UNCERTAINTY AND AMBIGUITY

This is the ability to lead when one does not have all the answers, to make decisions without all the information, and to keep going amidst constantly changing circumstances. Executives who respond well to change appear to be comfortable with “not knowing”.

Adaptability allows leaders to “let go” of the strain of always being certain. They learn the skill of knowing what they can and cannot control. It is as if they have the ballast needed to remain steady as they arc knocked and buffeted from all sides.

5. CREATING ONE’S OWN OXYGEN TENT

Executives who know how to maintain their own mental, physical and emotional vitality cope more effectively with the stresses of their jobs. They build in time for their “oxygen tent” or “oxygen pocket” – e.g. a hobby, a physical endeavour, a cultural interest or charitable work.

We coached one executive to develop a strategy for regeneration. After much thought he realized that when he gets out to the Bush he comes back refreshed, clear thinking and able to provide much better leadership. His formula for excellence is: visit the Bush monthly – you won’t find it in any Leadership Textbook – but it works for him!

Whatever the activity each person needs to find their own personal oxygen tent’, separate from holidays and normal family activities, that gives executives energy and refreshes them at many levels – mentally, physically and spiritually. It is an activity for themselves and no-one else. It can be thought of as a form of “enlightened self interest”, providing a space for renewal in the hectic business of leading organisations. Put simply, without a chance to recharge, the battery runs down.
6. UNDERSTANDING ONE’S : TRIGGER POINT

Finally, even those who master all the disciplines mentioned so far will hit upon the occasional hellish day, when they simply feel overwhelmed. Some executives have found ways to deal with such stressful moments.

The key is understanding one’s “trigger point”. As Edward Hallowell puts it in his book Crazy Busy, this is when we move from the C-state (clear, calm, cool, collected, consistent, concentrated) to the F-state (frenzied, frantic, flustered). In the F-state, we “lose it”. We know it is coming when we feel we are about to snap, or sense we are running with “empty” on the fuel tank gauge. If we understand what can bring us to this point – lack of sleep, too many back-to-back meetings, days of constant interruptions and demands – we can figure out how to avoid flipping.

So, how can we anticipate and deal with such trigger points? Of course, getting enough sleep and eating well is a good start. But what some executives also find helpful in moments of feeling overwhelmed is going for a short walk (even 5-10 minutes) to clear their head, taking a few minutes between meetings to call a friend or partner, going to get a glass of water, or talking to a colleague for a few minutes. In other words, in the midst of an unrelenting day, they find they can regain their composure by pausing, changing pace, and varying the activity – even if only for a few minutes.
CLOSING THOUGHTS

Clearly there are many skills to be mastered as a leader – including some that we have not discussed here, such as being able to create a vision, inspire people to pursue it, and ensure that key processes are in place. But our conversation with executives have convinced us that there are distinctive sets of skills and disciplines that can be developed in order to thrive in the faster-faster world of the 21st century.

SOME PRACTICAL THINGS TO TRY OUT TODAY

• Carve out 1 – 2 hours fortnightly in the diary to think, reflect or discuss issues with a colleague without interruptions.
• Find a colleague, advisor, coach or mentor whose judgement and experience you respect. Use this person as a sounding board, to help you step back and focus on what really matters.
• If your assistant is not already screening and placing your emails in priority folders, start today. A PA can screen all emails and put them in folders – e.g. check urgently, action needed, and reading. Design your own categories.
• Ask yourself how you are using communication technologies. What example are you sending to the organisation? Are you, for example, answering emails at midnight, or reacting too quickly to non-urgent requests?
• Build in time for your oxygen tent’ – a hoppy, a sport activity, cultural pursuit – that is separate from holidays – that enables you to re-charge your batteries

Heather Dawson is a director of Praesta, UK and Ron Hyams is Managing Partner of Praesta, South Africa.

