by Doug Gray | Jun 24, 2015 | Business, change, Coaching, Leadership, Managers, money, physicians, Success, talent, talent assessment
There is chaos in the executive coaching and leadership consulting industry.
The top 6 reasons for that chaos include 1) low barrier to entry by anyone who chooses to call himself an “executive coach,” 2) low accountability for the coaching process, 3) unclear business agreements and ROI, 4) proliferation of “certification programs” (often by self-congratulating organizations and/or universities that respond to perceived market opportunities), 5) digital overwhelm of choices at low cost and variable quality, and 6) clients or buying agents in organizations who fear taking action. My opinion is that the chaos in the coaching industry can be reduced.
So here is my effort to reduce the chaos, by providing fee ranges and best practices. Please forward this page to your colleagues.
1. Individual Coaching or Consulting Services. Fees range from $3,000- $50,000 for 6 months. Individual coaching may be defined as a customized leadership development process that enables leaders to practice new skills or behavioral outcomes. Individual consulting may be a more directive style, where we provide expertise based on world-class examples or evidence-based recommendations to accelerate your leadership development. The average executive coaching engagement is $25,000 for 6 months, about 40 hours. The average small business coaching engagement is $6,000 for 6 months, about 18 hours. Typically, an individual coaching process includes an intake, meeting with key stakeholders, written action plan with behavioral outcomes, clear measures of success/ KPIs, quantitative and qualitative assessments, satisfaction survey, and demonstrated behavioral outcomes at completion. Be wary of anyone who offers a term of engagement shorter than 6 months, because behavioral change takes time. Be wary of anyone who provides an hourly rate, because that is a transactional approach and it may be unethical (Do I really need to extend this coaching engagement if we have not met the desired outcomes within 6 months?) Be wary of additional fees for assessments, a sample intake, books, materials, or excessive travel… Only select coaches who provide tremendous value and exceed that promise. Only select coaches who guarantee results for their services. Only select coaches with many testimonials demonstrating clear behavioral outcomes. Still confused? Then call us for details or schedule a complimentary, confidential session here.
2. Team Coaching or Group Coaching. Fees range from $1,000 per person to $4,000 per person for 6 months. There is a trend toward providing coaching services that bundle clients together by team (e.g. the IT department in Houston) or by group (e.g. all district managers or all newly promoted supervisors.) Many coaches bundle these services for one reason– because the coaches then make more money. We all need to make money. However, that is not a compelling reason to bundle valuable services into a commoditized market such as “online team-coaching modules…” We do not recommend these online modules because there is no evidence that the results are significant. There is conflicting data on the significance of team coaching engagements. These programs must be customized for specific organizational needs, they must have executive sponsorship, and they must have milestones for phases of success. Yes, we can provide team coaching programs for any organization. Contact us for details or referrals.
3. Organizational Coaching or Consulting Services. Fees range from $15,000- $100,000 per person for 6 months. Fees vary by role of the leader (c-suite or a HiPo), geography (Asia or North America), and client expectations. There is massive value to any organization if you can be guaranteed access to pre-qualified coaches in New York as well as Mexico City or Paris. We are affiliated with CoachSource, the largest global provider of executive coaches, in over 1,000 in 45+ countries. These service providers can provide breadth for any initiative in any geography, thereby increasing the likelihood of your organizational alignment or new program implementation. If you are interested in a scaled solution for a specific industry or business need, then you need to select an organizational coaching service provider. We have selected and managed hundreds of executive coaches at multiple F500 global organizations since 2005. Contact us for details.
4. Organizational Assessment Services. Fees range from $500- $28,000 per person. Assessments range from an individual validated tool such as the Hogan Suite or DISC (there are over 15,000 validated assessments) to multi-rater, multi modal assessments with high predictive validity. We can provide virtually any individual or organizational assessment. Assessments are essential to leadership development. Just as you would never go to a physician until the nurse provides your vitals, we recommend using validated assessment tools to measure behavioral changes over time. We often provide assessments by themselves for your new hires or a newly promoted leaders. We always include assessments in coaching solutions, as part of the process. Contact me for details or referrals.
