172 50 TOPEXECUTIVECOACHES

A Good Client

A good client is serious about innovation. Many people pretend to be, but re-
ally aren’t. We can help them realize how much risk they are willing to take
and to align what they begin with what they are likely to finish. It helps if
they have courage and are coming to the challenge from a safe base in both a
psychological and an organizational sense. It’s counterproductive to coach
someone to take on the risks inherent in innovation if they are inherently
fearful of mistakes or objectively in a position of great career risk. To inno-
vate, innovators must make many significant decisions for which there is not
good data. They have to trust their intuition, and chances are that it won’t al-
ways be right.

A Good Innovation Coach

A good innovation coach needs business acumen, based on direct experience.
Innovation is not just about process. Coaches need to be able to recognize a
good business proposition when they see one and to help shape it in the di-
rection of greater success. They need to see the weak points in a strategy and
ask the specific questions that challenge the parts of that proposition that
need toughening up.
Psychological acumen is also a critical success factor. The coach must be
able to see what’s going on in terms of the effect the client is having on the
team, other parts of the organization, and those they are selling to. The coach
helps the client move to the next level of effectiveness. This is not a routine
process. A good innovation coach must act in the teachable moment to point
out the options when something is happening that makes the issues clear and
available for learning.
People struggling with innovation are facing whole system challenges.
Finding a coach with the appropriate business and psychological acumen is
not easy. On top of that, sustainability is emerging as a core strategy for cre-
ating new opportunities and getting the jump on coming business challenges.
Str iving for sustainability stimulates creative thinking and engages intrapre-
neurial passion. Knowledge of sustainability gives the innovation manager
another tool that can guide people to opportunities that will serve the com-
pany well in both the short and long-term. A good innovation coach brings
experience, humor, and excitement to the challenges that clients face.