Couching in Russia is partly similar to psychotherapy – all people heard about it, but no one is in a hurry to use it, waiting for someone of their friends to have a test-drive of this modern service and just from their own lips to tell whether coaching is worth spending a separate budget line or not. Hence you can see still incredulous, skeptical attitude of the Russians to coaching because of the banal ignorance of what how it may be useful and that it has already helped many people. The roots of coaching are in the West. There not only private companies, but also state organizations address to certified coaches.
The famous British coach with 25 years of experience Miles Downey tells in his interview to E-xecutive.ru about coaching today, its tomorrow's appearance, its differentiation from psychotherapy and widespread disclosure of genius of people.
Myles Downey is the co-creator, with Tim Gallwey, of The Inner Game eCoach System and a Director at eCoach Ltd. He is the Founder of The School of Coaching in the U.K., established in 1996, and was part of the team that established The Alexander Corporation in 1987, which was acknowledged by The Economist Intelligence Unit as “the leading provider of Executive Coaching in Europe” in 1993 and in 1995. Myles is a well-known business performance coach with extensive experience spanning over twenty-five years. He coaches senior executives and leadership teams and has worked all over the world with some of the most prestigious organisations. He is the author of ‘Effective Coaching’ which is considered a seminal text on coaching and is currently writing ‘The Sessions’, part business book, part novel.
His current project is ‘Enabling Genius’ which brings together recent research on human potential, learning and excellence and develops tools and techniques to make the theory applicable in working life.
E-xecutive.ru: What the latest tendencies in coaching you could point out that will represent its image in the near future? We mean latest inventions, techniques and work methods.
Miles Downey: Coaching is in a fascinating place today. I have both a catastrophic and an anastrophic sense of this. On the downside three things: coaching - business coaching - in the UK and many part of Europe, has become commoditized everything from the number of meetings, program duration to fees are standardized. That goes against the very essence of coaching which is a personalised offering. Secondly, the quality of coaching is almost universally poor – coaches don’t practise their skills (Aristotle Onassis, one of the best salesmen ever, used to practise meetings – Pro’s practise). Thirdly there is an almost total focus in coaching on learning and development and not on performance. We have let inexperienced HR professionals - the buyers of coaching - dictate what coaching is because we failed to define what we do and to maintain standards.
On the upside two things: there is a generation in the workforce today that has a completely different sense of priorities. They are looking for meaning, purpose, autonomy. Also, the way they learn is not by being taught. They go on-line and Google or ask a friend. These people are a joy to coach, they instinctively get it. The second thing is the opportunity offered by the Internet and social media.
So before we think innovation we have to fix this situation and, if we can, take advantage of the opportunity. In regard to innovation there really has been very little progress. What we need to start thinking about is how we can use social media to deliver and support the provision of excellent coaching services. Coaching does not always have to be person-to-person. Clients can make use of material and training processes through the Internet. Clients can come together in virtual groups for mutual support. In fact I have just developed with Tim Gallwey (The Inner Game) the world’s first automated coaching system – automated means there is no coach!
E-xecutive.ru: Business culture in Russia and Great Britain are quite different. Could you estimate the level of demand for coaching in our country in the future? Who needs it now and who will need in the future?
M.D.: This is a fascinating question too and I wish I knew the answer. I think I know part of the answer. Coaching thrives in societies where the individual is valued and where there is a large degree of openness. Globally there is a clear and accelerating movement in this direction. My experience of Russia is not that great but I have strong sense that these conditions exist here. That would suggest that the people who need coaching are those that have control – unfortunately such people are often not open to change and therefore not open to coaching. In the future the people who would benefit from coaching are the leaders of large organization and entrepreneurs and innovators
E-xecutive.ru: What are the latest scientific discoveries in the field of human potential research which you use to train leaders be more productive and effective?