Praesta are a global coaching firm who recently won the European Mentoring and Coaching Council quality award for coaching (see www.Praesta.com). They have 14 offices around the world and specialise in high quality, high impact coaching programmes for senior business leaders.

by Heather Dawson and Ron Hyams

Professionalization

Unlike accountancy, law and medicine, coaching and certainly business coaching do not have a recognized professional body. Worldwide there is the WABC, the International Coach Federation (ICF), the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and doubtless many more. Within the United Kingdom I can vouch for at least seven different representative bodies all operating in the same coaching market-Association for Coaching, EMCC, ICF, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Association of Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision, British Psychological Society’s Special Group in Coaching Psychology, British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. There may be more for all I know, and I am sure the same is true in other countries.

In the UK we have tried recently to pull all these together under a common banner by issuing a Statement of Shared Values. Even so, there are fundamental disparities on approaches to supervision of coaches, to name but one area where the range is from “no supervision is demanded at all” to “supervision is a fundamental requirement.” Supervision means here the supervision of quality and thus more than having merely a mentor for you in your business of coaching.

Standards and Accreditations

What is the calibration between the demands WABC makes for you to be a member, what the ICF requires or what any other body requires? How does an organization decide who the best coaches are in the market? Who does the accreditation and are there benchmark standards?

It is to be applauded that there is a Global Convention of Coaching convened for mid-2008, which brings together academics, consultants, coaching providers and coaching trainers who are seeking to address these issues amongst others.

Confused Buyers

At present there is a situation where global companies from Dell to PepsiCo to Unilever to Zurich Insurance to Citigroup are all setting up their own processes to weed out or select coaches to suit their needs. Assessment Centers for coaches comprising presentations, psychologist interviews and “real live” coaching sessions are occupying the best part of a day. We need benchmarking and standards desperately to prevent this duplication of effort and to unravel the confusion in the minds of the buyers of coaching. The buyer’s plea at present is “How can I be sure, and quickly, that I am buying a professional coach?”

Can We Push the Frontier and Turn It into a Border?

Some companies are forcing the issue more than others and leading the field in integrating coaching into their businesses. Diageo is a globally integrated organization famous for Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Guinness, Tanqueray and other well-known drink brands. It has gone public with a year-long scheme for 900 senior managers, which involves two residential events supported by many hours of one-to-one coaching, 360-degree colleague feedback and other interventions. This scheme is central to Diageo’s leadership in its business and fundamental to it.

Business coaching is now a global requirement for many, and this push, which is wider (global) and deeper (with keenly articulated standards being developed), will draw the rest of business along in its wake.

Executives find themselves at what we in Praesta call a “faster-faster” world with unrelenting pressure, global travel and high performance expectations-where coaching is uniquely placed as a development intervention.

In our book, Business Coaching-Achieving Practical Results through Effective Engagement, Peter Shaw and I have outlined key developments in coaching good practice for the future:

• Increased focus on real-time coaching of individuals
• Coaching more integrated into business development programs and business school courses
• Greater use of structured internal mentoring relationships for a client alongside an external coach relationship
• Coaching becoming part of an individual’s contractual employment relationship
• Professional underpinning through the insistence on coaches to undergo effective, quality supervision
• The oversight of the profession through a professional body covering standards, competence, quality, supervision and continuing professional development.

The Wild West frontier needs to and must become more professional and these developments would certainly help lead us there!

Get The EdgeRobin Linnecar is a Master Coach working in Praesta International. A chartered accountant with experience in Arthur Andersen, Shell, KPMG and PWC, his recent co-authored book is Business Coaching published by Capstone (2007). For more about Robin and Praesta International, please go to www.praesta.com. Learn more about Robin in the WABC Member Directory.

