What Is Stakeholder Centered Coaching?
There are many ways to provide coaching to an organization.
I believe the most effective, efficient and even fun methodology is the stakeholder centered approach I learned from Marshall Goldsmith, Frank Wagner and Chris Coffey.
In 2004 I received my coaching certification in Marshall's methodology, FeedForward, or Stakeholder Centered Coaching.
Why Is It Important?
Coaching an individual can be very helpful to the individual, and hopefully as well to the team.
But how do you know?
Stakeholder Centered Coaching gives the CEO a broader understanding of their team,
and helps team members identify key snags within the team,
specifically as it applies to the person being coached.
Everyone weighs in, and their insights are considered as the coaching plan is developed.
How It Works
First, the coach meets with the person being coached, and creates a list of key stakeholders.
Their manager has a look, makes adjustments, and gives final approval.
The coach then meets individually with each stakeholder and asks a few questions:
1) What does this person do well,
2) What could they improve, and
3) If you were their coach, what would you tell them?
The coach takes careful notes, writing stakeholder comments verbatim,
and explores to get specific behaviors actually observed by the stakeholders.
How can the person being coached make improvements if they aren't aware of the specific behaviors that aren't working for their team mates?
How can the stakeholders convey their frustrations unless it's translated from vague comments into specific observations?
How can the coach know if the person being coached is making progress unless the conversation
has a specfic behavioral focus that can be measured at the beginning, and during the coaching process?
The coach then sorts the verbatim comments by behaviors, listing them anonymously,
and creates a plain document that she shares with the person being coached.
Together they discuss the contents of the document,
and the person being coached chooses the one behavior
they think will give them the most benefit in the eyes of their stakeholders,
that they feel they can commit to for a year of behavioral change.
Two more are acknowledged as next of importance for future reference.
With that decision in hand, the coach and person being coached meet with the manager for final approval of the coaching plan.
Next the coach and person being coached meet with the key stakeholders, either individually or as a group,
to announce the coaching plan, consisting of which behavior(s) will be focused on
(with appreciation for the awareness created by all stakeholder comments, and the reality that the most progress is made by focusing on one at a time).
The person being coached then meets monthly for a quick 'feedforward' Q&A with each stakeholder.
The questions are regarding the key behavior:
1) What am I doing well, and
2) How could I improve?
The person being coached takes careful notes, writing verbatim each stakeholder's comments.
The only allowed response is, "Thank you". No rebuttals, no explanations, no analysis ... just thank you.
And once a month the person being coached meets with their coach, Marilyn,
to review stakeholder comments, and reflect on specific ways the person can improve,
including their own sense of self and integrity within their environment.
Who is Marshall Goldsmith?
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized as one of the Top Ten Business Thinkers in the World
and the top-rated executive coach at the Thinkers50 ceremony in London since 2011.
Published in 2015, his book Triggers is a Wall Street Journal and New York Times #1 Bestseller!
He’s also the author of New York Times best seller and #1 Wall Street Journal Business Book
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, winner of the Harold Longman Award as Best Business Book of the Year.
Who is Marilyn McLeod?
Marilyn spent 15 years working behind the scenes with Marshall on a variety of projects.
She became certified in Marshall's coaching methodology in 2004, working with Frank Wagner, Chris Coffey and Marshall Goldsmith.
What Marshall Says About Marilyn
"I am moved to provide the highest recommendation for Marilyn.
Marilyn recently managed a coaching engagement with four very senior executives in a 'Fortune 500' client of mine.
She did a wonderful job of managing the work of coaches involved - and coordinating the project.
The end result was positive, long-term change in behavior for the client executives - and a very positive experience for the coaches!
Along with her great technical job in developing my site, Marilyn has been a pleasure to work with.
She has shown the highest integrity and has handled a couple of tough situations in a very professional way."
- Marshall Goldsmith
Learn More
To learn more about Marilyn and how to engage her as a Stakeholder Centered Coach, connect with her on LinkedIn and send her a DM.
Alternatively, go here for a list of Marilyn's coaching services and pricing.
