Q: How does your firm evaluate the success of a coaching engagement?

A: There are three junctures at which MMR evaluates the success of a coaching engagement:

1) At the end of every coaching meeting, the coach and client discuss what worked and what did not, what was most beneficial and what wasn’t.

2) At the mid-point of an engagement, a progress-to-plan meeting takes place, involving the organizational “sponsor,” the individual client and the coach, to review the pre-established success criteria and whether milestones were reached or missed.

3) At the end of the engagement, in a completion session, a final review takes place, an evaluation form is completed by the client and the client’s sponsor, and an action plan is created for sustaining the gains made in coaching. However, if the client organization has contracted with us to calculate Return on Investment (ROI), we have worked from the outset of the engagement to establish what business indicators or results will be impacted if the coaching is successful. We then assist in calculating the ROI according to industry standards for the coaching profession (see “Measuring ROI in Business Coaching” PDF).

Q: Who are the other coaches in your 'stable'? What qualifies them to work in our organization?

A: Our coaches are hand-picked for their signature presence and coaching abilities from the many seasoned professionals we consider. A few have served as internal coaches for major corporations or coaching partnerships; others have extensive subject matter expertise in such fields as management consulting, financial services, technology, training and development, etc.. All have received coach-specific training from a wide variety of educational and commercial institutions including New York University’s Certificate Program in Organizational and Executive Coaching, Corporate Coach U, Coach U, CTI (Coaches Training Institute), and others. All are supervised to ensure their compliance with the profession’s code of ethics and stated competencies.

Q: I am interested in retaining a coach to help me prepare for my next jump up the organizational ladder but I travel 30+% of my time: how would I accommodate coaching into my erratic schedule?

A: Coaching programs can be designed to meet almost any client’s needs, even one who travels extensively. You and your coach will look at the available time. Video and telephone meetings can take place when in-person meetings can’t. Mutually convenient monthly schedules are arrived at by the coach and the client.

Q: Is your Personal Global Positioning Systems (PGPS) approach the only way you work with clients?

A: PGPS informs all of our coaching, however, the specific approach used is customized to the client’s needs. Appropriate models, assessments, and exercises are recommended by the coach for each client individually.

Q: We have people in our organization who need to modify their behavior to advance to the next level. Is performance coaching part of what you folks do?

A: All successful people have areas for focus and development. We bring attention to our clients’ strengths for the purpose of leveraging those strengths. We also help clients identify new behaviors and skills to amplify, replace, or upgrade in the interest of closing performance gaps. We refer prospective clients with strong remedial needs to qualified consulting psychologists.

Q: What services, if any, do you have for mentor coaching people who want to do what you do?

A: Each year, we mentor coach a limited number of professionals who are undergoing or who have completed coach training and will coach in organizations. Mentor coaching arrangements are a minimum of three months with the option to renew. Please see our Services page for the criteria for mentor coaching.

Q: Is coaching purchased per session or a block at a time?

A: Coaching services are purchased in blocks of time. A typical engagement is six months for an executive or manager. For a small business owner or entrepreneur or an executive paying “out of pocket” or a coach seeking mentoring, the minimum engagement is three months.

Q: How many times per month do you meet with your 'corporate' clients?

A: Typically, coaching meetings are twice to three times a month.