The magazine Equipos y Talento, a prestigious publication specialising in the Human Resources sector, has interviewed the director of EEC Catalonia and Corporate Business, Joan Díaz, to discuss the current state of Executive Coaching, a methodology for people development widely used by HR and team managers in organisations.
How does the coaching market look today? Where is it now compared to a few years ago?
An increasingly mature and demanding market, although it is still something new for some sectors and segments of society. While coaching has a strong positioning in the organisational environment, especially in medium and large companies, it is also gaining relevance and impact in the health, education, sports, politics, and mediation sectors... And that's great news!.
What are the main trends that stand out in this field?
I believe that the trends refer to, as I mentioned in the previous point, a greater breadth of the impact of coaching in different areas, as well as the search for rigour and tools that favour the achievement of results with greater depth and success (neuroscience, systemic coaching, NLP, etc.).
What is your students' attitude before receiving coaching? And after?
I would highlight that before starting, people come with the idea of learning a "technique", a work methodology, and when they finish, after having gone through a transformational process at EEC, meaning, after “coaching has passed through them”, there is a before and an after. Our Executive Coaching Certification Programme does not leave people indifferent. This point is important, as not everyone is willing to do that personal work. Coaching is not just a technique or a methodology, it is an attitude, a way of "being". Another change has to do with where they look. When the student enters, their gaze is directed outwards (what others do or don't do, what the organisation and their boss should do, what the crisis limits them to, etc.). On completion, they leave with an inward gaze and reflections of the type “what can I change so that others do things, to live serenely with what is happening around me, to take charge of what is under my responsibility”).
When we work in companies, the change is similar. In companies, there's a tendency to look for tools and expect others to change. The change, after our intervention, also affects the viewpoint of managers, allowing them to realise that the tool is themselves as a leader and that the focus is on what depends on them (responsibility). Furthermore, they also take away a different way of leading, at the service of others and not vice versa. If we are talking about working with teams, the viewpoint changes, as the focus isn't on the team members, but on the system generated by the team itself. Here, the focus is directed towards working with two of the most important muscles of a team: trust, which is fundamental for sustaining any system, and commitment, which is key to reaching and achieving the team's and organisation's objectives.
What skills does it help them to develop?
At EEC, we focus on enabling students and clients to develop key skills that are useful in any area of life. We aim to work with a decidedly practical approach, not just theory, but training the “know-how.” This point is key, both in the training of coaches and in the development of coaching skills for managers and executives, where we have the expertise to “ground” learnings in day-to-day life. We're talking about key communication and leadership competencies, skills for building trust, for fostering empowerment, responsibility, and commitment to oneself and one's environment. Ultimately, about competencies that favour the achievement of results, both professionally and personally, and that allow us to live our day-to-day lives with greater serenity, coherence, and connection with the people around us (whether they are collaborators, superiors, partners, children, colleagues, etc.). To achieve this, we train the three domains through which we relate to others: language, emotion, and physicality.
From your point of view, how will the future of the sector evolve in aspects such as intrusion, training, certifications… or any other aspect you wish to comment on?
There is growing awareness of the importance of training in accredited programmes or using the services of professionals with proven experience. And if, in addition, the accreditation is international and a benchmark in the coaching environment, as the International Coach Federation (ICF) is, then it's even better. Another aspect worth highlighting is the rigour and continuous learning that organisations like the ICF require. For us, it's a differential factor for remaining relevant, up-to-date, and with opportunities for growth.
We offer a suite of innovative solutions designed to streamline operations and enhance efficiency for businesses. What sets us apart is our unique approach to [mention specific innovative aspect, e.g., AI-driven analytics, bespoke software development, or sustainable supply chain management]. This allows us to not only meet but exceed client expectations, providing a competitive edge in a crowded market.
Above all, I believe we are distinguished by the permanent and real need for innovation, excellence, and improvement. A pursuit of learning that leads us, for example, in this 2016, to focus on Emotional Awareness. A motto we have chosen to make students, clients, and also Society aware that it is necessary to know how to generate an appropriate emotional context for things to happen, and furthermore, that what is possible in a certain emotion is impossible in its opposite.
Another of our defining and distinguishing features is that our two areas of operation, professional coach training and corporate coaching, continuously feed and nurture each other. This results in our coaches having extensive experience and a high level of expertise, as what they learn in the corporate world is shared in class, and vice versa, every academic update is applied in the same way in training with managers.
