Stakeholder Alignment Meetings - What Does Great Alignment Look Like in Coaching?

As a business manager or leader with direct reports undertaking coaching, supporting your staff in their professional development is crucial. One of the most important steps in this process is the stakeholder alignment meeting, which sets the foundation for a successful coaching engagement. This meeting is sometimes called a 3-way alignment call, including the manager, the coachee (direct report), and the external coach who has been selected for the engagement. Sometimes other stakeholders such as HR Business Partners might be included too, however it’s advisable to keep the meeting to a small, core group of people who are directly invested in the outcomes of the coaching engagement. This blog post will explore what great alignment looks like and how you can ensure your team members embark on their coaching journey with the right support and clear goals.

Read on for resources from BOLDLY to ensure this meeting provides the right launching-off point for a successful coaching engagement. See our agenda for a great meeting at the end of this document!

Clarity of purpose for the engagement:

Great alignment begins with a clear understanding of why coaching is being pursued. As a manager, you should:

• Discuss the specific reasons for initiating coaching
• Outline how coaching aligns with organisational and individual goals
• Encourage your team member to articulate their own motivations for engaging in coaching

Specific and measurable objectives

Well-aligned coaching engagements have clearly defined objectives and development goals. The coach and coachee will work extensively through their initial sessions to further define the goals, however you should have input on the high level direction of the performance outcomes from the coaching engagement. To support this:

• Work with your team member to identify 2-3 key areas for development - this might result from feedback, and assessment report, or your observations. 
• Ensure these objectives are clearly defined. Spend time exploring the implications of developing this skill set, and what it means for their career and the performance of your business. 

Discuss how you will both know ‘what good looks like’ and when it’s achieved. Be specific with behavioural examples, for example: ‘When we’re on track with this communication objective, I’ll be hearing your key messages delivered clearly at leadership meetings, and I’ll be seeing your colleagues acknowledge what they’ve understood.’

Stakeholder activation

Great alignment involves all relevant stakeholders, meaning you as the direct manager should be taking an interest in the coaching outcomes ongoing. Consider:

Have we pre-booked our mid-point and end-point coaching check-in meetings? Having these set in the diary, even if they’re months in advance and need to be changed when the date arrives, means you have accountability to not just getting started, but staying involved as appropriate. 

Have we clarified roles and responsibilities for each stakeholder throughout the coaching process? See BOLDLY’s resource here: Whose Role Is It Anyway? As a direct manager, your role is to support coaching, maintain accountability with your direct report for the outcomes, debrief with them on learning progress during regular 1:1’s, and find relevant opportunities for them to extend their learning, in relation to their goals.

Have we discussed confidentiality? The coach and coachee should feel like their discussions are in a ‘closed circuit’ and the only reasons for coaching discussions to be disclosed to the manager would be:

• Through the coachees active updates of the manager - this is highly encouraged!
• If the coach has a concern for the coachees mental health that warrants breaking confidentiality, as per the BOLDLY policy and the coaches accrediting body code of ethics

Have we agreed to open communication channels - you should set expectations for regular check-ins between yourself and the coachee, agree on how and when progress updates will be shared, and encourage open dialogue about challenges and successes throughout the coaching journey

Resource allocation

Demonstrating your commitment to the coaching process through resource allocation is crucial. This includes ensuring your team member has dedicated time for coaching sessions and related activities and considering any budgetary requirements for the coaching engagement. Do they require assessment? Is there a skills training course that should be considered in parallel to their coaching?

Integration with performance management

Aligning coaching with existing performance management processes ensures coherence. Coaching should be used as a performance enhancer for high-potential and high performing staff, not to address issues. The outcomes of your performance review cycle should feed into your coaching meetings, and likewise, the progress from your direct reports coaching sessions should be considered as part of their future performance discussions in a cycle. In this kick off meeting you should:

• Discuss how coaching objectives relate to performance goals
• Agree on how coaching progress will be factored into performance reviews
• Ensure coaching complements rather than conflicts with other development initiatives

Commitment to action

Finally, a great alignment meeting and ongoing synergy between manager and direct report involves a shared commitment to taking action on their development plan. You should:

• Discuss specific actions your team member will take between coaching sessions
• Clarify how you will support the implementation of new skills or behaviours
• Agree on how progress and results will be communicated and celebrated

Here’s a sample agenda for your alignment meeting. This will normally be facilitated by the coach, however you as the manager should take an active role and be prepared to participate. 

1. Welcome and Introductions: Brief overview of the meeting's purpose
2. Coaching Engagement Overview: Discuss the reasons for initiating coaching. Explain how coaching aligns with the organisational goals
3. Employee's Perspective: Employee shares their motivation for coaching. Initial thoughts on areas for development
4. Goal Setting & Success Measures. Identify 2-3 key development areas and how progress will be evaluated
5. DOCUMENT these goals using something like BOLDLY’s template: here
6. Roles and Responsibilities: Clarify expectations for each stakeholder. Discuss manager's supporting role. See resources here to support the discussion: here
7. Logistics and Resources: Confirm coaching schedule and duration
8. Communication Plan: Agree on frequency and format of progress updates. Establish confidentiality boundaries. Book mid-point and end of coaching meetings. Discuss how issues will be escalated if they arise during the course of the engagement: here
9. Integration with Performance Management: Discuss how coaching aligns with current performance goals
10. Questions and Closing Remarks

This agenda can be adjusted based on your specific needs and time constraints. 

By focusing on these elements of great alignment, you can significantly enhance the effectiveness of coaching engagements for your team members. Remember, your role as a manager is to provide support, ensure clarity, and create an environment where coaching can thrive. With proper alignment, coaching can be a powerful tool for personal and professional development, ultimately benefiting both the individual and the organisation.

If you're interested in learning more about how BOLDLY can help your organisation, we invite you to explore our website or write to us at connect@boldly.app.

About the Author:

Alexandra Lamb is an accomplished organisational development practitioner, with experience across APAC, North America, and MENA. With 20+ years in professional practice, conglomerates, and startups, she has collaborated with rapid-growth companies and industry innovators to develop leaders and high-performance teams. She is particularly experienced in talent strategy as a driver for business growth. Drawing from her experience in the fields of talent management, psychology, coaching, product development, and human-centred design, Alex prides herself on using commercial acumen to design talent solutions with true impact.