Alison Rose, Doctor of Coaching and Mentoring, January 2016

Coachee and coach experiences of talent development coaching

The context – talent management in the 21st Century

Why this research The missing voice Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis - methodology and method

Key findings Implications for theory and practice

Session overview

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51% of HR professionals describe themselves as undertaking talent management activities

35% of large organisations have a lead talent role

The talent management software market grew at around 24% in 2014

….talent management is mainstream HR activity

15 years on from the “War for Talent”, talent management

is still hot…

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There are significant problems of definition and scope…

“it appears that talent can mean whatever a business leader or writer wants it to mean, since everyone has his or her own idea of what the construct does and does not encompass” (Gallardo-Gallardo et al, 2013)

According to Deloitte, Only 10% of companies feel that they have excellent talent programmes Only 30% of CEOs are confident that they can access the talent they need in the next three years

Between 5% and 20% of people designated as talent delist each year

But even in its own terms, it’s problematic

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There are many prescriptions

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Typically, talent management is an annualised process, usually led by HR, in which there is:

Coaching is a common feature of talent development programmes – coaching in this context is one of the top three reasons why coaches are engaged by organisations

But many common features

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Why this research?

Talent Director Executive CoachAlison Rose Consulting Ltd

The missing voice

Talent management literature is: Almost exclusively focused on the organisational perspective – and assumes that

organisational and individual goals are largely the same Highly normative and prescriptive Largely conceptual and theoretical rather than empirical Hugely discrepant in terms of the volumes of practitioner versus academic material

Executive coaching literature: Lacks theoretical and definitional boundaries Employs a variety of lenses, loosely sortable into subjective, objective and relational Generates a wide variety of propositions on the nature and purpose of coaching

The individual perspective – experience voiced in the first person – is almost entirely lacking from the literature

Question What are the experiences of participants and coaches of coaching as

part of high potential development programmes? Paradigm

Interpretivist ontology and social constructionist epistemology Methodology

Qualitative Research Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Rooted in phenomenology, hermeneutics and idiography Suited to exploration, not theory development Explicitly interpretative – not just descriptive

Research Question and Methodology

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Semi-structured interviews, recorded and later transcribed

Six interviews with people designated as “high potential” and six with coaches who work with them (not matched pairs) Mid-senior level managers in large private sector organisations Three women and three men, aged

between 40 and 65 Experienced coaches, self-identifying as having worked with high potentials Three women and three men, aged

between 40 and 65

Data Collection and Sample

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Over 12 hours of interview data transcribed and codedInitial noting, case by caseIdentification of themesIdentification of super-ordinate themes at a sample levelIdentification of themes at a

cross-sample level

Data analysis

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The individual voices of participants in high potential coaching are highly diverse. Each actor in the process has a unique and dynamic view on the issues and responds from that unique perspective.

Main findings

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Being considered to be a high potential is not always experienced as an unmitigated goodIt can involve risks of many kinds as well as opportunitiesAmbition can have negative connotations in relation to personal values and sense of selfIt involves careful balancing of life choices and possible sacrifices for self and family

Being a high potential

“if I make this one decision wrong I’ll be sacked or lose my job or be selling the Big Issue”

"It’s not about the ambition, it’s not about the grade, it‘s not

about the money”

“I am either going to go away and do the same thing for less money…or going to earn more

money but they are going to want a lot more blood”

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Conceptual and theoretical challenges around talent management are reflected at the practice level

Issues of who is talent, what it means and what happens as a result are typically experienced as highly unclear and sometimes unfair or unreasonable

That can cause personal hurt and confusion, and ultimately lead to cynicism and gaming

People designated as “high potential” vary across a spectrum of passivity to self-directedness in relation to their organisations

Experiencing being talent managed

“You have to play the game, and whether anybody likes it or

not, it is a game”

”It really knocked me. It knocked me personally”

“If they’re so marvellous, why aren’t I so marvellous too?”

“I don’t know [if I’m talent]. My boss hasn’t really shared that

with me”

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Coaches don’t appear to see high potential coaching as a distinctive area of practice. Practice appears to flex to accommodate field conditions rather than to differ according to contextBut they do see some talent development programmes as militating against good workTalent development programmes can confront the coach’s desire for freedom in practiceTime pressures can be distracting and unhelpfulThey are often invited to collude – and find this uncomfortable

Coaches on talent management

“I’m going to be quizzed, he’s going to be quizzed, “where’s

the action plan?””

