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CoachingandPhilanthropy

A N A C T I O N G U I D E F O R C O A C H E S

Produced in partnership by

With support rom the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Harnisch Foundation,

The James Irvine Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation,

and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.

2010 CompassPoint Nonprot Services

This publication may not be reproduced without permission. To obtain permission, contact

CompassPoint Nonprot Services at 415.541.9000 or [email protected]. This publication is

available in electronic ormat at www.compasspoint.org/coaching.


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About the Coaching

and Philanthropy Project

In partnership with Grantmakers or Eective Organizations, BTW informing change

and Leadership that Works, CompassPoint Nonprot Services launched the Coaching

and Philanthropy Project (CAP) to assess and advance coaching as a strategy or

building eective nonprot organizations.

The CAP Project is a deep dive into learning about the nonprot sectors support or

and use o coaching, something no one has examined to this extent beore. The result

is a large body o inormation and ideas that the CAP Project seeks to consolidate and

share with peers in the philanthropic and nonprot sectors and in the eld o coaching.

This guide draws on data that we have collected or more than three years as part

o the second phase o the CAP Project. During this period, we have gathered

inormation and suggestions rom hundreds o individuals, including nonprot

leaders who have received coaching, coaches who have provided coaching to

nonprot leaders, intermediaries and others who arrange or nonprot coaching, and

grantmakers who support coaching in a variety o ways or their nonprot grantees.

Research or the CAP Project included our dierent surveys completed by nearly

300 respondents, two dozen interviews, and ocus groups and listening sessions with

more than 50 individuals. This data collection eort built on the rst phase o the CAP

Project, which assessed the prevalence and types o support or nonprot coaching.

In addition to citing the CAP Projects original research, this guide reerences data

and documents that all outside the partners data collection or this phase o the CAP

project, as well as documents produced by other individuals and groups.

Since coaching in the nonprot sector is a airly new practice, much o our research

has looked at the early adopters o coaching that is, grantmakers, nonprots and

coaching providers that are experimenting with various approaches as they try to

determine when coaching works best and what methods and strategies are most

eective.

The CAP Project is unded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Harnisch Foundation,

The James Irvine Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the

Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.

This guide is part o a series. For more inormation and resources, including action

guides on coaching or grantmakers and nonprots, please visit the CAP Projects

Online Toolkit at /www.compasspoint.org/coaching. Throughout this guide the Online

Toolkit icon ( ) reers readers to specic resources that are available online.


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Acknowledgments

The CAP Project partners thank everyone who inormed this work, including all

those individuals who participated in our many data collection eorts, as well as the

individuals listed here, who provided invaluable insight into the context o this work:

John Bennett, Lee Hecht Harrison

Patricia Budd, PBudd and Associates

Michael Carr, Social Advocates or YouthCynthia Chavez, LeaderSpring

Jennier Crystal Chien, Change Consultant and Coach

Ann Deaton, DaVinci Resources

Edie Farwell, Sustainability Institute

Julie Davidson-Gmez, Coach and Consultant

Belma Gonzlez, B Coaching & Consulting

Tammy Gooler-Loeb, Growth Through Change

Mary Grill, WPM Strategies

Hilary Joel, WJ Consulting

Stephanie McAulie, David and Lucile Packard FoundationPaula Morris, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

Rick Moyers, Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation

Renee Okamura, coach and consultant

Peter Reding, Foundation or Inspired Learning

Conchita Robinson, C Robinson Associates

Rich Snowdon, lie coach or nonprot leaders

Shiree Teng, David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Judith Wilson, master certied coach

We oer a huge thank you to William H. Woodwell, Jr. or his help in writing

this publication.

We oer deep thanks to the grantmakers or this project: the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,

The Harnisch Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard

Foundation, and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.


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Contents

COACHING IN CONTEXT

2 What is coaching?

3 What does coaching oer in comparison to other orms o support or

nonprot leaders and their organizations?

5 How common is coaching?

6 What do nonprot leaders want to gain rom coaching?

7 What does it take to become an eective coach in the nonprot sector?

MAKING THE CASE FOR COACHING

10 Why should nonprots and their unders consider coaching?11 When does coaching work best?

12 How can coaching contribute to the development o nonprot leaders?

13 How can coaching contribute to the success o nonprot organizations?

WHEN TO U SE COACHIN G

M A K I N G T H E M O S T OF C OA C H I N G

17 How can coaches know i nonprot leaders are ready or coaching?

19 How can coaches know what kind o coaching is right or their clients?

20 How can coaches ensure a successul match with coachees?

20 How can coaches work with coachees to create a successul engagement?

23 How should nonprots pay or coaching and how much?

23 How can coaches show that coaching is delivering results or coachees and

their organizations?

CASE STUDIES/COACHING EXAMPLES

C ON C L U S I ON

1 | 2010 CompassPoint Nonproit Services


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C O A C H I N G I N C O N T E X T

People have always known intuitively that leaders

shape their organizations. Its just common sense. But

recent scholarship in management studies is providing

a growing understanding o how leaders contribute

or dont to an organizations prospects and success.Leadership development, in turn, has emerged as a

priority in all sectors; organizations invest billions o

dollars annually in activities intended to enhance the

leadership abilities o senior executives, board and sta.

Leadership development can mean a lot o dierent

things rom MBA-style programs and sabbaticals

or executives to classroom training and wilderness

outings or current and uture leaders. Coaching,

which the business sector has long viewed as a way

to support current and emerging leaders, is just

beginning to take hold in the nonprot world as a

core leadership development activity. See "What Helps

Leaders Grow: Highlights rom the Fund or Leadership

Advancement available in the Online oolkit.

WHAT IS COACHING?

In a coaching relationship, an individual with

leadership and coaching experience (the coach) provides

customized support to one or more nonprot leaders

(coachees) or a limited period o time.

Several dierent types o coaching are available to

nonprot leaders, including organizational, lie and

career coaching. Te ocus o the CAP Projects work

is organizational coaching. While this type o coaching

inevitably touches on personal and career issues

conronting the leader, the ocus is on the needs o the

leader within the context o the organization.

Coaching in Context



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Organizational coaching creates opportunities or

individuals to develop their leadership capacities as

they address challenges and opportunities acing their

organizations. As the CAP Project denes it,

organizational coaching is:3 A process that supports individuals to make more

conscious decisions and take new action that will help

their organizations succeed.

3 A way to provide leaders with a condential

sae space or reecting and learning and to create

actionable strategies or achieving specic goals.

3 An investment in the development o an individual.

3 A reward or top perormers and emerging leaders tohelp them succeed and grow in their jobs.

3 A process that engages people to solve their own

problems or reach their own solutions, rather than

imposing solutions rom outside.

3 A means o ostering awareness, accountability

and action, resulting in improved individual and

organizational perormance.

Coaching can have enormous value as a stand-alonestrategy or developing leaders and their organizations.

In addition, the CAP Projects research shows that

increasing numbers o grantmakers are incorporating

coaching into broader leadership development

and organizational capacity-building programs or

nonprots to maximize the impact o these investments.

In these instances, coaching becomes one tool among

several or strengthening the organization and its

leadership. Coaching is oered alongside consulting,

training, peer learning and other supports.

Te key to successul coaching in these instances is or

coaches to understand the goals o the overall program,

and to coordinate coaching with other supports.

Coaching, or example, can provide a orum or leaders

to explore and discover how best to apply new learning

gained through training and other activities to their

day-to-day work. Coaching also can help leaders

develop plans or making the most o organizational

consulting in areas rom board development tostrategic planning.

WHAT DOES COACHING OF FER IN

COMPARISON TO OTHER FORMS OF

SUPPORT FOR NONPROFIT LEADERS

AND THEIR ORGANI ZATIONS?

Coaches should be sure to distinguish between

coaching and other orms o support, including

consulting and even therapy. Te authors dene the

dierences as ollows:

Coaching vs. other orms o leadership

development (e.g., training). In contrast to some

other orms o leadership development support, which

oten provide general guidance applicable across a range

o situations and organizational contexts, coachingis tailored to the individual coachee. Te content

o coaching is based on coachees experiences and

their reections on their strengths and weaknesses,

the specic contexts in which they are working, and

their hopes and aspirations or themselves and their

organizations.

Coaching vs. consulting. raditional organizational

consulting ocuses on the whole organization.

Consultants bring their technical expertise to bear

as they work with executive leaders, senior sta, and

board members on strategies, structures, policies,

and procedures to improve the eectiveness o the

organization. Coaches, by contrast, apply expertise in

personal development and organizational behavior to

provide one-on-one support or leaders. Te coachs

goal is to help leaders make more conscious decisions

and pursue actions in their proessional or personal

lives that benet the organizations they lead.

Coaching vs. therapy. Coachings emphasis on

personal as well as proessional issues can create the

perception that it is a dressed-up orm o

psychotherapy. It is not. Te therapist is concerned

about the individuals unctioning and well-being

across a range o settings, with a ocus on resolving

conict or individuals and groups and healing pain.

Te ocus o coaching is on bridging the personal

and the proessional in ways that contribute to

stronger leadership.


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LEADING WITHIN

A MOVEMENT

LEADING WITHIN

THE COMMUNITY

LEADING THE

ORGANIZATION,

PROGRAM OR PROJECT

LEADING

OTHERS

LEADING

YOURSELF

3 Source: CompassPoint Nonprot Services. Adapted rom the work o the

Center or Creative Leadership, Grantmakers or Eective Organizations, David Day

and Building Movement Project. The Leadership Development Investment Framework

rom Leadership Learning Community, available in the online toolkit.

www.compasspoint.org/coaching

From Individual to Organizationand Beyond

Coaching can have a ripple eect on organizations, communities

and entire movements as an individual or team begins to lead

more eectively.


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WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME

AN EFFECTIVE COACH IN THE

NONPROFIT SECTOR?

Te CAP Project undertook three eorts aimedat determining and supporting the skills and core

competencies needed to be an eective coach in the

nonprot sector, as ollows:

1. Te CAP Projects Competency Model Survey

gathered inormation rom coaches with deep

experience in both the nonprot sector and coaching

to identiy their critical competencies and coaching

practices.

2. Te Coach raining Pilot Project (CPP) oeredcoaching certication training to proessionals and

consultants o color with deep roots in the nonprot

sector. As part o the project, we gathered

inormation about coaching competencies, especially

in the area o cultural competency.

3. Te Leadership Coaching Learning Circles brought

together practicing nonprot coaches rom around

the country to share learning and best practices and

provide support.

Tese three eorts suraced a wealth o inormation

about eective coaching in the nonprot sector.

For example, we ound that coaches with nonprot

experience, including those who served as executive

directors or board members, are better prepared to help

nonprot leaders and organizations. We believe this

is because these coaches have a greater understanding

o the unique challenges o the sector. We also ound

a growing interest among nonprot leaders and theirunders in seeking bridgers that is, coaches who

bring both a deep understanding o the nonprot

context and deep knowledge o the core competencies

and ethical guidelines o coaching.

In reviewing what we learned through this work, the

CAP Project has divided the competencies required o

coaches working in the sector as ollows: understanding

o nonprots; core coaching skills; and cultural

awareness.

Understanding o nonprots.According to the

CAP Projects surveys and interviews, coaches need to

understand the context o the nonprot sector, and

the ways in which nonprot organizational structure

diers rom that o or-prot organizations. Key areaswhere coaches should have a detailed understanding o

nonprot contexts are:

Nonprot board governance structures, including

an understanding o the dynamics o leadership o the

executive director, boards and board committees. For

coaches, this means understanding who the primary

client is and how to structure eective coaching

engagements in a nonprot setting.

Fundraising and nancial issues, includingundercapitalization issues, criteria used by unders to

judge organizational eectiveness, third-party unding,

and the nancial leadership needs o nonprot sta.

Working with volunteers, including the role o various

stakeholders, and the complex system o the volunteer

base.

Nonprot mission, including the importance o

mission in evaluating strategy, structure and process,as well as understanding and articulating the nonprot

double bottom line o mission and nance. Tis can

also include motivation as it relates to the mission-

driven aspects o nonprot work and the implications

or organizational cultures in the sector.

The role o the executive director, including

knowledge o the complexity o the executive

director role or example, managing the needs and

expectations o clients/members, sta, unders and the

public.

Unique human resource issues among nonprots,

including, sta burnout issues, nonprot sta who may

be promoted or their dedication to the cause rather

than their competence, or reluctance within many

organizations to hold people accountable in nonprots

that do not pay sufcient salaries.

Dierent cultures and needs across the sector,

including unique needs in arts, social services,environmental, social justice, grassroots and legal

service-based organizations.


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WHY SHOULD NONPROFITS

AND THEIR FUNDERS CONSIDER

COACHING?

Many nonprot leaders and their unders are unamiliar

with coaching as a tool or strengthening leaders and

organizations. Coaches can make the case or coaching

by pointing to the variety o reports and research eorts

documenting the urgent leadership challenges acing

nonprots today. Tese challenges include: nonprot

leaders are burned out; young and emerging leaders are

not sure they want to stay in the sector because o the

low pay, work-lie imbalance and other concerns; and

the sector needs to attract and develop new talent as a

result o its expanding complexity and size.8

In the ace o these challenges, coaching can provide

nonprots and their grantmakers with a powerul, cost-

eective strategy or developing and supporting current

and uture leaders.

Tis is a new and promising tool or leadershipdevelopment or nonprot leaders who nd themselves

in an increasingly challenging and oten isolated role,

said Sylvia Yee, vice president o programs with the

Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, which supports

coaching or participants in its Flexible Leadership

Investment Program.

Especially at a time when many nonprots are acing

enormous nancial and operational challenges brought

on by the economic crisis that began in the all o 2008,

coaching is a way to help ensure that nonprot leaders

have the time and space to make careul decisions.

Coaching can provide targeted support to leaders in

making the difcult choices that lie ahead that is, in

identiying what is vital to their mission and what they

must keep, what they need to cut, and how to change

the ways their organizations work in order to have

greater impact.In addition, by helping current and uture leaders

manage and reduce stress and nd answers to personal

and organizational challenges that keep them up at

night, coaching can make an important contribution

to keeping more good people in the sector and helping

them grow as leaders.

One private-sector organization that has invested

heavily in coaching is Deloitte, the international

accounting and consulting rm. Deloitte has oundthat coaching can lead to greater personal satisaction,

improved team perormance and ultimately higher

prots or the company.9 According to Stan Smith,

ounder o Deloitte Career Connections, career

coaching alone has saved Deloitte more than $150

million because o reduced attrition.

Making the Case or Coaching

8 On burn-out see CompassPoint Nonprot Services and the Meyer Foundation, Jeanne Bell, Richard Moyers and imothy Wolred, Daring to Lead.On young and emerging leaders o nonprots who decide to seek employment in other elds, see Maria Cornelius, Patrick Corvington and Albert Ruesga,

Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out, a national study produced by CompassPoint Nonprot Services, Annie E. Casey Foundation,Meyer Foundation and Idealist, 2008. On attracting new senior managers see Tomas J. ierney, Te Nonprot Sectors Leadership Decit, 2006,Te Bridgespan Group, www.bridgespan.org/learningcenter/resourcedetail.aspx?id=946.

9 Paul Parker and Mark McLean, Creating a Coaching-Centered Work Culture, panel presentation at International Coach Federation Conerence,October 2007, Long Beach, Caliornia.

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HOW CAN COACHING CONTRIBUTE

TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF

NONPROFIT LEADERS?

In the CAP Projects survey o coachees, almost two-thirds said coaching was very eective compared to

other types o leadership development support and

tools or organizational eectiveness, such as training,

workshops, classes or seminars. Coaching provides the

individual nonprot leader or team with the ollowing:

A sae space or refection and eedback.

Coaching provides a sae space or leaders to air

concerns about their jobs and about the problems

acing their organizations and to consider solutions.Since coaching is condential, leaders, especially

executive directors, appreciate the opportunity to break

out o their isolated roles, talk to someone about their

strengths and challenges, and chart a productive path

orward or themselves and their organizations.

Increased sel-awareness. A major outcome o

coaching or the individual leader is a higher level o

sel-awareness, which, along with sel-management,

many consider to be a prerequisite or strong leadership.

o the extent that coachees understand and reect on

their strengths and weaknesses as leaders, they can use

the coaching relationship to spur new thinking and to

adjust their leadership styles and behaviors. Coaching

can provide the impetus or changing how leaders

interact with the sta and board, delegating more

responsibilities to others, or making other changes in

how they set priorities and allot their time.

Many coaches and organizations that sponsor coaching

or nonprot leaders recognize the importance o

sel-awareness in successul coaching and start the

process by oering a range o opportunities or sel-

assessment, such as eedback on an individuals workperormance, strengths and areas or improvement rom

the individuals colleagues and peers.

In addition, eective coaches hold up a mirror to

their coachees in a way that coworkers and others

cant. Coaches push people to honesty, according to

Christine Kwak, a program director at the W.K. Kellogg

Foundation. Tey say things no one in the world

will have the courage to say so people get the kind o

reection they cant get anywhere else in their lie.12

Better management skills. Nonprot leaderssometimes are viewed as accidental managers. When

asked what called them to their work in the social

sector, they oten share a passion or an organizations

mission, an interest in a particular eld such as the arts,

health services, youth or education, or a desire to work

in community organizing.

Rarely do nonprot leaders say they came to the sector

because o a desire to manage others.

Coaching can support individuals to develop their

management skills and business savvy. At a time when

the job o a nonprot leader is increasingly complex,

requiring close attention to the needs o a diverse

array o stakeholders, coaching helps leaders prioritize

key tasks and learn to manage time more eectively.

Last but not least, coaching can help leaders develop

their own skills as coaches so they can work to create a

coaching culture in their organizations.

Through coaching I have a sense

o owning this job and a sense o

competence and assuredness aboutdoing the job that I think would have

otherwise taken years and years (and

lots o heartache and not great learning

experiences) to gain.

12 Sue Hoye, Staying at the op o their Game. Chronicle o Philanthropy. October, 2007 available at www.philanthropy.com.

I am less renetic and more present as

a result o the coaching. Now, instead o

rushing to answer 50 e-mails at once, I

pause and take a breath and realize I have

a choice o what to do next.


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Higher levels o condence, clarity. Coachees

regularly report that coaching strengthens their

ability to step into their leadership roles with greater

condence. Coachees also say coaching gives them ahigher level o clarity about their career goals. It can

yield a stronger commitment to their current positions

and, or some, a clearer understanding that its time

to leave. Coaching also has helped many participants

clariy specic aspirations that relate to their

development as leaders, including decisions to continue

their education, gain or strengthen specic skills, or

shit their current job responsibilities.

HOW CAN COACHING CONTRIBUTE

TO THE SUCCESS OF NONPROFIT

ORGANIZATIONS?

Coaches, nonprot leaders and grantmakers regularly

reer to the ripple eect coaching can have on

organizations (see graphic, page 4). As an individual or

team begins to realize personal benets rom coaching,

those benets can spread throughout the organization

to enhance its overall efciency and eectiveness. Some

specic organizational benets o coaching include:

Stronger Leadership. Te CAP Projects survey o

individuals who have worked with an executive coach

or at least three months ound that respondents believe

coaching contributed to signicant improvements

in key leadership and management skills. Coachees

responses to open-ended questions pointed to

specic benets accruing to their organizations.

Tey said coaching helped them manage sta and

personnel issues, as well as nance and und-raising

responsibilities, more eectively. Tey also said they

were better equipped to handle conict in theirorganizations because o coaching.

Nonprot leaders also reported to the CAP Project that

coaching helped them lead their organizations through

a variety o changes, including mergers, quick program

growth and organizational restructurings.

Smoother Transitions. Coaches, coachees and

grantmakers alike especially value coaching as a means

o helping organizations manage executive transitions

successully. Whether you believe that over thecoming years there will be a calamitous departure o

senior nonprot leaders that requires development o

a new cohort or, alternatively, that there will be a more

organic transition in which leaders are cultivated rom

within, organizations must develop leaders in-house and

cultivate outreach to attract the right kind o leaders

rom other sectors, wrote executive transitions expert

David Coleman in Te Nonproft Quarterly. He added:

Executive coaching helps minimize the time needed to

prepare leaders or broader responsibilities.13

Stronger Leadership Teams. Coachees note that

coaching has helped them understand that they cannot

do the job o running their organizations on their own;

they say coaching helped them take steps to strengthen

sta and board leadership teams and to improve

communications and interpersonal relationships with

colleagues.

I am altogether more condent, and

more willing to stand up or my ideas

and vision within my organization becauseo coaching. I am also willing to be more

visible within the larger community, which

is a big deal or me.

I am trying to be more sensitive to

process and relationships as opposed to

being so outcome-ocused. It is hard, but I

have come to realize that in order to work

with boards and sta, I need to develop

my emotional intelligence.

13 David Coleman, A Leaders Guide to Executive Coaching, Te Nonproft Quarterly, Spring 2008.


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By increasing the coachees sel-awareness, coaching

helps leaders ocus on the need to give up control andshare work. It thereore contributes to the movement

away rom solo or heroic leadership14 to leaderul

organizations where leadership is spread throughout the

nonprot.15

Recent research is showing that new models o shared

leadership and participatory structures are taking

the place o traditional hierarchical structures and

cumbersome, top-down decision-making in many

organizations. Younger leaders and sta in particularshow a preerence or these newer models, which

can nurture creativity and contribute to aster, more

efcient operations.16

[Coaching] helped us deepen

our commitment to our shared

leadership model, challenged us to

be more intentional and open in our

communication and opened our eyes

to the abundant strengths and skills

we share.

14 Peter Senge, Leadership in Living Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999.15 Joseph Raelin, Creating Leaderul Organizations. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2003.16 Fran Kunreuther, Helen Kim and Robby Rodriguez, Working Across Generations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008.


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New to a task or role andhis or hercompetency level is low

Training, guidance or mentoring rom someone with experiencein the task or role (perhaps with coaching as a ollow-up to helpthe training take root)

Not a good t or the job or theorganization and the organization

decides that it is time or theindividual to move on

Reassignment or termination with proper human resources support

Note: Coaching is not meant to be punitive or a last-ditch eort beore fring.

Coaching also is not meant to be used to evaluate a sta member.

Dealing with signicant personalor psychological problems thatinterere with job perormance

Reerral to therapy

Has systemic issues that are causingpoor perormance (or example,the organization lacks a clearbusiness model or strategic plan,the organization is too dependenton one unding source, nancialcontrols are lacking, or the boardand management are shirking keyresponsibilities)

Targeted consulting in key unctional areas with coachingas a support or larger interventions

Note: Do not engage a coach to fx a systemic issue beyond the control o the

coached individual. Rather, coaching can support an individual to determine

what is within her or his control and how to proceed accordingly.

Is acing an internal crisis Targeted consulting or mediation with coaching support to helpnavigate the situation(s) and extract useul lessons or the uture

Has leadership that has not engagedin a serious and honest conversationabout challenges and the need orchange

Facilitation, mediation or training in giving and receiving eedbackor managing confict

WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL IS A BETTER RESPONSE WOULD BE

WHEN AN ORGANIZATION A BETTER RESPONSE WOULD BE

WHEN COACHING IS NOT THE BEST SOLUTION

Coaching is not a cure-all. In act, coaching can be precisely the wrong

approach to the challenges acing an organization and its leaders.


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HOW CAN COACHES KNOW IF

NONPROFIT LEADERS ARE READY

FOR COACHING?

Assessing readiness to participate in a coaching

engagement is essential. Coaches can help ensure that

prospective coachees exhibit the characteristics needed

or successul coaching and that their organizations are

prepared to support the coachees as they enter into a

coaching engagement.

Individual Readiness. Coachees report that other

tasks within their organizations can sometimes take

precedence over coaching. Coaching is indeed a time

commitment. Tis is why it is important to be clear at

the outset about an individuals capacity and willingness

to make coaching work within his or her schedule.

Respondents to the CAP Projects survey o coachees

said they had devoted an average o three hours per

month to coaching.17 Tis number reects actual

coaching time and doesnt include the ull amounto time devoted to homework and good thinking

between coaching sessions. Te average duration o a

coaching engagement among survey participants was 12

months.

As important as knowing that coachees have the time

to make coaching work is knowing that they have a

willingness to learn and to adapt their leadership styles.

William P. Ryans evaluation o the Evelyn and Walter

Haas, Jr. Funds Flexible Leadership Awards program

identied a number o leader assets or attributes

necessary or eective coaching. Tese include

openness, curiosity, a learning orientation, appetite or

change, willingness to be introspective, and interest in

and capacity or strategic thinking.18

Coutu and Kauman agree that an executives

motivation to change is crucial to the success o

coaching. In their Harvard Business Review article

based on a survey o 140 coaches, they write that

judging a leaders readiness or coaching comes down

to one question: Is the executive highly motivated to

change? Tey continue: Executives who get the most

out o coaching have a erce desire to learn and grow. 19

Organizational Readiness. Beyond assessing the

coachees own readiness, it is important to consider

the readiness o the organization or coaching. Because

coaching requires an investment o time and resources,

it will be more successul i it garners the support o

an array o board members and sta leaders in the

organization; in other words, the base o support or

coaching would ideally extend beyond the person or

people who are being coached.

For organizations and individuals that are not ready or

coaching, a range o other supports exists. Such support

could ocus on developing specic competencies in

Making the Most o Coaching

17 BWinorming change. (2009). Coaching and Philanthropy Project Nonprot Coaching Survey. Note: Individuals were eligible to completethe survey only i they had been coached a minimum o three months.

18 For a copy o William Ryans report, go to the Online oolkit. www.compasspoint.org/coaching19 Diane Coutu and Carol Kauman, What Can Coaches Do or You? Harvard Business Review, January 2009, p. 3.



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the nonprot leader or example, in areas such as

nance, strategic planning or human resources. Or,

i the organization is acing board and sta conicts

or other serious problems, its leaders might want toconsider ocusing on board development or mediation.

Remember: Coaching is not a cure-all or deep-seated

problems in an organization. Rather, coaching should

be viewed as a way to catapult well-perorming and

high-potential leaders and their organizations to higher

levels o perormance in the years ahead. (For more on

when not to use coaching, see page 16.)

Questions to Consider:

Coaching Readiness

The ollowing sample questions can be useul or

assessing your coaching readiness:

3 Is the person prepared to devote the time needed

to make coaching work, including time or

meetings and homework in between?

3 Is the person ready to work on personal issues that

aect her or his capacity to lead eectively?

3 Is the person open to new ideas and ways o doing

things to acilitate positive change and growth?

3 Is the person experiencing personal challenges

or crises that might get in the way o successul

coaching?

3 Do board members and sta leaders support

coaching or the person? Do others in the

organization understand the reasons or and goals

o coaching?

3 Is the organization experiencing a change in

strategy, leadership or external conditions that can

become a ocal point or coaching?

3 Is the organization suering because o

interpersonal conicts or other problems that

might hinder the eects o coaching?

3 Is the person in need o additional tools, resources

or concrete approaches to a variety o leadership

and organizational challenges?

To download a coaching readiness questionnaire,

go to the Online Toolkit.



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HOW CAN COACHES KNOW WHAT

KIND OF COACHING IS RIGHT FOR

THEIR CLIENTS?

Coaching or nonprot leaders can come in a variety

o orms. Coaches should consider which type o

coaching to use, based on the needs, interests and

characteristics o the organization and the coachee.

It is important to note that the dierent types o

coaching borrow techniques and approaches rom

each other or example, external coaching by a

proessional leadership coach might include targeted

content coaching on specic issues such as nance.

Key types o coaching are:

One-on-one coaching (external or internal).

A coach is assigned to (or selected by) one nonprot

leader. Te coach can be an external provider o

coaching or a member o the organizations sta who

has been trained in coaching. Tis orm o coaching

can be oered on its own or as part o a larger initiative

ocused on organizational capacity and/or leadership

development.

Manager as coach. Nonprot managers can serve as

coaches to other sta members, providing training on

an ongoing basis as a means to develop sta members

skills and eectiveness.

Peer coaching. Peers rom one or more organizations

receive training in coaching and share support, eedback

and materials; they help each other address leadership

needs or organizational priorities.20 Tis type o

coaching can be useul in reducing isolation, providing

opportunities or leaders to talk through issues and

brainstorm solutions, and oering a condential orum

or learning rom peers.21

Targeted coaching (sometimes called content

coaching). A coach works with a nonprot leader to

help develop his or her capacity and skills to address

discrete, well-dened organizational issues that ocus onspecic topics or content areas, such as human resources

or board issues.22

Blended or hybrid approach (organizational

development consulting and coaching). Tis

technique combines coaching with other methods o

improving organizational eectiveness to address larger

organizational development goals and issues (as opposed

to discrete issues, as listed above).

Team coaching. A coach or group o coaches

works with a team o nonprot leaders rom the same

organization. Te goal o this approach is to help the

group work more eectively as a team over time while

developing the individual skills team members need to

achieve their shared goals.

For a complete list o types o coaching and

descriptions, go to the Online oolkit.


20 Marshall Goldsmith and Louis Carter, Best Practices in alent Management: How the World's Leading Corporations Manage, Develop, and Retain opalent(San Francisco: Peier, 2009).

21 UPS Foundation, CompassPoint Nonprot Services, and Harder and Company Community Research, Leadership Development Program or WomenExecutives in Underserved Communities Evaluation o Findings, June 2007, available rom www.compasspoint.org/content/index.php?pid=19#Women.

22 Cambria Consulting uses the term targeted coachingto describe coaching designed to help companies accelerate efcient and ocused behavior change toaddress specic, well-dened issues. See www.cambriaconsulting.com.


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HOW CAN COACHES ENSURE

A SUCCESSFUL MATCH WITH

COACHEES?

Like any other relationship, the success and endurance

o the coaching relationship relies on strong chemistry

between coach and coachee. Te Harvard Business

Reviews survey o 140 leading coaches spotlighted

good chemistry as absolutely key to the success o the

coaching experience.23 Where coaching ails, it is oten

because the coach and coachee ailed to click. Te CAP

Project thereore recommends that nonprots have a

choice o coaches and conduct interviews and sample

sessions beore making a decision about whom to hire.

Te most successul interviews are a combination o

education and establishing the coaching relationship.

For those who are new to coaching, this is an

opportunity to help them understand what it is, what

its not and to describe the value o coaching. It also

is an opportunity or them to experience coaching

rsthand so they can have a sense o the coachs

personality and coaching style.

An example o one approach to matching comes rom

LeaderSprings Executive Coaching Project, which

makes one-on-one coaching available to participants

in the organizations two-year ellowship program.

LeaderSpring has established a careul and thorough

matching process, providing both coachees and coaches

with a choice in identiying their partners. Te process

includes sample sessions between coaches and coachees,

ater which participants complete a eedback orm to

document their initial impressions, their willingness tobe matched with each other and any perceived barriers

to working together.24

HOW CAN COACHES WORK

WITH COACHEES TO CREATE A

SUCCESSFUL ENGAGEMENT?

Coaching requires the active engagement o the coach

and coachee in promoting sel-awareness, setting goals

or their relationship, developing a schedule and plan

or coaching, and revisiting goals and coaching methods

in the course o the engagement.

Promoting sel-awareness. Recognizing the

importance o sel-awareness or successul coaching,

many coaches start the process by oering a range

o opportunities or sel-assessment. Brett Penl,training and development associate with the Center

or the Health Proessions at the University o

Caliornia, San Francisco (UCSF), said participants

in the centers coaching programs complete one or

more psychometric assessment tools at the start o

each coaching engagement. UCSF and others also

use 360-degree eedback tools to gather input rom a

coachees colleagues about his or her perormance and

work behaviors.

Coachees acknowledge that sel-assessment can

be difcult or example, when a 360-degree

assessment oers insights into how others eel about

ones leadership, or when coaching orces the coachee

to conront deep-down ears and negative behaviors.

However, the rewards o heightened sel-awareness

are clear.

Tis gives (coachees) a better sense o strengths and

weaknesses, how they work best with others, and what

one to three things they can work on in the course o

the coaching relationship, Penl said.

Setting goals. Successul coaching starts with

connecting coaching to specic goals and outcomes

or individuals and organizations. Every coaching

experience should be a journey with a clear and

denable destination, and the coach is responsible or

23 Diane Coutu and Carol Kauman, What Can Coaches Do or You? Harvard Business Review, January 2009, p. 3.24 For more on the LeaderSpring program, see Regina Sheridan and Kim Ammann Howard, Enhancing Nonprot Leadership Trough Coaching:

LeaderSprings Executive Coaching Project, BWinorming change, October 2009, available at www.leaderspring.org or the Online oolkit. www.compasspoint.org/coaching


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managing the pathways, according to coaches Madeline

Homan and Linda Miller, authors oCoaching in

Organizations: Best Coaching Practices.25

When nonprot coachees report that a coachs strategies

or techniques posed a barrier to the success o coaching,

one o the top complaints is that the coaching was not

ounded on a concrete plan, goals or structure. Indeed,

William P. Ryans evaluation o the coaching component

o the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Funds Flexible

Leadership Awards program shows a connection between

the extent to which coach and coachee agree on clear goals

and the coachees satisaction with the experience. Te

EDs whose coaching centered on identiying and working

to change discrete attitudes and behaviors rather thandeveloping leadership broadly expressed the highest

satisaction with their coaching, Ryan reported.26

Successul coaching may also require buy-in rom others

in the organization with respect to the goals o coaching.

Tis is why coach Gail Ginder insists on including a board

member or another senior leader rom the organization

in the three-way kicko meeting she schedules at the

start o every coaching engagement. Te meeting is an

opportunity to convey to the coachees superiors and

colleagues that the coaching relationship will require

a commitment o time and energy on the part o the

coachee, and that the organizations support is essential to

the success o the engagement.

O course, the level o board and sta engagement may

vary depending on the situation oten, coaching itsel

provides nonprot leaders with strategies or engaging the

rest o the organization more eectively and or garnering

added support or these types o investments. However,

the authors believe that coaches and coachees should

be mindul rom the start o the need to educate board

and sta leaders about the coaching engagement and its

goals so that coaching isnt viewed as something to

be ashamed o or to keep under wraps but rather as an

important investment in both the individual leader and

the organization.

25 Madeleine Homan & Linda J. Miller, Coaching in Organizations: Best Coaching Practices(Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2008), p. 59.26 For a copy o Ryans report, go to the Online oolkit. www.compasspoint.org/coaching

How Much Coaching

and For How Long?

Coaches and coaching providers (e.g., management

support organizations) in the nonproft sector have

adopted various approaches to the scheduling and

ormat o sessions. Some prescribe a specifc number

o sessions according to a set schedule, whereas

others preer a more exible approach. For example:

3 The Blue Shield o Caliornia Foundations

Clinic Leadership Institute provides nine hours

o coaching to participants over a period o 18

months while coachees are participating in other

institute activities including training sessions

and peer advising groups. Coaching is provided

according to a set schedule o one-hour sessions,

with coaches checking in on a monthly or bi-

monthly basis. The frst one-hour session is a

ace-to-ace meeting, with subsequent sessions

happening by phone. The grantmaker recently

added six hours o coaching or alumni o the

Institute once the 18-month program ends.

3 The Fieldstone Foundation supports year-long

coaching engagements or participants in its

Coaching Network. The grantmaker expects

coaches and coachees to meet ace-to-ace at least

once a month, with telephone and email contacts

in between as needed. Fieldstone Foundation

President Janine Mason said the grantmaker also

encourages coaches and coachees to meet outside

o the coachees ofce so participants can ocus on

getting the most out o coaching.

3 CompassPoints coaching reerral service typically

connects nonproft leaders to coaches or a

minimum o 10 sessions over a 3 to 4 month

period. Regularity o the sessions is important,

according to CompassPoints guidelines, which also

speciy that clients can be coached in person and

over the phone.


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30 Te Harnisch Foundation has created a special Web page devoted to pro bono coaching on its Coaching Commons Web siteat www.coachingcommons.org/category/git-o-coaching/.

HOW SHOULD NONPROFITS PAY FOR

COACHING AND HOW MUCH?

Nonprots, grantmakers and other unders o coaching

vary widely in how they compensate coaches. Te

Aepoch Fund and other grantmakers oten ask coachesto discount their standard hourly rate or work with

nonprot grantees. However, the Blue Shield o

Caliornia Foundation compensates coaches in its

Clinic Leadership Institute at their regular rates. Te

grantmaker explains that it wants to pay ull reight

to ensure that coaches are ully engaged in the work.

One trend o note is an increase in pro bono coaching

by coaches who eel called to contribute their time to

nonprots.30

While pro bono coaching can certainly behelpul, the CAP Project has some reservations about

this growing practice.

Specically, when the coachee is contracting directly

with the coach, pro bono coaching can oten contribute

to the perception that coaching is less valuable or

important. Tis perception can result in canceled

coaching appointments and reduced commitment

on the part o coachees to the work required between

meetings. Additionally, many coaches oering pro bonoservice do so in order to meet their hour requirements

or coaching certication, which may pose a

quality issue.

HOW CAN COACHES SHOW THAT

COACHING IS DELIVERING RESULTS

FOR COACHEES AND THEIR

ORGANIZATIONS?

Because coaching centers on a condential relationshipbetween two individuals, tracking coaching results can

be a challenge. And yet nonprot leaders, coaches,

grantmakers and coachees themselves are oten eager

to show that their investments in coaching have

yielded positive outcomes at both the individual and

organizational levels.

For most nonprots, assessments o coaching can

be based on the goals agreed to at the outset o an

The Costs o Coaching

3 Fity-eight percent o coachees surveyed by the

CAP Project said that a grant or under had

paid or their coaching ees; 52 percent said their

organizations paid the ees (respondents could

choose multiple responses). Just 12 percent said

they had paid or the coaching themselves.

3 Respondents were paying a mean o $121 per hour

or coaching services; the range was $20 to $325

per hour.

3 Ninety-our percent said their coach charged or

the service, while 6 percent received pro bonocoaching.

3 Two-thirds (67 percent) o coaches participating

in the Leadership Coaching Learning Circles, a

pilot project to build community and share best

practices among coaches in several regions around

the country, oered reduced rates to nonproft

clients. The same percentage (67 percent) said they

package coaching sessions or nonproft clients

(e.g., three sessions or a set price).

3 Coaches participating in CompassPoint Nonproft

Services Coaching Reerral Service charge $100

per hour. According to CompassPoint, this is lower

than most coaches charge in the open marketplace.

The reason: Our coaches are committed to the

nonproft sector and are willing to reduce

their rates.

Source: BTW inorming change (2009). Coaching and Philanthropy

Project Nonproft Coaching Survey. Leadership that Works (2008).

The Coaching and Philanthropy Projects Coaching Learning Circles

Coach Survey.


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engagement by the coach and coachee. Assessments

can look at progress toward reaching coaching goals,

as well as how specic coaching strategies or activities

contribute to the successes or shortcomings o coaching.

Awardees o the Aepoch Funds coaching grants, or

example, agree to complete a simple evaluation orm

ater the rst three months o coaching and again at

the end o the award period. Te evaluation orms are

provided to coachees based on the understanding that

their results will not be shared with coaches. Te orms

ask coachees a range o questions about their experience

in the program and what they learned in the course o

working with their coaches.

Like the Aepoch Fund, most nonprots and others

who want to assess the results o coaching collect data

rom the individuals who are being coached. Tis kind

o assessment is considered helpul in eliciting good

inormation and eedback, but some express concern

that sel-reporting is not always the most reliable

indicator o impact.

o strengthen this type o assessment, some coaches

and coaching providers collect complementary (and

anonymous) inormation rom others who work with

coachees including organizational peers, supervisors

and direct reports.

Grantmakers, coaches and nonprot leaders note an

array o challenges related to assessing the impacts o

coaching. Protecting the condentiality o coachees

is one challenge. Another is the act that coaching

sometimes is oered as one orm o leadership or

organizational eectiveness support among others. In

these instances, it can be hard to isolate the unique

contribution o coaching.

Last but not least, linking coaching to specic

organizational impacts can be difcult because o the

time lag between personal and organizational changes.

Its important to have clear expectations about the

outcomes you want to see, said coach and independent

consultant Carol Gelatt. Te outcomes you will see

earlier are very much about the individual leaders and

their perception o themselves. It takes longer to see

organizational outcomes.

While the CAP Project ound widespread interest

in stronger assessments o the impact o nonprot

coaching, it is important to note that there are

proponents o coaching who disagree about the

easibility and importance o strictly quantiying its

results. For example, coaches Stratord Sherman andAlyssa Freas, in a 2004 article in the Harvard Business

Review, argue that the essentially human nature o

coaching is what makes it work and also what makes

it nearly impossible to quantiy.

Questions to Consider:

Assessing Coachings Impact3 What inormation is already being collected about

the organizations impact and how can the

impact o coaching be included?

3 What level o evidence o impact do people want

and need?

3 What do those involved in the coaching

relationship (e.g., coaches, coachees, grantmakers)want to learn so they can adjust the design and

implementation o coaching supports, as needed?

3 Is the coaching based on goals or a contract that

identifes desired outcomes and that can serve as

the basis or assessment?

3 What can the coach, grantmaker and others do to

ensure that data collection and reporting activities

respect the confdential nature o coaching?

3 Are all stakeholders clear and comortable with the

proposed methods and timing o data collection

and reporting?

3 I the coaching supports are part o a larger

intervention, how can reporting and evaluation

assess the impact o coaching? At the same time,

how can assessment o coaching be connected to

other data collection eorts?


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Conclusion

The CAP Project was created in part to help grantmakers and nonprot organizations

become more conscious consumers o coaching. But an equally important goal in

this work has been to help coaches working in the sector. We heard the same rerain

again and again rom the coaches we spoke with: In order to serve nonprots more

eectively, coaches need more inormation and resources about whats happening inthe eld, what works, and how to ensure that coaching delivers results or individual

leaders and their organizations.

We have tried to oer some answers to these questions in this guide, and we

encourage coaches to visit the CAP Projects Online Toolkit or additional resources

and inormation. The CAP Project also has published similar guides to coaching or

nonprots and or unders. These, too, can be an important resource or coaches as

they talk with clients and grantmakers about coaching.

The CAP Project was never intended as an eort to promote coaching as an

all-purpose solution to the challenges acing nonprots today. Rather, our goal hasbeen to provide good inormation and practical suggestions about something that

remains an emerging practice in the nonprot sector today many people still dont

know about coaching and the benets it can provide, and there is misunderstanding

in the eld about even the basic goals o coaching.

The authors hope that this guide, together with the CAP Projects other resources, will

help coaches build a broader awareness and understanding o coaching among clients

and the sector as a whole. Based on our research over the last several years, we are

convinced that coaching can be an important tool or strengthening the nonprot

sector, and we applaud the many coaches engaged in this important work.


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