Last Ditch Attempt to "Fix" a Failing Employee - When Not To Hire an Executive Coach #1

I can't tell you how many times I've gotten a call from a manager who has decided to hire an executive coach as a last ditch attempt to fix a performance problem.  This is a very bad idea.

First of all, coaching requires more than compliance from the coachee.  Coaching only works when the person being coached actually wants to be coached.

Remember that great joke:  How many executive coaches does it take to change a light bulb?  Only one - but the light bulb has to really want to change.

So coaching someone who doesn't actually want to be coached is doomed from the start.  And, "I'll be coached in order to save my job", doesn't cut it.  Fear is a powerful motivator, but a poor foundation for coaching.
To Do List, a photo by Design Build Love on Flickr.

Also, frequently a manager simply wants to prove to themselves and others that they've done everything in their power to save the failing employee.

Worst of all, you'll communicate to everyone in your organization that coaching is for performance problems.  Good luck when you try to engage an executive coach to develop a rising star.  No one in your organization will want to be coached.