By Invitation: Approaching Teams as a Coach Vs a Therapist, by Katerina Kanelidou, ACC, CPC, MA

I met Katarina at the ICF Balkan's conference and I was very interested to understand her background as a dramatherapist. I think it shows how our backgrounds can enrich us as coaches. In this article, Katarina makes some interesting observations on the differences between group therapy and coaching.

If you want to find out more about Katarina and her practice, you can visit the following web-site:

www.creative-empowerment.eu

Almost always when defining coaching we also read or hear what coaching is not, especially regarding mentoring, consulting, training and therapy. All professional coaches are aware of what differentiates coaching to therapy. The same applies to Team Coaching.

Here we examine how approaching the Team as a coach compares to approaching the Team as a therapist. Given that we have group therapy, group analysis, systemic approach, behavior therapy, etc, I have drawn on my experiences as a dramatherapist, so 'therapy' should be understood to refer to dramatherapy. Clients should be also understood as functioning people with no pathology.


Differences

The Client

In therapy, the client is the patient / participant. In Team coaching, we have the sponsor – organization paying for the services – as the client on the one hand and the coachees – team members – on the other. Based on this, further distinctions between therapy and coaching may be drawn:

•    In therapy, confidentiality is strictly between therapist and group members. In coaching, specific agreements govern confidentiality with both sponsor and coachees, and what information is shared and how.

•    The voluntary character of therapy is absent in team coaching.  Coachees are asked to participate by management and the coach must motivate and persuade them about the benefits of their participation.

•    In therapy, the client sets his/her own agenda. In coaching, there is the organization's agenda for the team and the coachees' agenda. A first task is to align both and achieve commitment to the common goals and vision.

Preparation

Team therapy is always preceded by a session exploring the client's history and determining whether team therapy is the best strategy. In coaching, depending on team characteristics and goals, prior interviews with team members may be optional, as well as assessments.


Expectations

In team therapy, each member has his/her own expectations (awareness, self-growth, etc). Individual expectations of team members may be similar but do not constitute a common goal for the team.

In coaching, expectations are set at the outset. Coachees may have their own expectations, which are explored to find areas common with the team's expectations, but the purpose of both team and coaching is results. It is an action – focused process and the team has a shared goal.

The therapeutic team has the purpose of each member, not a collective one. The coaching team has a very specific purpose (e.g. a project), the intention being to improve the teams’ effectiveness at work. This distinction impacts how we deal with conflicts, for example. In therapy, we examine the root of the conflict between the members. Coaching may explore not (only) why this conflict arose but how it can serve the goal and how it can be used constructively.

Focus

Therapy deals with painful unresolved issues; the focus is on the past. The client gains awareness and decides how to use it. The therapist usually deals with strong emotions and must also be in therapy him/herself.

Team coaching, as all coaching, focuses on present and future and is solution-oriented. The past can be explored only if needed and up to a certain extend. The coach must also be able to work with strong emotions. In my opinion, the coach's participation as a member in team coaching, therapy, etc. is beneficial in gaining experience in team dynamics and evolution.

Common features

A common feature, whether working in team therapy or coaching, is the space created i.e. a safe, respectful non-judgmental environment and strong relationships of trust allowing for growth and self-development. The difference is that in team coaching the aim is developing the team together with the members, empowering the team and its components.

Both therapy and coaching bring awareness of how team members’ cognitive and emotional reactions can interfere with personal effectiveness, performance and wellbeing. In team coaching, this awareness is focused on the effectiveness and performance of the team as well.

Coach and therapist share common...

• Skills, such as deep listening and using powerful questions that raise awareness

• Qualities, such as insight and empathy

• The ability to dance alongside with the clients

And, they act as models providing feedback that is well received and helps the growth of both team and members. Both practices embrace a collaborative partnership encouraging creativity and members’ unique solutions.

However, the presence of a therapist can be different to a coach’s both physically, given that a team coach often moves in the corporate world, and with regard to expression: therapists adopt a neutral, stiller presence, only showing approval and encouragement; coaches have a more energized presence and expressions of positive feelings are welcome.

My Dear Friends

I just wanted to let you all know how saddened I am about the terrible tragedy occurring over the weekend. Poland has suffered enough throughout its history, and for all of us who love Poland this catastrophe is almost too much to bear.