Since 1997, we have seen tremendous changes in the business and leadership coaching services industry. As a timely example, minutes ago I received a cold call from a “leader” in the sales coaching software industry. I quickly learned that he knew less about the industry than he should, and I excused myself from the call. You can avoid the chaos.
If you are interested in seeing trend survey reports from the coaching industry, or from our research on the relationship of positive psychology on business leaders and executive coaching, please contact us.
Now you have some pricing numbers and best practices. So what is your next step?
- You have to vet coaches. Call 3-4 of the best. Read their testimonials. Make sure that they are working on their own professional development. I have hired sales coaches at times. And business coaches at other times. The terms were clean. Their value was tremendous. I currently work with 2 of the best coaches in North America. (Perhaps I need more help than most people.) Make sure the consultants that you select focus on value, and guarantee their work.
- Take a small step: Contact us. Or call 704.995.6647. Or schedule your initial consultation here.
There is no reason to be fearful amid the chaos.
by Doug Gray | Jun 22, 2015 | change, Coaching, Leadership, Managers, strengths, talent
Hello friends,
I thought you may want to see some recent trend data for external coaching and internal coaching, by industry and size of company.
Highlights:
- After the recession, companies are investing more than ever in leadership development and key talent, with both external and internal coaching
- 39% of these 140 companies use internal coaches for leaders who are lower in the organization, and over 75% use external coaches for their senior leaders (directors and above)
- The top 3 types of coaching remain 1) development-focused coaching, 2) performance-focused coaching, and 3) 360 debriefs
- Fees invoiced at a standard or fixed rate per engagement, rather than an hourly or variable rate, have increased from 26% in 2012 to 38% in 2014
- Hourly rates for executive coaching range from $600+/hour for CEOs and direct reports to $300/hour for directors and above; naturally, those rates vary by size of the company, industry, and level of the leaders
- The top 3 topics covered in coaching engagements have not changed for many years; they include: 1) executive presence/ influencing skills, 2) relationship management, and 3) leading teams and people development
If you should have any questions, please let me know.
Doug Gray, PCC, CEO/Founder www.action-learning.com
2014_TCB_Executive_Coaching_Survey
by Doug Gray | Jun 14, 2015 | change, Coaching, healthcare, Leadership, Managers, physicians
The core of physician-patient relationships is trust.
But what do you know about your physician’s values regarding end of life decisions, or women’s reproductive choice? What do you know about the treatment and care suggested by your physician, who may be eligible for a $5,000 referral fee or $2,500 volume price incentive?
Leana Wen, MD, is a Rhodes Scholar and author of “When Doctors Don’t Listen.” Her TED talk, called “What your doctor won’t disclose,” has been viewed by over 1.3 million people.
Her story includes role models from her childhood in China, to a campaign called “Who’s my doctor?” designed to encourage doctors to share their values and be more transparent with their patients.
She states, “we need to change the paradigm of medicine from sickness and fear to openness and healing.“
by Doug Gray | May 28, 2015 | Business, change, Coaching, exercise, Leadership, Managers, strengths
Like most of you, perhaps, I have demonstrated some expertise at the ability to ride a bicycle since the age of 3.
Unlike most of you, I have perfected that skill in multiple expedition bicycle races, featured on CBS Sport three times, bicycle tours throughout Europe, the maritime provinces, and the U.S. Big deal, right?
So what would happen if I tried to UN-LEARN that skill?
1. In this cool video clip, a bicycle was re-engineered so that when the handlebars were turned one way, the wheel would go in the opposite direction.
2. It took an adult 8 months to LEARN how to ride this new bike.
3. It took his 3-year old son 3 weeks to LEARN how to ride this new bike.
What do these two facts say about the brain’s ability to learn a new behavior, then to unlearn that behavior after 8 months of reinforcement?
