Are coaches working hard enough?

Category: Editorial

Richard Winfield - editor Over a third of small companies in the UK believe that their success is under threat from poor middle management.

New research by management consultancy Hay Group suggests that underachieving middle managers are costing British business up to £220bn every year.

In its report, Hay Group said that around 38% of UK directors believe their organisation is in danger of being crippled by ineffective managers, and almost a half said that poor middle management represents a serious barrier to growth.

More than half the respondents felt that middle managers were not committed to achieving their company’s strategic goals, while 62% complained of their lack of management and leadership skills. The report also found that senior management may be partly to blame, as over two thirds admitted that their middle managers did not receive adequate training. With appropriate training and development, these managers could be up to 30% more effective, it said.

The International coach Federation has recently published the results of a study of more than 6,000 coaches by PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Results of the first-ever global survey of coaches demonstrate how the young profession of coaching has gained a strong foothold in the marketplace and now contributes more than $1.5 billion (USD) to the global economy."

Overall findings at a global level include the following: -

The approximate annual worldwide revenue produced by coaching is $1.5 billion (USD).

Coaches earn an average of $50,510 (USD) per year.

69% percent of coaches are female.

The average coach is 46-55 years old, has coached for 5-10 years, and 53 percent of coaches have acquired an advanced level of education (i.e., Master's Degree or Ph.D).

The majority of coaches maintain 11 active clients at any given time.

Coaching clients tend to be 56 percent female/44 percent male, and between 38 and 45 years of age.

Here are a few deductions made by Andrea Lee:

If the average earning amount per annum per coach is $50,000, and the average number of clients at any given time is 11... $50,000 divided by 11 clients divided by 12 months = $379 per month per client, seems about right...

Assuming for a moment that each client meets with their coach three times a month for an hour each time... 11 clients times 3 times a month = 33 hours of coaching per month. 33 divided by 4 weeks = 8.25 hours per week.

$375 per month for three sessions represents $125 per hour - a reasonable fee rate. The problem is that coaches are not booking enough hours.

We know that some coaches earn a great deal more than the equivalent of $50,000, and also that many coaches are part time, or that coaching forms part of a portfolio of activities. However, the results would appear to confirm that many coaches do not have enough clients.

Is the problem that coaches are not yet well enough trained? Is it that they have not yet had enough experience to justify professional level fees? Rather, it appears that they do not have either practical business skills or an infrastructure that supports an effective 'earning week'? The Hay survey in the UK demonstrates that there is a need for more coaching and training of middle managers. Perhaps coaches also need those management skills.

Coaches need coaches to help them raise their aspirations and put practical processes into place. I am studying with Rich Schefren to do that for Brefi Group. My task for 2007 is to build a support team so that I can continue to grow Brefi Group and have more free time.

Richard Winfield is founder of Brefi Group.

He coaches directors and boards in transition:

new and potential directors, effective boards,

mergers and acquisitions, corporate retreats,

change programmes.