Coaching

Strengthening Leaders and Their Organizations

Colleague’s cadre of over 70 International Coaching Federation (ICF)-certified coaches helps to strengthen organizations and their leaders at every level — high potential employees, middle managers and executives. Our coaches incorporate assessment tools into engagements to provide context and establish a baseline of understanding. Since 2006, Colleague has provided coaching services to over 2,000 federal employees.

 
 

“My overall coaching experience was extremely rewarding. My coach was very experienced and skilled. She did a terrific job in helping me to think things through and quickly get to the root of the matter. She was a delightful communicator. She seemed to have some understanding of my organization and could relate to the obstacles/challenges I was facing.”

 

Our Approach

Although every coaching engagement necessitates a tailored experience, Colleague’s approach to individual (and team) coaching follows four foundational principles. We apply these principles to all engagements, irrespective of level – high-potential, supervisor, manager, executive and “c-suite.”

Confidentiality is key.

Participants in coaching must be free to discuss whatever personal or organizational issues they see as barriers to their success. While our coaches will never disclose the results of individual coaching sessions, we encourage coaching participants to share their coaching progress with others, if they believe that will help them.

Change comes from within.

Although coaches help participants establish and refine their personal development plans, participants must internalize change to make it durable. Our primary focus is helping participants see, for themselves, their growth opportunities.

Real learning comes from real practice.

Competencies can only be seriously exercised through practice and experimentation in a protected, coaching environment. Participants will experience success or learn from failure by actually doing something different. Therefore, we design development plans that encourage participants to stretch themselves and grow from experience.

The big picture matters.

We embrace the uniqueness of each organization, program, and the individual. Our coaching programs account for varying work environments coupled with the personal challenges each client faces. Early in the program, cultural themes often emerge that paint the bigger picture for our coaches to be able to support their clients. All of our coaching programs include a lessons learned process to allow the coaches to discuss these themes and better understand the landscape of the organization being served.

Our Coaches

We partner with ICF-certified coaches

All of Colleague’s coaches are certified at the ACC, PCC or MCC level of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). ICF coaches must have the following minimum number of coaching hours:

  • ACC: 100+ hours

  • PCC: 500+ hours

  • MCC: 2,500+ hours

We use behavioral assessments to inform coaching relationships

Often, our coaches will recommend incorporating an assessment tool into an engagement to provide context and establish a baseline of understanding. Colleague has successfully utilized the following assessments – all of which our coaches are certified to use and debrief – alongside our federal partners:

  • MBTI

  • DiSC

  • FIRO-B

  • Five Behaviors

  • Hogan Leadership Series

  • TKI

  • EQ-i

  • Hogan

  • Various 360s – OPM, Benchmarks, Profilor, Reach, Leadership Circle Profile

Team Coaching

Colleague has found that clients, upon experiencing individual success through coaching, want to share similar experiences and outcomes with their peers. Team coaching involves developing a relationship of trust, similar to individual coaching relationships, but with an entire project, management or executive team. 

We apply organizational development expertise and business acumen to assess relationships among team members. We also asses the organization’s processes, technologies and goals to develop and monitor improvement recommendations. Through interviews with team members, an initial assessment of team dynamics, and direct observations of team interactions, we examine the following to help improve performance:

  • Coordinating mechanisms

  • Communications

  • Decision processes and structures

  • Problem solving

  • Goal setting

  • Accountability

  • Collaboration, competition and individual agency

 

Just-in-Time Coaching

Just-in-time coaching is an impartial and measured perspective on a particular situation. It’s a trained, trusted, and in-the-moment voice.

When we deliver on-demand coaching services, we follow our SPOT coaching process. SPOT coaching is a structured approach to just-in-time coaching designed to move you from observation to action. SPOT coaching equips you with a sense of agency – and, then, moves you toward a “solution-first” mindset. SPOT coaching asks questions in four key areas:

  • Situation: What is going on? How did the situation emerge?

  • Problem: What, exactly, is the core challenge? Are you able to identify the root cause? 

  • Opportunity: What opportunities are presented by this problem? Can you turn a potential negative into a potential positive?

  • Timeline: When would you like to see results? Is there a hard-and-fast deadline? 

Learn more about SPOT coaching here.

 

24/7 Coaching

More than a practice, genuine coaching represents a cultural shift within an organization. To facilitate enduring change – in a measured and intentional manner – Colleague developed a proprietary model, 24/7 Coaching™. 

The program creates “a coaching attitude” among participants by emphasizing six behaviors:

  • Identify coaching moments

  • Ask coaching questions

  • Provide in-the-moment feedback

  • Co-design actions

  • Listen with head and heart

  • Inspire by example

24/7 Coaching™ is designed for leaders of all experience levels.