“It’s not so much the classification but it’s the field

conditions”

“[The HR Director] was constantly saying ‘What do you

think? What do you think?

“[Developmental changes] don’t necessarily happen

quickly or at the pace that the structure of the programme

might insist upon”

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Coaches see the impact of talent management programmes on participants at first hand, and worry about it Though ultimately, the coach is on the coachee’s “side”

But they are pragmatic about the politics of talent management

Coaches on talent management

“Wherever the person ends up going is where I end up going

with them”

“There’s not quite enough thought given to that human element of what if we expose these things about people to

themselves”

“I feel the organisation’s failing them a bit here. I would prefer people to be more honest, but I’m also pragmatic, and I can

see why they do that”

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High potentials value coaching, though not always for the reasons you might expect

Coaching can be a low risk factor in reputation management for some

For others, insight generation through feedback is helpful

The coach is seen as having superior relationship skills to foster a positive relationship

Credibility and affinity seem key 

High potentials on coaching

“It’s not challenging in a demanding type way”

“One of the things that surprised me about my coach was how much feedback she

gave me”

“He’s been successful in his own right doing his first

career, so that made him credible”

“Clearly he’s a professional coach, so I’d expect him to

strike up a good relationship with me”

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Although coaches often see coaching as having the potential for the client’s growth across their whole lives, coachees don’t always see it that way…. 

High potentials on coaching

Participant: So you’re asking how the coaching has changed my thinking, my feeling or my behaviour?Me: Yes.Participant: My feelings about how I feel about myself?Me: Yes.Participant: OK.Me: Not just how you feel about yourself but your emotional responses to things.Participant: I don’t think that’s changed much because the coaching really wasn’t addressing that.

But for some, the experience can catalyse transformation in every area of their lives

High potentials on coaching

“I feel I blossomed, I’ve metaphorically I've grown as a person. I was standing taller,

and people could see it.”

“Did I want to be someone else’s no.2 because I’m really good at it, or should I put my head over the parapet and move on. And I’ve

decided to do that.”

“And so the great thing for me has been realising, God what

can I do, if I have this ‘you can do it’ attitude?”

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Coaches experience coaching as highly pleasurable - it draws the best out of them

Their sense of self and their sense of self-as-coach are indivisible. The coach is coaching.

Their coach’s idea of coaching can extend even to a spiritual calling

Coaches on coaching

“It’s one continuous stream”

“So I think a coach is as much a technician of the human soul

as anything else”

“It sends me back lots of nice signals to me that make me feel good about myself and

that’s great”

Iit really is my thing and, you know, I’m often in flow”

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This research contributes the missing first person perspective to both talent management and executive coaching theory. It illuminates debates about:

“The dark side of contemporary careers” (Baruch & Vardi, 2015)

The nature and purpose of coaching and the condition of being a coachThe nature and purpose of talent management and its impact on those involved

Potential further areas of researchInsight from organisational stakeholders in talent management Different organisational settingsDifferent career stagesLongitudinal studies to explore how views change over time

Contribution to theory

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In talent management More inclusive and dialogic practices are worth exploring Better appreciation of risk A case for more involvement of coaches in the design of talent coaching programmes

In coach training and supervision Understanding of differing coach/coachee perspectives on coaching

Approaches to managing pressures to collude Appreciation of the implications of identifying so closely with practice

Implications for practice

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Bibliography

Baruch Y and Vardi Y (2015) A Fresh Look at the Dark Side of Contemporary Careers: Toward a Realistic Discourse. British Journal of Management, 1–18.Bersin J (2015) Predictions for 2015CIPD (2006) Talent Management: Understanding the DimensionsCIPD (2010) The talent perspective: what does it feel like to be talent managed?Coutu D and Kauffman C (2009) What Can Coaches Do for You? [Online] Available at: http://hbr.org/2009/01/what-can-coaches-do-for-you/ar/1 (accessed 12/09/13).Dongrie V, Haims J, Lamoureux K, Tauber T, van Loon R and Wang A (2015) Global Human Capital Trends 2015.Gallardo-Gallardo E, Dries N and González-Cruz TF (2013) What is the meaning of ‘talent’ in the world of work? Human Resource Management Review. 23 (4), 290–300.PWC (2012) Delivering better business results through talentReady AD, Conger JA and Hill AL (2009) Are You a High Potential? Harvard Business Review.

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Contact details

Please get in touch with any questions or feedback

Alison Rose

Alison Rose Consulting Ltdalisonroseconsulting@gmail.com

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