Outline of Executive Coaching plan for International Assignment in Malaysia

Outline of Executive Coaching plan for International Assignment in Malaysia

Introduction

International aspect of coaching has increasingly become necessary given that the rapid transformation that has been experienced in the organization as demand has grown exponentially and the global business environment has changed (Passmore & Lai, 2019). The global business trends that have mainly instigated international aspect of coaching are globalization, international mergers and acquisition, escalating diversity in the workplace. Therefore, I will develop an outline of a coaching plan to prepare U.S. food company executives of both genders for assignment in Malaysia. None of the executives has undertaken an international assignment, and I will develop an outline of a coaching plan to present to the senior management of the company.

Essential interview questions that determine attitude and prior knowledge in the coaching plan

The critical interview questions to ask the executives in the coaching plan are derived from background theories and research that impact executive coaching. One of these theories is a humanistic approach that forms the foundation of coaching in terms of assumption and values. The humanistic approach is based on an optimistic view of a person since the coachee is observed with a holistic view of being capable of utilizing his or her experience in developing and growing (Sroufe, 2016). Besides, this approach employs unconditional positive regards, empathy, trust, freedom and authenticity. In a humanistic approach, a coach will spend the most time listening to the executive trainee and appreciating the complexity of their lives and the tensions they are likely to face overseas. This requires the coach asking penetrating questions and drawing back whenever they recognize that it is enough for the executive trainee to deal with. The feedback of this approach is that the client becomes happier less stressed and can transfer some of the humanistic ideals into the workplace, which will enable their overseas assignment more motivating. Three significant features are attributed to this approach.

One is congruency that leads to personal integrity that aligns action, feeling and thinking, unconditional acceptance and regards, and empathetic understanding which accurately identifies how a person is feeling (Everidge, 2019). The second theory is the theory of transition and change. Coaching is an activity that is goal-directed which enables organization and individuals therein to create and sustain changes. In a goal-focused coaching plan, the three useful models are the transition model, adaptation to transition model and the transtheoretical model of change. These models contribute to effective cross-cultural coaching plan since international critical expatriates and talents face constant changes and also experience several career transition. One research by Reece (2019) argued that the coaching plan interview question is based on is the positive psychology which is scientifically founded on the trainees increasing their well-being, enhancing and applying strengths, achieving goals and improving performance. Several psychological paradigm influences positive psychologies, where the language of vision and strength forms the basis of the coaching. Its focus is on gaining insight from how positive emotions work since they are significant in facilitating psychological flourish. Since the international business environment is marked with various challenges, creating awareness of one’s strength is of great necessity. The ten interview questions that arise from these theories and research for identifying attitude and prior knowledge in the coaching plan are:

1. Can you describe the adjustment you made when procedures and priorities were changed in the organization?
2. Give a vivid description of a work situation when you had interaction with people from different economic background, culture and social status? Were you effective? How?
3. Describe your effectiveness in your executive role when you experienced changes like new legislative, procedures or reorganization in the management?
4. Have you ever moved from one department to another? What adjustment did you have to make?
5. Can you explain how you worked with someone outside your immediate workgroup to accomplish common goals?
6. Can you highlight a situation in which you worked with a different group, and you had to share your insight, knowledge and resources, and you also had to use theirs?
7. Can you describe the most creative or innovative thing you have done in your job?
8. Describe a positive transformation in the organization that is due to your original idea?
9. Can you discuss your daily adjustment to changes in procedures and priorities?
10. Describe a period when you attended a training session or workshop and applied what you learnt to your work. How long did it take you to be proficient? What support did you need?

Leadership approach used for each group in the coaching plan

During coaching sessions, coaches work with their executive clients in periodic and structured meetings with the aim of monitoring and reinforcing development, modifying plans and discussing ways of overcoming challenges that are posed by changes in the business environment. In this coaching plan, the models that can be used the coaching continuum stage model, which describes each stage of coaching implementation in the organization. This type of model utilizes a continuum of leadership behaviour, which was coined by Tannenbaum and Schmidt (MacLennan, 2017). This leadership approach placed various styles of leadership in a continuum that was based on the degree of the authority exercised by the executives and the degree of autonomy that is guaranteed to the subordinates in decision making. The other model can be used the integral coaching framework that refers to the systematic, holistic philosophy established by Ken Wilber who placed human experience with distinct quadrants of subjective and objective, individual and collective (Esbjorn-Hargens & Sharma, 2018). This model uses a coaching leadership style where a coaching leader facilitates and motivate trainees to try new things on their own. This leadership style enables trainees to view how their contributions fit on the overall result of the group. For individual growth, this leadership uses plenty of feedbacks which is both negative and positive. Also, coaches, delegate problems to trainees and provide to them tools that they require to solve these problems. This indicates that empathy and self-awareness are utilized to foster an environment that facilitates group members to develop their strength and abilities (Knight, 2018).

