Gen Y Leaders, Boomer Coach

The coaching process

In my experience, the change process unfolds in very different ways with the Gen Y Leader. Perhaps an easy way to understand this is in comparison with a more traditional coaching approach. Below are two pictorial views illustrating a typical coaching process as I conceive of it for a traditional engagement (Figure 1) and for a Gen Y start-up (Figure 2).

Traditional engagements can be much more linear, sequential and structured. Perhaps this is due to a slower pace and also the leader’s comfort with structure and predictability. These leaders often ask how the engagement will proceed and what we’ll do when. Authors who write about coaching best practices often advocate working on a constrained set of changes (Goldsmith, 2007). This facilitates the measurement of results, which is important for the leader and for the justification of expenses.