M.D.: We understand more than we ever did in the past about what it takes for people to develop and use their potential. Research into learning and excellence from the areas of psychology, genetics and neuroscience are beginning to shape how we think about education and development – and coaching too. It is understood now that excellence or mastery of a discipline is not just something handed down from parent to child or a mysterious gift. It is always the result of hard work and focused learning. ‘Genius’ is possible for all of us. We also know that human beings are far more malleable – changeable than we thought. Human beings have far more influence over who we are and what we become – coaches have a role to play in developing leaders fit for the 21st Century.
E-xecutive.ru: What can coaching teach an executive and an ordinary person?
M.D.: The answer to this question is the same as the answer to the previous – human beings have far more influence over who we are and what we become than previously thought. It does not matter is you are an executive or and ‘ordinary’ person – you can be ‘extraordinary’. Too many people think in self-limiting terms: “I am who I am” (i.e. I can not change) or “I am not creative/intelligent/a leader etc”. Coaching can help people break out of those self and societally impose bindings and discover greater autonomy
E-xecutive.ru: What is the common practice: people seek the help of coaches to deal with current issues or to find the way to move forward? How should the coachee distinguish between going to a coach or a therapist?
M.D.: I suspect that too many people come to coaching from a need to deal with current issues. Coaching is mostly seen as a way to fix something broken. I get the most satisfaction – and my clients too – from working with people who are trying to create something. This helps with the second part of the question – the job of a therapist is to help someone become whole and to fit more easily into the community. The job of a coach is to help someone achieve an external goal. There is, of course, no definitive dividing line but I think as coaches we must err on the side of caution ‘above all do no harm’. I have a suspicion that there are many coaches, life coaches in particular, who do not know where that line is and who are unaware of the limitations of their skills
E-xecutive.ru: Does high productivity establish the feeling of fulfillment? What work conditions will lead to satisfaction.
M.D.: Clearly there is some sense of satisfaction in productivity but not fulfillment, not in the fullest sense anyway. Tim Gallwey, of The Inner Game and the co-creator of the eCoach system, understood this. His view is that performance, learning and enjoyment all need to be present for a real sense of fulfillment. There are two further elements that have a bearing on fulfillment: one is a sense of autonomy and the second is that the work I do should be aligned with my sense of purpose
E-xecutive.ru: Have you ever had to help to achieve high goals to people who do not like their jobs?
M.D.: Yes – and it’s always a difficult situation. If this is someone I am coaching one-on-one they will either change their attitude or leave the business. When this happens with an entire workforce I try to work with leadership of the business in order to change the context in which people work.
E-xecutive.ru: The absence of the right motivation is one of the main causes of low productivity. How do you motivate your employees?
M.D.: I don’t have employees at the moment as my projects are not at that point of development. Part of the answer is to start with engagement – and I mean a genuine attempt to engage employees in the business – not just a communications exercise. People need to have a sense of belonging, and alignment of purpose and an ability to influence. There is considerable evidence that engagement and productivity are linked so businesses benefit from such initiatives.
E-xecutive.ru: Do you test your own techniques on yourself? Could it be stated that your personal effectiveness in business is on the top level now?
M.D.: I do. I have a coach. I use the eCoaching system. And I also use the techniques of ‘Enabling Genius’ to keep me focused and energized. ‘Enabling Genius’ is a project to pull together the best research on human excellence and to find techniques and tools to translate that into every day working life. My own effectiveness is improving but I am not there yet. I suffer from occasional bouts of loss of motivation or, more specifically, conviction – am I doing the right things? I can say that I am getting better at digging myself out of such holes!
E-xecutive.ru: What do you usually do when you get tired from your work? How do you replenish your energy level and where does this energy come from?
M.D.: Tiredness is sometimes real: too much time away from home, too many conferences. Then I simply need to rest. There is another kind of tiredness that has a psychological origin – doubt or fear. When I experience that kind of tiredness I will take time out – even for a short period, as little as half a day, to try and understand the source of the doubt, whether it is real or not, and then to re-focus on my sense of purpose
E-xecutive.ru: If coaches had a motto, what would that be?
M.D.: That would be in two parts so it’s not very neat and tidy. Above all do no harm and remember there is ‘Genius’ in everyone.
