When not to use Coaching for development

Coaching has become the new corporate silver bullet whenever we have a situation where a leader has some rough edges which is amplified by not so favorable stakeholder feedback. In most cases, the organization or manager instead of engaging in a candid conversation assigns a coach to the leader under the garb of leader development. I have seen these efforts fail if these does not meet the following ground rules:

1. The leader is aware that s/he needs to change and wants to change but may or may not have the skills to do the same
2. The leader trusts the intention of the organization in assigning his/her coach towards a common outcome
3. There are no hidden agendas either explicit or implicit between the leader and the organization

 One of the tenets we were taught during our coaching 101 is to ask a simple question to the coachee..'On a scale of 1 to 10 how badly do you want to change for the issue in which you are seeking coaching help'? If the answer is anything less than 9 or 10, it is almost always prudent to walk away from the assignment. It is far easier to work on Skill building than on Will building. 

As a golden rule, there is no point in keeping up a fa?ade of coaching when;

1. The organization has already made up their mind on the leader and is just trying to validate their assumptions through the coach; in most cases having written him off for a role
2. The leader does not believe anything is wrong with him/her and sees the initiative as a way of marginalizing him/her

It is important to remember that coaching is an exercise in authenticity that requires a safe environment where the leader expresses his/her vulnerabilities and is helped in the process of his/her exploration and growth towards agreed goals. In the event this sacred developmental space is violated, there cannot be any meaningful awareness building and development.