142 50 TOPEXECUTIVECOACHES

After an action plan is set, the coachee is challengedto explore alternative
courses of action and to select those that will allow him or her to most suc-
cessfully demonstrate the desired new behaviors. This challenge creates dis-
equilibrium by addressing gaps between the current state and desired state
described in the action plan. Challenge can come from the coach, from the
coachee’s own self-assessment, or from external factors such as a new job as-
signment or stretch organizational goal. The key for the coach is to maintain
a balance—to create conditions for change without over whelming or demor-
alizing the coachee.
An appropriate level ofsuppor tcan ameliorate the stress that challenge
creates for the coachee. This is where the coach’s emphasis on small victo-
ries is helpful, or where mistakes made during the learning process can be
analyzed and put in proper perspective (because mistakes will be made), or
where the long-term goals driving the coaching experience can be called out
during difficult times. Real change, based on real learning, is hard work. It is
the successful coach’s job to pace the mixture and f low of assessment, chal-
lenge, and support with the coachee to maximize the opportunity for long-
term success.
How do we at CCL know whether the coaching experience has had a suc-
cessful result? The most obvious answer is to determine whether positive,
observable behavioral change has been achieved over a sufficient period of
time. This can be done through informal means, such as asking the coachee
and others around him or her whether there has been change; or through a
more formal process of postprogram assessment, using written surveys and
interviews. Such temperature taking is typically done at least six months,
and sometimes a full year, following completion of the coaching experience.
But lasting behavioral change, although very important, is not the only posi-
tive result. Surveys and interviews do not often capture the sometimes pro-
found insights that coachees gain about their long-term career goals,
personal developmental goals, and individual learning styles.
After all, if coaching is to help the coachee over a long period of time—long
after the coach has departed—it must help him or her learn how to continue
to adapt and grow in response to changing work and personal environments.
That is the ultimate and enduring achievement, for coaches and the clients
they serve.