The 4 Domains of Executive Coaching and why you should use them

I am seeking a promotion. I’m great at what I do but don’t have the people management experience. I’m a good Team Leader but I’m having more trouble as my team gets bigger. I’m in conflict with my manager and/or one or more of my direct reports is unhappy. I’ve received some suprising feedback and I’m not sure what to make of it! I’m exhausted and wondering how long I can keep doing this for.

The reasons for seeking out coaching are many and varied. Some coachees are self-directed “volunteers” who have identified some things they want to improve on, and for others they have been put in contact with a coach by their organisation. What is common, is that organisations and coaching clients want to know that the time and effort they put in is going to help them achieve something.

One of the first things that we want to establish is that the process should SAVE time, rather than being an extra task on an already busy ‘to-do’ list. Experienced General Managers know just how time-consuming a management issue can become and that saving just one of these painful experiences will pay back your time investment many times over. Plus, getting these things right is good for your staff… So, to the 4 Domains. They are:

Domain 1 - Wellbeing

Domain 2 - Self-management

Domain 3 - Executive presence

Domain 4 - Strategy execution

The rationale for the 4 Domains

Where did the 4 Domains come from? One of the things I like to make clear at the outset is whether a coaching idea has come from the literature (like the GM 6 Principles of Management - ask me later), or from experience or a best-guess. In the case of the 4 Domains, the psychological principles and practices that we employ in the Wellbeing domain are direct from well-established psychological theory and practice. It doesn’t mean that everyone we coach has a problem, just that the benefit of having a registered psychologist who can deal with just about anything in this private domain is helpful. For instance, psychologists are well trained in keeping the right things confidential. One down.

Similarly, Domain 2 (Self-management) focusses heavily on how people think, where our biases and thinking patterns come from, and how this informs our decision-making and behaviour. I like to call this the HIGH PERFORMANCE domain. As a qualified pilot and motorcycle racer, this domain is near and dear to my heart. The self-management domain is where we deep-dive on how our thinking affects performance. These themes are well-established in applied psychology, sports and many areas of high demand. Drawing on this material accelerates development in the context of a coaching program and plays out in how our behaviour is seen by others. Of course, we will get more out of this once we are confident that we have the basics right in the Wellbeing domain.

Domain 3 is Executive Presence. While much of the work with the coach goes unseen by the organisation, change, growth, capacity improvements, enhanced relationships, less “noise” and a more confident executive will be noticed very quickly. Tackling executive presence without a solid foundation in Domain 1 and Domain 2 is doomed to failure and disappointment. Why? Because “there are no shortcuts”. There are no short-cuts with staff, peers and managers. You don’t need to be a psychologist to know when someone is faking it. Almost every person I have met in organisations is an expert at noticing this. They may not use the same language as a psychologist, but they sure know it when they see it. The upside is that people are also really good at acknowledging progress, celebrating change and supporting people who are making those changes.

Domain 4 is the Strategy execution domain. This is essentially where the technical work gets done. it is common for senior technical people to be promoted to a manager position - they know how to do their work and may even be good at teaching others. The ability to make this leap to “getting things done through others” is a different situation altogether. One of the great things about being a coach who happens to be an organisational psychologist is that you work with people across industries. Over time, it becomes clear which parts of the role are industry-specific, and which parts of the GM role is common in all jobs. Its about 50/50 I would say. That is an example of an “educated guess”.

Internal coaching accreditations and leveraging internal expertise the answer to productivity decline

The effects of COVID disruptions continue to be felt as workers are asked to return to a changed office environment.  This is particularly relevant for early career employees who missed out on key business experiences in their first 2-3 years.  These same employees will soon be asked to step-up into more senior roles as organisations right size and leverage automation, including AI.

An effective way to address these gaps is to leverage internal experts who understand the business and turn around the trajectory of younger workers departing, instead creating a more adaptable and tech savvy cohort of workers who are comfortable with change.      With recent employee data confirming that workers are concerned that they are not receiving enough internal development and training, organisations will need to leverage their internal people effectively to address these gaps.  

The best strategy to efficiently boost management capability and create a successful leadership and management cohort of technical staff is to upskill your people in internal coaching.  Accrediting internal staff as coaching facilitators and delivering actionable training in core change leadership behaviours develops persuasive communication, strategic awareness, project management and understanding people dynamics.

Almost half of workers not being prepared for the future

A recent report indicates that almost half of workers are not being adequately prepared for future roles. Along with a large cohort of new graduates who missed out on vital work experience during the COVID pandemic, falling productivity and an exodus of experienced talent, this indicates an urgent need to address how organisations can develop and employ a more agile and skilled workforce to remain competitive.

