BY SALLIE BOTTORFF, originally published in the June 2010 issue of Greater Pee Dee Business Journal

Compared to its more straightforward HR cousins like compensation packages and legal compliance, executive coaching seems to attract the most skepticism, myths and misconceptions. Despite the fact that a Zenger & Stinnet study shows more than 70 percent of organizations with formal leadership development initiatives employ coaching as an important part of that mix and 86 percent use coaching to sharpen skills of potential leaders, many managers still dismiss it as a touchy-feely extra or a passing fad.

Myth No.1: Executive coaching is for washouts, not winners.
Reality: Just like in athletics, it is the mark of a true professional to invest in a coach who knows how to help you become your best. Over the past 20 years, executive coaching has become increasingly popular as a development tool for individuals, entrepreneurs and associates at all levels in small, mid-size and large corporations. Thanks to that growing visibility and its valuable role in identifying future leaders, coaching has become an increasingly accepted means of career advancement.

By nurturing personal development, companies are bearing the fruits of their labor by identifying, training, developing and promoting talented individuals to fill key roles within the organization.

"We see many companies put more effort and attention into the planning process than they do into the development process," says leading executive coach and author Marshall Goldsmith, explaining why executive coaching's focus on internal staff development can be crucial for succession planning. " Succession planning processes have lots of to-do's - forms, charts, meetings, due dates and checklists. They sometimes create a false sense that the planning process is an end in itself rather than a precursor to real development."

Coaching also builds better leaders by challenging executives to go beyond their normal way of thinking and encouraging balance and control as they work through tough situations. As more and more organizations expect their leaders to creatively navigate out of a recession, coaching lays the foundation to develop the most effective management techniques, communication, problem solving and people skills. Far from providing remedial help, today's executive coaching helps managers become total-package leaders.

Myth No. 2: Executive coaching does not affect the bottom line.
Reality: Coaching results in an average return of 5.7 times the initial investment, according to a seminal study for The Manchester Review. That same study, which examined the impact of coaching with 100 executives in 56 companies, also found that coaching improved productivity by 53 percent, quality by 48 percent, work relationships with direct reports by 77 percent, and overall job satisfaction by 61 percent.

What's more, a coach uses careful listening skills to identity the leader's business challenges, find out what is standing in the way of accomplishing those goals and delineate what is required to produce those results. As simple as that sounds, it is often a careful dance requiring a tangency, linking the leader and leadership style to his or her team's behavior in achieving bottom line results.

Myth No. 3: Executive coaching is a psychobabble fad.
Reality: If you've never participated in executive coaching, you might envision incense, beaded curtains and candles. In reality, executive coaching generally occurs in real time, during work hours in a business environment. Executive coaching systematically confronts workplace and holistic quality of life issues, addressing business concerns while encompassing the best aspects of mentoring and lifestyle coaching. Unlike those other disciplines, however, executive coaching uses a more businesslike approach to set strategic work-related goals, identify obstacles, and give clients the tools, knowledge and accountability for self·development and business results.

Myth No. 4: Executive coaching only helps the person receiving the coaching.
Reality: Research by Zenger & Stinnett reveals that effective coaching more than doubles the likelihood that employees will experience job satisfaction and will be less likely to consider leaving an organization. This correlates well with the following outcomes: greater willingness to 'go the extra mile'; feeling the company is a good place to work; satisfaction with decisions impacting their work; feelings about being valued; and perception that their supervisor is doing a good job. Because coaching can provide feedback and guidance in real time, it can also help leaders to develop in the context of their current jobs, which immediately impacts staff throughout the organization.

Possibilities abound for organizations that make the commitment to invest not only in a coaching process for key leaders, but also in an overall organizational coaching culture. Such a culture is a key element in supporting, challenging, stimulating, encouraging and helping employees to take responsibility and accountability for their own performance and development.

Myth No. 5: Executive coaching is prohibitively expensive.
Reality: As with all professional services, fees correlate with the coach's level of experience, length of the coaching commitment and the professional being engaged. However, a small amount of guidance during a time of opportunity can also make a measurable difference in the long-term success of an organization. That's why management or executives may seek coaching when they recognize a need for change in behavior, either for themselves or their team members; when they are tackling new assignments; attacking old problems; or embarking on a new initiative. Coaching is often provided in packages that encompass a set number of sessions, a certain level of hourly support and a means of extending the relationship if appropriate progress is made.

