"Boss, I Want a Coach"
"Boss, I Want a Coach"
How to Convince Your Manager to Invest in Your Future
Bruce Taylor
copyright Unison Coaching
www.UnisonCoaching.com
Results of a coaching poll of mostly FORTUNE 1000 companies:
The respondents were executives from large companies who had
participated in either "improvement" or "growth" oriented
coaching for 6-12 months. The survey demonstrated that the
participants valued the coaching at 6X the cost paid by their
company. - Fortune Magazine (Fortune 2/19/03)
Introduction: It's All About the Plan
If you want to achieve a big, complex goal in your professional
life, it's very likely that a professional coach can be a great
help in getting there. If it's important enough to you, you can
simply hire a coach yourself (it's tax deductible); but many
companies are willing to underwrite all or part of the cost of
coaching if you can show that it's in their interest as well as
yours. So, to get your boss to pay for your coaching, you need a
plan.
Step 1: Write a Proposal
To get the most out of a coach, and to sell your boss on the
benefits, you need to establish as clearly as you can what you
want to accomplish with the coach. Write a 1-page proposal to
your boss, being as specific as you can. Your proposal should
answer the following questions:
1. What goal do you hope to accomplish?
2. What is the time frame for reaching your goal?
3. How will a coach help you accomplish your goal?
4. How will achieving your goal benefit you, and how will it
benefit the company?
5. How much will the coaching cost and what is the return on
investment?
6. How can you measure the success of the coaching?
7. What special skills should coach candidates have to be
effective?
Step 2: Make the Pitch
When you're comfortable that your proposal is a strong sales
pitch, it's time to present it to the person who can make the
decision to hire a coach. Sometimes it can be difficult to
identify this person, and sometimes you will have to pitch it to
multiple people. First, talk to your immediate boss about
getting coaching - he or she might have budget for just such a
thing, or might be able to get funding for it on your behalf.
You might raise the issue during a regular 1-1, or you might
schedule a special meeting with your boss "to talk about some
career development ideas."
Give your boss a copy of the proposal, and explain it as well
as you can, emphasizing the benefit to yourself, to her, and to
the company. Show that you've done your homework by answering
her questions completely. At the end of your meeting, ask for
approval: "So, is it okay if I go ahead and contact a coach?"
If she isn't convinced, then ask nicely, "Would you mind if I
took this up with your boss, or with the HR department?" The
next level of manager might be the person who can make the
decision, but don't ever go behind your boss's back.
Step 3: Counter Objections
It's possible that your boss will simply say, "Okay, go ahead."
but more likely she will have some questions and specific
problems that you will have to answer or negotiate around. Here
are some of the common ones:
* "Why should the company pay for this?"
Explain that the company will be getting a great benefit:
improved efficiency and productivity from yourself, so it's
appropriate that the company invest in you and your future.
* "How do I know that it will help?"
Offer to define some specific milestones that will show whether
the coaching is helping you achieve your goal. Then, meet with
your boss regularly to review where you are on your path through
those milestones.
* "We don't need to hire a coach: I'll be glad to coach you."
Thank your boss nicely, but explain that boss/worker coaching
almost never works out because the differences in position make
it impossible for the two of you to adopt an effective coaching
relationship. Besides, what if one of your issues is your
relationship to her?
* "Why don't you use our Employee Assistance Program?"
Explain politely that EAPs are for short-term counseling and
therapy, and that you need longer-term help in getting to a
goal.
* "Human Resources does all of our coaching."
This is similar to your boss offering coaching: HR people are
seldom trained in coaching, and the fact that they get their
paycheck from the company puts them in an automatic conflict of
interest.
* "Coaching is too expensive."
Be ready with facts and figures to show that coaching is a
small fraction of your paycheck, and that it will be paid back
many times in increased productivity (See the quote in the
introduction.) If you have to, offer to pay part of the cost
yourself - you may shame her into approving the whole cost.
* "We can't afford it right now."
Explain to your boss that by approving the coaching she is
making an investment in your future with the company. Then ask,
"If we can't afford it now, when can I expect to get it?" Don't
leave until you get a real date.
* "If I give you coaching, everyone will want it?"
Actually, that's probably not true: only people motivated to
achieve something big ever ask for coaches. And if many people
do ask for coaching, most coaches can arrange reduced pricing,
or can do group coaching.
Conclusion: After She Says "Yes."
When your boss finally approves the coaching, work as hard as
you can to make it pay off for you. You'll impress her greatly
and make it much more likely that the next time you or one of
your colleagues needs a coach, she will agree immediately.