Q: What is coaching?
A: Coaching provides the tools and feedback people need to perform at their peak. Coaching is the process of unleashing people’s potential to reach meaningful, important objectives. It can also provide much-needed structure and stability to enable people to perform at their best. It can also provide a new perspective on issues, clarify obstacles and redefine dreams.

Our coaches identify and leverage our clients’ strengths and assist in the identification of new behaviors and skills to acquire, replace or change to improve performance.

Q: How long does coaching take?
A: Typically, coaching meetings are twice to four times per month for 45-60 minutes. The meetings are conducted on the phone or in person. Coaching services are purchased in blocks of time, usually three-to-six months.

Q: How does coaching build effective and cohesive teams?
A: We can facilitate the breaking down of barriers by learning about the strengths, weaknesses and work styles of co-workers, which allows for everyone to work together more productively. Sometimes the manger of the team will also be coached in conjunction with the team for even greater breakthroughs.

Q: How can coaching improve training?
A: Training augmented by coaching yields productivity increases four times the level of training alone. It personalizes the new skill information by transferring it to the workplace. Higher return on investment is proven with coaching.

Q: How does the coach know what skills or techniques to address?
A: The client drives the priorities after base line assessments have pinpointed focus areas. Many times a burning issue will come up during a meeting and will be discussed at that time. The coach will tie such issues back to the original critical success factors and outcome the client is seeking.

Q: What role can coaching play in mergers and acquisitions?
A: Coaching can reveal which people should be on the team going forward and which leaders have the appropriate skills to ensure success. Coaching also supports newly assigned leaders and teams in making critical decisions during times of stress. For individuals taking on assignments in unfamiliar areas, coaches can help facilitate a smooth transition and help clients adapt their best practices and strengths with a positive attitude in the new role.

Q: How can coaching accelerate effective leadership?
A: It provides one-on-one personal development in a safe environment. New skills and behaviors are ingrained with 80 percent greater effectiveness than just attending a leadership training class. Discussing key leadership strengths that clients already have gives them strategies for putting skills into practice in a highly accountable environment. Our services can be customized with shadow coaching in staff meetings, conferences and executive presence consulting.

Q: How can coaching benefit corporations?
A: Coaching can increase retention, confidence and accelerate development, thus delivering return on investment. It can also help grow leaders, improve style, efficacy and save training dollars.

Change initiatives can be supported through coaching. By getting people to think for themselves as they come up with their own answers, they are energized and excited about implementation. It can enhance morale, motivation and productivity and reduce turnover as individuals feel valued and connected with organizational changes.

Coaching can also capture intellectual capital before older workers retire and transfer that knowledge to younger employees.

Q: How much does coaching cost?
A: A typical engagement is six months for an executive or manager. For a small business owner, entrepreneur or executive paying “out of pocket,” the minimum engagement is three months. Shorter terms can be worked out, yet real growth and change take time. Pricing for speaking engagements, workshops, group, individual coaching will be quoted based on the custom design of a program for an individual or team. Appropriate assessments will be included in the proposal. If assessments have already been done, the coach will review them to develop next steps. Email updates are included in the custom price quote. Travel arrangements will be quoted separately when face-to-face meetings are required.

Q: How does On Point evaluate the success of a coaching engagement?
A: At the end of each session, the coach and client discuss what worked and did not, as well as what was beneficial. Progress, accountability and milestones are discussed throughout the engagement. If the corporate sponsor contracted with On Point, we may facilitate a meeting between the client and the sponsor to discuss milestones and progress.

Q: If I travel extensively, how can coaching fit into my schedule?
A: Many of our clients are in this situation. Coaching programs can be designed to meet clients’ unique needs, and telephone meetings can take place across time zones. We can design more frequent, shorter sessions that are highly focused, or once per month sessions which are a few hours in length.

Q: What are the success factors for effective coaching?
A: Success factors are:
• a motivated client open to change
• organizational sponsorship or support
• coaching goals that are specific, observable and business relevant
• a balanced relationship of trust
• concern and objectivity
• the ongoing commitment of the coach

Q: How do you help find the best coach for me?
A: We begin by understanding your environment and objectives, and will discuss the style of coach you desire before matching you with a coach. Our coaches specialize in particular areas, and many of them are certified by the University of Texas at Dallas Executive Coaching Program http://som.utdallas.edu/executive/coaching/index.htm and the International Coach Federation (ICF) http://www.coachfederation.org/ICF. They are competent in a variety of coaching methods, tools and approaches, so we will help you find the best fit for your situation.