Executive Coaching & Assessing Developmental Maturity

When a coach knows what stage their client is at, they can develop a more personalized and appropriate coaching strategy. According to Stober & Grant's 2006 "Evidence Based Coaching Handbook," adult development theory posits that there are four constructive developmental stages: Prince/Princess, Journeyman, CEO, and Elder. From a coaching perspective, gaining an understanding of the cognitive complexity and constructive developmental stage of each client is quite helpful. Executives are not generally individuals who enjoy being talked down to-a coach would not want to approach a CEO type in the same manner as he would approach a Princess or Journeyman. For this reason, executive coaches should evaluate each client initially to make the determination of the client's constructive developmental stage. This information will provide the coach with a starting point for their future sessions.

Individuals who are in the Prince/Princess stage have yet to pull away from a self-centered perspective; they are unable to look at the world through the eyes of others. Essentially, adults who are in the Prince/Princess stage have not fully developed the capacity to empathize with others. Executives are expected to be open to the ideas and opinions of those under their employ-or else they are highly unlikely to be effective in any executive position. For such individuals, the coach should make furthering their constructive developmental stage a primary focus of the coaching sessions.

Journeymen have developed the ability to see the world and issues through the perspective of others; however, they are not grounded in their own beliefs and values, and therefore have the tendency to blindly follow the ideas and directions given by those around them without checking in with their own internal compass. Journeymen are basically like teens that fall victim to peer pressure-they are people who would in fact jump off the bridge if everyone else was going to take the plunge.

Adults who are in the CEO phase are able to consider the perspectives of others while staying grounded in their own ideas and principles. The Elder Form seems on par with a state of nirvana-it represents the summit of constructive-developmental status. Elders are acutely in tune with the perspectives and ideas of those around them-they are less bound by their previously held beliefs and opinions and more receptive to others' perspective than the CEO. While Elders are an extreme rarity, their presence and complex cognitive abilities within organizations can be powerful and quite beneficial.

Executive coaches who approach their clients with the adult development theory in mind are likely to have more productive sessions than coaches who do not take such factors into consideration.

Reference

Stober, D. R., & Grant, A. M. (2006). Evidence Based Coaching (1st ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc..