Stephen Ibaraki Interviews Cathy Shaughnessy, Executive Coach

I was recently interviewed about Executive Coaching by Stephen Ibaraki, FCIPS, I.S.P., MVP, DF/NPA, CNP, who 'uniquely' holds more than 40 national and international awards and recognitions.
Articles, interviews and reviews by Stephen Ibaraki are targeted to IT professionals, and enterprises worldwide and are published by the Industry-Canada chartered non-profit Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS), the non-profit Network Professional Association (NPA), Culminis, and Pearson Publishing.

Since I am so often asked about what brought me to the field of executive coaching, and more importantly, how and why coaching works - I wanted to share the interview you.

You can listen now, download for later, or pass it on. Look for the MP3 file link midway down the page.

Stephen Ibaraki interview with Cathy Shaughnessy, Certified Executive Coach

Is It Just Me, Or Is Everyone Coaching?

Have you ever bought a new vehicle only to find that hundreds of other people seem to have decided on the same make, model and colour at precisely the same time? Everywhere you look, there's your car! Thinking way back to my Psychology 101 courses in university, this is apparently the brain's 'reticular activating system' at work. Whatever you call it, mine was firing on all cylinders when I became a Certified Executive Coach. Suddenly, there were coaches everywhere.

According to the International Coaching Federation (ICF), it's not just me. The field of coaching is experiencing a groundswell as more and more organizations look to expand their options for skills development, particularly at the senior leadership level. Founded in 1995, the ICF strives to build, support and preserve the integrity of the coaching profession while maintaining and enhancing coaching standards and practices.

The ICF's membership has surpassed 14,000 and the numbers continue to grow rapidly on a global scale. Consumers can find ICF members located throughout nearly 90 countries. "Coaches from all over the world join the ICF as a means of pursuing professional development and networking with global colleagues. The widespread growth in our membership is indicative of the increasing demand for professional coaches throughout the world." says Diane Brennan, President of the ICF.

Increasingly, organizations are looking to credentialed coaches to add to their external and internal talent pool. The International Coach Federation awards the globally recognizable ICF credential to professional coaches who have met stringent education and experience requirements and have demonstrated a thorough understanding of the coaching competencies that set the standard in the profession.

At a time when so many professionals are critically strapped for time it can be pretty tough to make skills development a priority. And yet, getting serious traction on results has never been more important than it is today. That's clearly the driver for bringing credentialed coaches into organizations where more traditional approaches have been relied on in the past.

So, where do you begin if you would like to bring coaching into your organization? According to those who have successfully made the leap, it's all about doing your homework.

Visit the International Coach Federation, www.coachfederation.org where you will find a wealth of background information, case studies and research on the profession. You can also search for accredited coaches located in you geographic area.

Do some reading. I would recommend Coached to Lead - How to Achieve Extraordinary Results with an Executive Coach by Susan Battley as a great start and an informative resource for anyone thinking about engaging a coach.

Call Coaches. The best way to find out about how practitioners work is to talk to them directly. Most will be more than happy to take some time to fill you in.

Talk to Coachees. Many professionals have had great results working with a coach and can give you first hand information on what works and what doesn't.

The ICF defines coaching as "partnering with clients in a thought provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential." With that as a goal, it's no wonder the demand for qualified coaches is greater than ever before and no surprise that coaches are popping up everywhere.

Hire a Coach? Who's Got Time?

I have a confession to make: I used to be a complainer. I hate to admit it, and I'm not proud of it, but it's true. I have been known to storm and stomp around my house bellowing to anyone within earshot or muttering under my breath that I have 'way too much to do'. I used to pull out of the office parking lot regularly lamenting that the day's accomplishments paled in comparison to the deadlines and commitments facing me when I returned.

I got so caught up sometimes in the sheer volume of what was on my mental 'to do' list that I just had to tell somebody, anybody, everybody that it was getting out of hand.

Nobody listened. Not really. Sometimes they did me the courtesy of looking like they were listening. They waited patiently for me to finish my rant, nodding and making concerned and frequent eye contact. Occasionally, they'd offer some words of wisdom or support.

But mostly they would launch into their own frantic story of insanity complete with the mind numbing volume of email and voice mail messages they got every day, the hideous number of meetings they attended, the hours they worked and the scheduling contortions required to fling dinner at the kids and get them to soccer or piano or hockey after an already jam-packed day.

I guess it really is true that no matter what is going on in your life, you're never the only one who's been there. Others are on the same bumpy road and the path has been well trodden before you.

As it turns out, there is another way to 'do' your work life, but it may take the help of someone who is on the outside looking in. Enter the Coach, an individual whose primary focus is working with you to help you get traction on your work goals and priorities without the associated drama. What's not to love about that?

First, some background. Although I have been coaching senior leaders for ages, I completed a Master's level Executive Coach certification this year. As a part of the process, I was required to work with a coach of my own. It has been, by far, the most pivotal experience of my work life. I got more accomplished in one hour a week with a coach than I had in the hundreds of hours of sleepless nights that had become my problem solving strategy of choice. Here's what I discovered:

If you're serious about solving a problem, you need to devote some time to it. By making a commitment to working with my coach each week I was guaranteed one hour of completely uninterrupted time focused only on untangling a particular strategic knot.

Accountability improves results. I knew this already and talked about it all the time in my work with managers but I'd never really applied the concept to my own performance. My coach helped me stay on track and work toward achieving what I set out to accomplish.

I already had all the answers, I just didn't know it yet. My coach was absolutely masterful at asking questions that would take me straight to the heart of the particular issue that I was wrestling with. Then, as if by magic, I knew what I needed to do. It was as if the answer had been there all along, it was just buried under the drama. Go figure!

So, that's my story and the saga continues. The working world is still, for me, a constant juggle of many priorities, but I've learned the value of creating some space for juggling better, not just juggling more. Thanks Coach!