(Pause and reflect here…)
One of my Dartmouth College professors, in an obtuse course called Developmental PsychoBiology, taught me that we have neural pathways that reinforce certain behaviors. Call them habits. When we practice using our right hand with a fork to eat spaghetti, we can reinforce that pattern until it becomes “learned.” If we want to eat spaghetti with chopsticks we need to learn a new neural pattern, until it becomes a habit.
Too many adults say “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Nonsense. There is abundant empirical evidence to the contrary, for both dogs and humans. Such a perspective is based upon ignorance.
So an executive coaching question may be, “What new behaviors do you need to learn?”
Examples include:
- calling 10 former friends to say “Hello, how are you? I miss you.”
- being kind to someone who needs kindness
- supporting the strengths of your loved ones, immediately, by doing or saying something complimentary and true. Immediately. Repeatedly.
- learning a new skill, such as how to play the banjo, speak Spanish, or write javascript
- self-advocate for that promotion or new challenge at work
- re-design your career or future
If you need a boost (and we all need a boost at times) then give me a call today.
I’d like to know what you are interested in doing. Or UN-Learning.
by Doug Gray | Jul 19, 2014 | Business, Coaching, Leadership, Managers, Meetings, safety, Success, talent
Yesterday I was asked to “step in” as a speaker for the Tennessee Safety Congress on Monday, July 21, 2014 in Nashville, TN, at the Opryland Conference Center. Today is Friday. I said, “Sure. Glad to help.”
The title is “Trends in Safety Leadership” and the main points include data and examples on 1) Frontline Decision Making, 2) Privacy and Control, and 3) technology.
The powerpoint content is located here: TN Safety Congress
Share this slide deck with your colleagues and friends, then contact us.
I have also added content from recently published articles in Professional Safety, the Journal of The American Society of Safety Engineers here for your convenience.
Initial consultations are free. Please give me a call at 704.995.6647 to discuss trends at your business.
I would love to learn what you need!
by Doug Gray | May 5, 2014 | change, Coaching, digital, Employment, Leadership, Managers, money, Sales
After 7.15.14 our new address is:
3482 Stagecoach Dr, Franklin, TN 37067
704.995.6647 cell
Special Offer: Please call for a free consultation in your Nashville area office to discuss your leaders or your business.
Why did we relocate?
1. Personally: to support my wife’s career, and her recent promotion.
2. Professionally: to develop new relationships in a new geography, while continuing to provide value to clients in any geography.
Life requires adaptation to new environments. A coaching question is: How are you moving?
Here are 7 examples of new affiliations and movement in the last 13 months:
- The Brentwood, TN Rotary Club (a long time Paul Harris fellow) committed to “service above self.”
- Member of the Williamson, Inc Chamber of Commerce, in Franklin, TN
- The Association of Talent Development (ATD) board member in professional development (2015-15) and membership (2015-16); created a Special Interest Group (SIG) for Consultants and hosted monthly meetings on countless topics since January, 2015
- Member of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
- Member of the Nashville Technology Center (NTC); accepted by Launch TN grant funding program to apply for federal grant to the NIH or USDA, using consultants Mark and Catherine Henry, with mentoring from Jim Stefansic PhD, to assess the impact of telemedicine programs in rural disparities
- Promoted the TN-HIMSS conference in October, 2015 for healthcare leaders, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Information Officers
- Created and hosted monthly meetings on “Talent Analytic Trends” at local businesses, including Rustici Software, the “best technology company in Nashville” and a global leader in SCORM and Watershed, their Learning Record System; those meetings featured leaders and new technologies that are redesigning how we measure talent, careers, and human achievement.
Quite a list for 13 months in a new town.
Back to that coaching question: How are you moving?
Call any time to discuss what is next for you, your leaders, or your business.
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