Myth No. 6: An executive coach will boss me around.
Reality: The coach's personality and behavior do have a significant bearing on the success or failure of a coaching relationship. However, a successful coaching arrangement is collaborative rather than contentious, helpful rather than professorial, and autonomous rather than authoritative. The job of the coach is to enable the client to make connections between the things he or she already knows, come to a new understanding, reflect on it, absorb it and successfully use it on the job.

Myth No. 7: Executive coaching will eliminate all my work problems.
Reality: It is generally accepted that coaching is ultimately about constructive change. However, just talking about issues, problems and opportunities or having a discussion about goals and strategies is pointless without action. If a client wants to change, it takes hard work, and dedication. Fortunately, coaching can help companies develop leaders while managing costs and ensuring return on investment with targeted objectives that align leaders with the corporate culture and strategy.

When it comes to executive coaching, return on investment comes in the form of higher productivity, more confident leaders who can communicate a vision and a corporate culture that exudes cohesion. More and more individuals and corporations are embracing executive coaching and producing positive results (some statistically well-documented, some anecdotally reported). They are debunking myths and moving this HR powerhouse from the periphery to the heart of modern talent management.

According to the Administration, businesses engaged in trade usually grow faster, hire more, and on average pay better wages than those that do not. "In recent years, exports of manufactured goods have become an important source of employment supporting almost one in five of all manufacturing jobs," the analysis stated.

It cites a U.S. Commerce Department estimate that over 10 million jobs were supported by exports in 2008, and the administration believes this is proof positive that exports will bring broader benefits for the economic recovery. The report also holds that trade is the lifeblood of many American farms and ranches. Compared to the general economy, U.S. agriculture is twice as reliant on overseas markets. Agricultural exports of wheat, rice, corn, fruits, vegetables and animal products are responsible for 800,000 jobs, it said.

To improve prosperity, "we must match other countries in seeking new international markets aggressively," the administration said, adding that 95 percent of the world's customers and almost 80 percent of its economic production are already outside U.S. borders.

The analysis goes on to reiterate that the United States wishes to partner "with the developing countries of the world," and vows, in the process, "to make trade policy more reflective of American values - including the fundamental rights of workers - and to political transparency in trade policy."

"If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores," the President said during his State of the Union address in January.

Carol J. Guthrie, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Public and Media Affairs, described the overall theme of the trade policy as one of more "funding, focus and coordination."

"For the first time in government, trade will receive the focused attention of the president and the cabinet," she said.

"It's taken a long time," said Pat Mears, director of international Commercial Affairs for the National Association of Manufacturers.

Mears said that while the U.S. is still the most productive manufacturing nation in the world, it is dead last among what she described as "the 16 major export nations" in terms of the percentage of production sold to foreign markets.

"Clearly, as the president said, we have to get on our game, but I think to do that we're really going to have to change the culture," Mears said. "While many companies have been aggressive in finding markets abroad, I think there's still this feeling that we're a large, continental economy, and as a result the best place to seek opportunities is within our own borders.

"By contrast, look at Europe, where because of relative size of their home countries, businesses seem to have exports and exporting in their DNA," she continued. "To compete successfully with such an ingrained philosophy, we need the administration to provide the leadership and continue driving the export message home."

Jonathan Huneke, vice president of public affairs for the U.S. Council for International Business, which represents large multinationals, the kinds of global companies that populate the Fortune 500, said his membership was generally pleased by the Obama plan.

"The companies we serve do importing, exporting and have extensive investments overseas, and speaking generally, I think they see this as something that's good for the economy," he said.

Sallie Bottorff is a certified Executive Coach through Duke University (sbottorff@humanresourcedynamics.com) and a partner of the Columbia office of Human Resource Dynamics, which provides talent management, career transitions and HR partnering services throughout South Carolina. (803) 748-1120.

To see the original published article in The Greater Pee Dee Business Journal , click here.

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