Being amongst those who gathered around the Presidential Palace, lighting candles and singing hymns, helped me to  experience the power and resilience of the Polish people. The quiet dignity and communal reflection of the people is really inspiring. The Polish people will bear this as they have borne so much in the past.

All those on the plane were in active public service. They were due to take part in a service  of remembrance, peace-building and reconciliation.  This meaning will not be lost and I do believe that in some mysterious, as yet unforeseen way, their work will be realized in future.

I wish all of you a time of peace and quiet in your soul.

Andrew Atter

ICF Balkan Conference: Bucharest Romania April 30 "The Working Alliance: Vodafone Romania, a client case study"

The Working Alliance: Vodafone Romania, a client case study

Romania is an exciting country in which to work. There is something very energetic and dynamic about the transition economies and this is perhaps truer for Romania than anywhere. Its young well educated  population, and its "Mediterranean" feel create ideal conditions for coaching to grow. 

It perhaps therefore no surprise that in Romania it was possible to partner with Vodafone to implement very best practices in executive coaching. Leaders from Vodafone Romania will join me on a panel at the ICF Balkan conference, on April 30 (The conference starts on 29 April) to discuss these assignments. 

The ICF Balkan conference will be a great place to show how "leading edge" coaching practices do not only occur in the developed west, but on the frontiers of Europe, where change and transformation are happening so rapidly.

Here's a precis of the planned discussion.

The coaching profession of the future will be very different from today. Already, there are major changes taking place. I would to help create a dialogue about how these changes are affecting the way we work, both as internal and external coaches.

One important shift is the way in which we, as external coaches, work with the client and the organizational sponsor.

My view is that we are at our most effective as coaches when we build a strong relationship with our client – the person being coached and also when we enrol the sponsor of the coaching as an active mentor-coach.

I believe this can be done without jeopardising the confidential and trusted basis for client – coach relationship. More than this, it limits the risk that a leader is “outsourcing” their developmental responsibilities to the coach. When working properly, the sponsoring leader and the external executive coach are working as a coaching team for the benefit of the client.

Too often, the sponsor of the coaching feels disempowered by the presence of the coach and their genuine intention to support and help in the development of the client is not properly leveraged. A leader may therefore act as a commercial sponsor for coaching, but still have no ownership for the broader organizational outcomes. This is a dangerous situation for both client and coach.

Internal and external coaching is therefore not a binary choice, but an opportunity for collaboration.
This tri-partite relationship, formed by client, coach and sponsor,  is what I call the Working Alliance.

Let’s be clear...the Working Alliance is there primarily for the benefit of the client. But I also think it is possible to generate secondary benefits for the organization, and this is why the sponsors role is so important.

For instance, if the client is working to improve their leadership style by coaching and empowering their teams more, the client will benefit from enhanced relationships and career progression; and, the organization will benefit by experiencing improved organizational climate.

The Working Alliance is therefore a framework that can help align the organizational needs with the publicly stated goals of the client. Throughout, it is probable that the client will also have private goals, which are shared only with their coach.

Here is a more detailed list of topics to be discussed at the conference:

• The ethics of and within the Working Alliance
  

• Contracting within the Alliance
  

• Agreeing and aligning Public and Private goals
  

• Putting the Alliance to work for the benefit of the Client
  

• Measuring the results of the Alliance from the client and sponsor perspective
  

I would like to share my experiences of forming Working Alliances in different cultures around the world.

This is the approach that underpinned the successful engagement with Vodafone Romania. We are fortunate to have present leaders from Vodafone Romania who have both been coached and acted as the sponsor for coaching.

We plan to create an informative and interactive session, with plenty of room for plenary dialogue and Q&A.

Turn left, Turn right- A conversation with Rsyzard Petru and Michael Dembinski about the Polish economy

Ryszard Petru (Above Left), Michael Dembinski (Above Centre)

Turn left, turn right: Poland goes a different way

As Adam Zamoyski's popular history The Polish Way makes clear, Poland through out its history has taken a different path to the rest of Europe. Historically,  a religiously tolerant Poland sat out the wars of religion in the 16th-17th centuries. The country was erased off the map at the end of the 18th century, just at a time when countries were finding their national identities. November 11, which elsewhere is a day of solemn remembrance for the ending of WWI, is celebrated as independence day in Poland. Whereas the rest of Europe looks back to the 1930s as a dark era of hyper-inflation followed by depression, Poles look back to this pre-war era as a golden age.

It should be no surprise therefore that today Poland is experiencing a very different crisis from the rest of Europe.

I managed to catch up with two well-known commentators on Poland to help understand the differences that still beguile Poles and foreigners alike.

I asked Chief Economist at BRE Bank, Ryszard Petru, and then Michal Dembinski of the British Polish Chamber of Commerce a number of questions about the Polish economy. Here's a summary of these conversations:

How do you explain the resilience of the Polish economy during the world wide slow down?   

Ryszard: Firstly, there were no asset bubbles in Poland. The banks have tended to be highly restrictive on loans both private and commercial. Next,  our reliance on exports is half that of Czech, Slovakia or Hungary, so Poland has been less affected by the reduction in demand in other countries. Also,  the consumption patterns in Poland are different to Western Europeans. For example, Poles spend on food around 30% of  their income while Germans 10%, so there is not too much consumption to be postponed.    In other words, Poles need to keep spending a higher proportion of their income in order to sustain their basic needs. The Polish economy has been less leveraged than average European country, with a total debt to GDP ratio of around 40%, while in EU 27 close to  125%.

Michal: The ruling Civic Platform came to power with the slogan ‘An economic miracle for Poland’. And that’s just what happened! A large number of unrelated factors all coincided – by luck more than judgment – to soften the blow of the global economic crisis. Ryszard outlines some of these. I’d add the weakening of the zloty in February 2009 (by 40% to the euro), making Polish exports more competitive and Poland more inviting for FDI, and a lack of glaring errors in macroeconomic policy. Also worth bearing in mind that as the automotive industry crumbled around the world, Poland continued churning out small, economic cars such as the Fiat 500 and Panda and the Ford Ka, which continued to sell well, especially with scrappage bonuses across western Europe.

What are the big economic risks that business leaders in Poland need to watch out for over the next 12-18 months?

Ryszard: The risks are mostly global. There is a risk that recovery in the US and Germany will be too slow, and that global imbalances in currency and trade, with China for example, cause instability.

Locally,  fiscal dynamics could be a problem. What I mean by that is if deficits do not decrease in the near future Poland could get into debt spiral, which should be avoided at all costs. But the likelyhood of such development in rather small.

Michal: The shocks will be exogenous. Polish is economically and politically stable, but the Greek debt crisis (which caused the zloty to drop by 6% in value against the dollar over three days) shows how vulnerable its economy is to events abroad. The crises that engulfed Hungary and Latvia in February 2009 hit the zloty even harder. Neither Greece, nor Hungary, nor Latvia are even neighbours of Poland.

Michal (cont): My view is that Poland’s budget deficit is over 50% and heading towards 55% at which stage the constitutional alarm bells will ring. And the EU27 GDP-to-Debt ratio quoted by Ryszard, I agree, although this figure includes Greece (150%) and the other PIIGS (Portugal Italy, Ireland, and Spain), but also the more fiscally prudent countries of the north. UK’s is 70%. I reckon the EU 27 average would be nearer to 100% as a proper point of comparison. .

One economist commented to me that he regarded  anything below a +3% GDP growth as a technical recession in a developing  economy such as Poland. What’s your view of that?  

Ryszard: He is  right. Due to the catch-up effects, Polish potential growth rate is around 5%.  Historically growth below 3% was not leading to increase of  employment.

Michal: If you look at what happened between Q3 2001, when growth bottomed out at 0.3%, and Q1 2004, when it hit a pre-accession peak of 6.9% – during that time, unemployment continued to rise. Lack of flexibility in the labour market means that unemployment – normally a lagging indicator – in Poland is even more so. Things have improved since 2001-04. Prof. Witold Orlowski says that Poland ‘only’ needs to grow at 3%-4% for there to be net jobs growth – no longer the 5%+ required in first half of the previous decade. The US, by comparison, needs to grow by a mere 0.5% for job creation to become visible.

Should Poland stop comparing itself to mature markets  in the rest of Europe as opposed to more relevant (and stretching) benchmarks, such as the BRIC countries?  

Ryszard: If you look at the structure of Polish economy,  there are more similarities with the rest of Europe than with BRIC countries; for example, in their access to oil and natural resources, and the overall size of the country.

Michal: I don’t think Poland is striving to plump itself into the Rich Old Europe club; it complains – rightly – that it gets unfairly compared with countries like Ukraine, Latvia or Hungary, which have economic problems of a different order of magnitude.

Any  other comments that you think would be helpful.  

