Dear Coach,
I am new to Stakeholder Centered Coaching and wonder about the efficacy of the Mini Survey.
What are your thoughts?
Best,
Sarah
Dear Sarah,
A key component of Stakeholder Centered Coaching (SCC) is what’s called the Mini Survey. Administered by a third-party, it confidentially asks each leader’s stakeholders for a progress assessment on the coaching engagement.
For example, let’s say I’m an organization leader being coached by an SCC coach. My goal is “Delegate effectively.”
After a six-month interval, (it can be longer or shorter depending on circumstances), each of my stakeholders, most of whom are people who report to me as well as my boss will receive a confidential electronic survey asking how I’ve done in meeting my goal using a +3-0-3 scale. If someone puts down “0”, it means he or she doesn’t think I got any better or any worse at delegating. +1 means I’ve improved with still more room to grow. -1 means I’ve gotten worse. +3 means I’ve become a delegating superstar! -3 means that when it comes to delegating, I’m an unmitigated disaster!
The goal is to exceed a net 1 combining all stakeholder scores.
In addition to the numerical rating, the Mini Survey has questions regarding the coaching process, overall leadership, and suggestions for further growth.
For me, the beauty of the Mini Survey is its combination of objectivity and subjectivity. In this column, I discuss the “Three Realities.” The Mini Survey does a great job of assessing and helping close the gaps between each reality.
Best,
Jathan
Jathan Janove is a Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching Master Coach and Practice Leader. You can learn more about him here. If you have a question you’d like him to address, please email us at AsktheCoach@mgscc.net.