By Robin Linnecar

These are some of the topics that will be covered:

Navigating through the Downturn
Ron Hyams shares some insights from global leadership research and his recent feature in Business Day

The Zuma Presidency: What can be expected from a Zuma Presidency?
Ranjeni Munusamy, Communications Consultant for Jacob Zuma

South Africa – an economic overview and outlook
Isaac Matshego, Economist, Nedbank

Latest scenarios – The South African Case Study
Chantell Illbury, leading strategist and facilitator, and co-author with Clem Sunter: The Mind of the Fox – Scenario Planning in Action

The Drivers and Impact of China and India in Africa
Dr Martyn Davies, CEO, Frontier Advisory and Prorgamme Director, Asia Business Centre, Gordon Institute of Business Science
Despite the possibility of an economic downturn there will still be opportunities for growth – come and hear Maurits Pretorius, Head: Strategy and Change, Corporate and Business Bank, ABSA, discuss; Thinking about growth through turbulent times.

The venue is the Campus, Bryanston. To book your place contact Carly Massimiani at Carly@Knowres.co.za or +27 11 880 8540

I suggest there are seven steps to successfully chairing meetings. They provide the means of generating focus and energy, even when dealing with the most difficult of issues. Firstly, ensure the basics are right. This involves considering room size, table layout, reception arrangements, the uncluttered provision of water and coffee, plus a clock in the chairs line of sight.

Next, demonstrate your authority. This means having a prompt start, a warm welcome at the start of the meeting with clear introductions, and the setting of a clear agenda. Rather than rigidly sticking to the pre-arranged timescale, timekeeping should be measured, with a careful explanation of deviations from the timetable. At the end of each item there should be a concise summary leading to clear next steps.

Decide how you are going to influence key participants. This can involve eliciting some views in advance, influencing members of the meeting in advance and speaking with participants over coffee or lunch. You can also use your eyes and body language to encourage, discourage or show some controlled impatience. It might also mean deciding whose views you particularly want to reinforce during a discussion.

Use your strength of presence to ensure purposeful conversations. This might mean striking a particular balance between speaking and listening in individual items, allowing a discussion to flow so someones view can be squashed by other members and not you as the chair, or allowing someone enough rope with which to
hang themselves. It will mean deciding how you intervene to balance different political pressures.

Bring a clear perspective on what is a successful outcome. This can include steering the preparation of papers and possibly their presentation, clearing lines in advance with your boss or colleagues about what success actually means, and a careful stocktake after a meeting about whether the desired outcomes were reached.

Perhaps the most important contribution a good chair can make is generating and releasing new focus or energy to solve a problem or bring a difficult issue to resolution. The good chair allows participants to feel relaxed enough to be creative, while being engaged in a way which pushes the boundaries of thinking to a new place.

The final step is assessing your own impact. This is about looking at the combined effect of how well the logistics ran (basics), how well members responded to your steering (authority), how influential you were with members (influence), how you balanced different interests (presence), how much creativity you generated (energy), and the delivery of outcomes (success).
Enhancing your chairing skills can be done in a number of ways by:
w observing good chairs and being clear what you are learning from them;

• experimenting with different approaches and seeing what works well for you;
• seeking feedback from people you trust;
• inviting a coach to observe you, talk to participants in your meetings and give you frank feedback; and by
• never stopping listening and developing your engagement skills.

Meeting checklist

Before meeting

• Are the logistics right? (basics)
• Do I have a plan for the meeting? (authority)
• Who am I going to talk to prior to the meeting? (influence)
• Am I going to try to manage the different political pressures? (presence)
• Am I clear about the outcomes I want? (success)
• How I will create openness and hard thinking? (energy)
• Am I calm with the courage to crystallise next steps? (impact)

During meeting

• Are the logistics working well? (basics)
• Am I keeping to time or departing for good reason? (authority)
• Am I steering the course of the discussion appropriately? (influencing)
• Am I responding in the way I want to different pressures? (presence)
• Am I clear about outcomes? (success)
• Is there creativity in the room? (energy)
• Am I clear and courageous? (impact)

After meeting

• How do I score myself on a 5 (very good) to 1 (poor) rating on each of the seven steps?
• What might I do differently next time?