Ryszard: What I like to say about Poland that is still has a huge potential for  growth. The lack of basic infrastructure, especially motorways, a high rural population are just two factors that show how underdeveloped we are on the one hand,  but on the other show how much we can gain by changing it. Poland is like a small China in this  respect

Michal: Of interest to Poland-watchers will be the political debate in the run-up to the 2013-2020 EU budget perspective. Poland believes it deserves another round of EU funds similar in size to the 2007-2013 one. “If Spain received such sustained help with convergence, then so should we”, runs the Polish argument. Whether the net beneficiaries to the EU budget will be able or willing to stump up is another matter. 

Perceptions of Poland are changing. The Economist ran a very favourable article on Poland on 28 January. They comment: "It was the only country in the European Union to register economic growth last year, at 1.2%. As Jacek Rostowski, Poland’s finance minister, likes to point out, GDP per head rose from 50% to 56% of the EU average in 2009—a record jump".

Moreover, investors are beginning (belatedly) to differentiate Poland from the rest of the CEE, which has experienced a real and far deeper crisis. The Financial Times is reporting that Poland cost of debt was less than that of Greece or Spain, and modest and stable by international standards. Poland has been able to re-finance its debt successfully.

My own view is that Poland has a achieved economic stability, and this has to be a good thing. But, this has been won at the expense of any long term vision about how the country will achieve sustainable wealth creation. The philosophy of "tight money" institutionalized by former National Bank of Poland President, Leszek Balcerowicz has squeezed out not just inflation and asset bubbles, but also entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. And I think a better balance has to be found.

Banks lend only to sure-fire cash cow or asset rich businesses. This policy is good for big business and small traders, but sucks the life force out of SMEs, which is the principle source of growth in value and employment in mature economies. The entrepreneurs who do succeed in Poland tend to be a rare, hardy breed indeed.

Poland's lack of strategic investment in education will constrain the long term potential of the country.  There is no Polish University in the top 100 in Europe, although the private business school, Kaminski Institute, did register in the FT MBA rankings (at 42). And, Polish businesses have traditionally under-invested in training and development, preferring instead to use free cash to fund the business.

All this means that while the economy may win praise from economists for its stability and financial prudence, it is failing to generate enough wealth for its population, or enough jobs for its young people. Unemployment has risen to 12.8% (in January 2010), whereas, by comparison, unemployment in the UK is 7.9%. Hidden from view is also chronic under-employment, with too many trapped in low value, unskilled bureaucratic jobs.

So, while agreeing with Ryszard and Michal that Poland needs to be looked at uniquely on its own merits I am concerned about the lack of vision and pace of reform. As a coach, I am very interested in how people compare themselves to others and the impact this has on their attitudes and behaviors. Donald Tusk was quoted in the Financial Times (Jan 28) as follows: "Who would have thought we would see the day when the Polish economy is talked about with greater respect than the German economy." To me, this indictaes a mindset of stunning complacency and perhaps a good leading indicator of a poor execution on much needed social and economic reform.

High migration is the social consequence of this, leading on the one hand to a haemorrhage of talent and on the other, a lucky escape for politicians, who would otherwise have to come up with solutions with unacceptably high youth unemployment.

Probably, this situation has only been sustainable due to the complete collapse of the left in Polish politics, due to its associations with ex-communists, SB-spooks and corruption. But this will not last for ever. The neo-conservative PO will soon have real contention on its hands if it does not develop jobs and viable, attractive futures for young people.

A recent trip to Lublin in the South East of Poland brought home to me how different their experience was to the lives of business and professional elites growing comfortable in suburban districts of Warsaw, Poznan and Lodz. Poland has one of the highest earnings differentials (the earnings gap between rich and poor) in the developed world. [Michal points out: Worth noting that in 1989, Poland, along with Japan, had the world’s smallest disparity between the poorest and richest quintile of society!]

The title of this article comes from a delightful Hong Kong/Taiwan movie of the same name. It is based on a Szymborska poem about two lovers, destined for each other, who nearly meet...but not quite. I won't spoil the ending for you. This is a wonderful allegory on Poland's relationship with Europe. For Poland to "find Europe" it needs more than just economic stability.  It needs a vision for the future which meets the rapidly changing needs of a much wider cross-section of its population.