Coaching approach for specific groups

For the first group, the humanist coaching approach can be used in helping the executive team who will undertake the foreign assignment in Malaysia reach their full potential realize self-actualization. This approach relies on the relationship that is fostered between the executive leaders and the coaches and the in-depth trust that follows, leading to a successful coaching program. The second approach for the second particular group that utilizes integral coaching framework is a positive psychology model for coaching, which is a strength-based approach. This approach demands that coaches help the executive leaders to expand their existing strength to create a synergy for positive emotions, thus leading to greater happiness and in the process leading to higher performance levels (Wang, 2017).  In these approaches, the intercultural perspective of collaboration and communication should be included to integrate them not only cultural difference but also age and race disparities in the coaching decisions. The cultural differences that the coaches should instil to the executive trainees are in communication pattern, which can either be in high context or low context. These contexts describe the level of details provided when communicating, direct or indirect where getting the point with clarity and directly valued or message is understated in order not to embarrass the interlocutor or is it formal or informal (Desimone & Pak, 2017). It should also be noticed that age and gender affect coaching decisions since, regarding gender, women are stereotyped as poor decision-makers compared to men. Thus, most coaching leaders who will be recommended are male given the given that females are prejudiced as minors to their male counterpart in the corporate world. However, this should not be the case since females have advanced in the corporate world, just like their male counterparts.

The first transcripts of a role play illustrating an executive man to East Asian man

Mr Executive manager: how are you, Mr Chen? I would like you to inform the production team that the product will be modified through adding more proteins to improve the content and the taste and also the packaging need to be altered to make the brand more appealing to the consumers.

Mr East Asian, middle Manager: I understand, I communicate to the production supervisor and inform him of the necessary changes that you have communicated sir.

Mr Executive manager: should I avail myself to foresee the changes being implemented?

Mr East Asian, middle Manager: I think that is not necessary, I understand how the modification of the production process is to be done, and the repackaging should be undertaken. I will oversee the whole process myself.

Mr Executive male manager: I think that we should conduct a sample after the working hours and you will present to me the sample of the product before large scale production is commenced.

East Asian manager:  Ok, that will be fine.

Second transcripts of the role play illustrating executive woman to East Asian man

Madam Executive manager: how are you, Mr Chen? I am proposing that the production of our chips products should include more protein content, and the packages should be remodelled to smaller sizes with more appealing packets. Do you think that can be implemented immediately?

Mr. middle manager: I am fine madam. I think that is a good idea although the changes cannot be implemented immediately given it requires an increase of human labour and escalation of cost of production.

Madame Executive manager: I do not think that such changes will increase the cost of production that much. It will only need reshuffling of cost of raw materials to maintain the cost of productions. It also demands a reallocation of funds from other products to finance this change since it will lead to the realization of a higher return on investment.

Mr Middle Manager: I understand that, do you think we should initiate this change immediately?

Madame Executive manager: Yes I do. Before large scale production is commenced, you should bring a sample of the newly produced product so that I can attest it.

Mr Middle Manager: I will do that.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the coaching plan

Efficacy of coaching can be evaluated through monitoring the progress of the executive trainees. Monitoring trainee’s progress improves the long-term success rate and the quality of the coaching plan. This is done by measuring the efficiency of the coaching plan through determining how the coaching sessions are converted into actions and results, how each single steps taken in the coaching plan contribute to the realization of the desired outcome, how the result of the coaching plan is in line with the needs, and priorities of the executive trainees in the foreign assignment, how significant are the changes towards the attainment of the general goals of executives being reliable in their overseas assignment. Through this monitoring, executive trainees are capable of training their self-awareness and sharing their self-awareness and experience.

Current I/O psychology practices in the field to evaluate coaching plan

Most I/O psychology practices are drawn to the training and development field as speciality coaches involved in consultancy positions which allow most I/O psychologist to serve in multiple sectors in the business world.  One area they serve in is training where the training needs are established and various programs are implemented to advance skills, education and skills of trainees. As a coach, instructional designs are required to facilitate the implementation of a learning system within the organization. I/O psychologist are also intrigued by the management training since it is more involving and very much specific than any other training and coaching session organized within the organization. I/O psychologist are concerned with this field as they take part in facilitating training managers for particular responsibilities and duties that managers will regularly face of their tenure (Goldstein et al., 2017).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the executive of this U.S. based food company has to undergo coaching training to be efficient in conducting foreign assignment in Malaysia. The coaching plan that they are to undertake involves ten essential interview questions that apply theory and research along with each group following a rationale leadership approach. Each group is also subject to a particular coaching approach, and a transcript of role-playing for each gender is given between the executive and the East Asian man. The coaching plan effectiveness is evaluated, and the current I/O psychology is analyzed in the field to assess the coaching plan.

References

Desimone, L. M., & Pak, K. (2017). Instructional coaching as high-quality professional development. Theory Into Practice, 56(1), 3-12.

Esbjorn-Hargens, S., & Sharma, B. (2018). Integral Coaching: Whole Person Development in a Complex World. Professional Coaching: Principles and Practice.

Everidge, C. E. (2019). Implicit-Explicit Motive Congruence and Moderating Factors. The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation, 187.

Goldstein, H. W., Pulakos, E. D., Semedo, C., & Passmore, J. (2017). The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of recruitment, selection and employee retention. John Wiley & Sons.

Knight, J. (2018). Coaching to improve teaching: using the instructional coaching model. In Coaching in Education (pp. 93-113). Routledge.

MacLennan, N. (2017). Coaching and mentoring. Taylor & Francis.

Passmore, J., & Lai, Y. L. (2019). Coaching psychology: exploring definitions and research contribution to practice. International Coaching Psychology Review, 14(2), 69-83.

Reece, P. B. (2016). Fidelity of implementation of an instructional coaching program: An interview study. Dallas Baptist University.

Sroufe, L. A. (2016). Attachment theory: A humanistic approach for research and practice across cultures. In Attachment Across Clinical and Cultural Perspectives (pp. 23-49). Routledge.

Wang, S. (2017). “teacher-centred Coaching”. An Instructional Coaching Model. Mid-Western Educational researcher, 29(1).