Any business organization that supports executive coaching is one that can be considered progressive and committed to employee development. Some organizations, however, have a difficult time fully embracing the interpersonal and behavioral aspects of executive coaching and may tend to hire coaches who are not as well versed in this aspect of coaching. This in turn affects the overall results of executive coaching, preventing the organization from reaping maximum benefit from its investment.
Corporate Culture And Resistance To Interpersonal Discussions
Every organization has its own culture, and some are prone to resisting or discounting the value of interpersonal discussions as part of executive coaching. Common attributes of these types of organizations include:
- High levels of competitiveness within the organization
- Technical/engineering focus
- Older, established organizations with substantial “institutional memory”
- Resistant to innovation or change
- Aging workforce
- “Macho” culture of toughness and bravado
These are just a few examples of the attributes that are common to organizations that resist or downplay the role of psychological discussions in executive coaching.
Pressure To Conform
In organizations with attributes similar to those described above, there can be tremendous pressure for executives to conform to the prevailing culture. For these individuals, opening up their inner thoughts and feelings during a coaching session can be terrifying. Even though there is confidentiality between coach and client, the client is often afraid that some how their “weakness” will leak out and becoming widely known across the organization.
The client must also face the inevitable questions that come from colleagues and other employees about what the coaching process involves. He or she cannot easily discuss the psychological aspects if the culture devalues those things, so then a choice must be made. Talk about it honestly and risk ridicule? Or don’t mention it at all, brushing it away from their thoughts?
Overcoming Organizational Issues
Overcoming the organizational issues described above is very difficult. It takes time to shift a corporate culture, but it can be done with strong leadership. This leadership may occur at the highest levels of an organization with upper management setting new examples, or it may start somewhere in the middle with a particularly dedicated manager or department head who is willing to push for change.
If the organizational issues and culture are not changed, the immediate success of executive coaching within that organization will be limited. Over time, however, as more and more people go through the coaching process a cultural shift may start to occur and the long-term success of executive coaching may start to increase. The underlying assumption, of course, is that a cultural shift to a less rigid culture is beneficial.