Book Review: Coaching With Colleagues, Erik de Haan and Yvonne Burger

This is a really comprehensive and detailed analysis of the different approaches to coaching. It really "brings it all together". But more than this, the book sets out an agenda for a more integrative approach to coaching. Rather than promoting a narrowly defined proprietary method, it invites the reader to explore and combine different approaches.

It is particularly useful in grounding many of the coaching schools in the context of the various developments in psycho-therapy and counseling psychology. 

Book Review: Susan Greenfield, I.D. The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century

Professor Greenfield is one of the world's leading neuro-scientists. She is Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford. I had the great pleasure to meet her after a seminar at the leaders in London Conference in November, 2007. I was struck then by how she could relate complete scientific insights with a deep concern for humanity. This book takes this winning combination to a new level.

It is wonderfully informative about developments in modern brain science. But it provides a lot more. The book is really about what makes us human. Her thesis is that our brains are highly dynamic entities that constantly interact with, and are changed by our environment. She describes neural plasticity, and the  capacity of the mind to change and develop.

She writes: "The dynamics of the environment and the neuronal malleability give rise to an ever evolving identity, one that is unique and individual, yet an individuality that is constantly transforming".

No longer can we assume that our brains are "hard wired". Our minds are not fixed at birth. Our brain, mind and personality are part of a dynamic system that change throughout our lives. The implications for leadership and coaching are profound.  Minds can be nurtured and developed. The environment can foster minds that become more creative and intelligent. Through conversation, learning and experience we can continually develop ourselves.

At the same time, Professor Greenfield points out our identity is at risk. Technology advances present a series of ethical dilemmas as well as providing many obvious benefits. But more than this, she argues that our very connectedness and immersion in "wrap-around" web technologies can threaten our sense of who we really as people.

This book does more than just describe the threats. It inspires us to protect our humanity at all costs.

The Core Concepts of Coaching #I: Humanism

Modern day coaching has grown by integrating a variety of different psychological and developmental disciplines. Frankly, it still looks more like a smorgasbord than a pasta dish - and perhaps that's it's strength. Leaders and coaches can develop their own style, mixing and matching from a wide school of different methodologies and techniques depending on their clients and their needs.

In this series of articles, I thought it would be useful to summarize the various approaches to coaching. None of these channels provide complete answers in themselves. And, in my view, coaches need to be trained and competent in three of four distinct styles to support any single client, let alone build a practice.

In this article, I describe the humanist approach deriving most directly out of the work of Carl Rogers. I have plotted this on an analytical chart, showing how we would associate humanistic coaching with a person-centered approach with a "following" coaching style. Later, I will cover other approaches, such as psycho-dynamic, gestalt, cognitive-behavioral and process coaching.

Humanism originates in the Aristolean view of man striving for eudaimonia, or fulfillment.

In modern times, humanism has been grounded in the work of motivation theorist Abraham Maslow, who defined man's innate drive to achieve self actualization. Man has all he needs to achieve highest state of being, if he can satisfy lower order motivations. 

The coach therefore, needs to be present, but not in the way. To a great extent, maslowian-humanism underlies all modern approaches to coaching.

Therapist Carl Rogers popularized a form on non-interventionist therapy, providing maximum space for the client to work through issues themselves and come to a self diagnosis. It is the empathetic and non-judgmental presence of the therapist that can provide the catalyst for the individual to reach breakthrough insights. This is achieved by maintaining a stance of detached empathy. 

The key competency is listening

 Approaches to therapy derived from Carl Rogers is conceptually very close to many coaching schools.

Humanistic coaching is highly appropriate for supporting clients to who seek to develop their full potential. Visioning, defining values and developing personal growth strategies naturally flow from this style of coaching. 

In my view, humanistic coaching is less effective if the client has low self awareness, goal conflict, or is wrestling with unproductive patterns of behavior.  Here, other styles need to be used.

It requires incredible self discipline and control on behalf of the coach.  With such non-intervention, eye contact and a relaxed empathetic body posture become vital to ensuring the client feels the continuing engagement of the coach.

GROW, Co-Active coaching and CoachU models are probably the most aligned with this school of thought. 

However, the sheer open-endedness of Rogers approach to therapy presents a problem in the real,  fee-paying business world.  Coaching schools have therefore introduced an element of process, through which the coach can gently but firmly guide the client towards goal-fulfillment.

In this way, coaching has sought to balance the needs of the client in terms of self expression and outcomes.

One of the best books that describes the various approaches to coaching is Coaching With Colleagues, by Eric de Haan and Yvonne Burger.