The APS College of Organisational Psychologists released their first Australian Workforce Survey 2023 this week (“Futureproofing the world of work”, 2023) with only 11% of respondents describing their employer as future focussed, open and rewarding. These findings highlight a significant deficit in employee’s perceptions of how well their organisations are embracing new technologies and work methods. Whilst 78% of leaders perceive themselves to be preparing their employees for the future, only 53% of their employees share this view. 

To address these issues, the report indicates that modular, accessible training (in digital form) has a 3X effect on adaptability behaviours. This is all consistent with our views at CPA that the way to create agile, futureproof organisations requires interventions that combine cutting edge content, effective delivery and expert implementation. CPA provides our clients with the capabilities to lead and support their staff in making the changes required to thrive in the different world of the future. 

Invest in performance coaching to tackle productivity decline

The RBA reports that labour productivity has slumped to a 60 year low over the past decade How Australia can fix its productivity timebomb - AFR. Some of the causes of poor productivity stand out, not least of all pandemic disruptions, labour shortages, and delayed investment. While economic commentators point to the role of technology and automation as one pillar of productivity improvement and ensuring that resources flow to where they are needed most (Pat Bustamente, Westpac Wire, Report highlights Australia's productivity challenge), Corporate Psychology Australia suggests that upskilling the existing workforce through internal coaching should also be top-of-mind for Boards and Executives.

Growing internal capability to meet present and future business challenges requires having the right people with the right skills, in the right roles, in all business cycles. The current tight labour market and a large cohort of experienced workers approaching retirement age further highlights the need to develop a highly capable and adaptable workforce that is self-sustaining.

Efforts to create a self-sustaining and adaptable workforce can be bolstered by identifying the knowledge and skills that are specific to the businesses’s own context. Capability frameworks provide the outline and organising principals to guide the development of employees, and in service or knowledge industries, the identification of Strategy Execution capabilities are those that influences profitability and the bottom-line. identifying, developing and retaining those of your existing people with the ability to translate strategy into activity is a vital component of improving the performance and profitability of your business.

The organisational capability for enabling experienced workers to cascade their specialist knowledge through the organisation unlocks the potential of less experienced staff, provides a multiplier effect and creates a positive cycle of knowledge transfer, leadership opportunities and crucially, a performance dividend that has a direct effect on #culture. Executive coaching can be the key that unlocks this capability for your organisation.

Executive Coaching & Leadership

The CPA Academy is organised to reflect the 4 Drivers of Performance and closely matches a corporate capability framework. We understand that priorities change and have made it simpler to access resources from within each domain.

Wellbeing

Supporting the health and wellbeing of all employees is a logical starting point, and this is particularly in focus for executives with significant responsibilities. As organisational psychologists, we are able to navigate risk issues, identify opportunities for on-referral and to support employees to improve their wellbeing in order to prepare for higher performance and challenging roles.

• Self-awareness, self-actualisation, empathy, self-reliance and optimism are all hallmarks of the healthy executive.

High performance and self-management

All organisations want the best possible performance from their people. The inputs to high-performance in corporations are complex, and consistently delivering results is hard to do. That’s why the high-performance domain builds on wellbeing. Coaches are skilled at navigating the fundamental wellbeing, risk and stress management issues. They must have highly developed skills to recognise learning leaps, opportunities to push harder for performance and when the opportunity presents to support their coachee. These skills are both inherent in developing resilience and capability in executives, and when the executive is using these same skills with their own staff.

• High performance leaders are adaptable, resilient, demonstrate self-control and exude self-confidence that is built on healthy wellbeing and achievements. They are able to pay attention to details and are business-like and straightforward in their dealings.

Executive Presence

Executive presence is about being the sort of leader that people want to work with. It is the outward expression of the work that you don’t see and is built on the solid ground of wellbeing and self-management. Executive presence is best developed within a sound framework that is directly linked to performance. When this is achieved, the behaviour of the executive is aligned to organisational goals and is reflected in their language and in their interpersonal relationships.

• Leaders who continually work on their communication, interpersonal and people management skills. Leaders who drive performance, motivate others, are flexible and creative, are positive and enjoy their work.

Strategy Execution

Effective strategy execution relies on the ability to put plans into action. Complex problems will inevitably involve the employment of specialists, requiring team management skills, joint decision-making, interdependencies, and projects that must be managed successfully and effectively. Research shows that the employment of a trusted advisor or coach during high tempo periods has an appreciable effect on the performance of leaders with critical responsibilities.

• Maintaining strategic awareness during critical projects, effective decision-making, leading teams of teams through persuasive and effective communication. Mapping the line-of-sight from planning through to successful completion of tasks, and taking care of people on the journey.