A recent blog on the Harvard Business Review pointed out 5 ways a client can detect if a business coach is failing in their work. The author, Robert Sutton, is an accepted expert in the field.

I believe he could have added one more item to his list. It’s that ‘change’ word. Do you see new things beginning to happen? As I said to a client just recently in Jerusalem: “If you don’t do anything to change, you remain where you are.”

Change is not a uniform process. Some rush for it. Others need to be guided slowly towards a new goal. In some businesses the problems are glaringly obvious from the start. For example, when a CEO is complaining that profits are kept low, as he maintains a ditheringly high level of stock in his shops, the mentor has a fair idea where to concentrate their efforts.

Often, the most interesting challenges for a mentor are when the commercial processes are sophisticated and just require the most delicate of tweaks. That demands considerable and subtle probing.

The flip side to all of this is when a client complains that the mentor is not doing their job. This is when the coach has to ask if something has changed or not (for the better). If yes, the onus remains with the client to justify themselves.

Otherwise, the mentor has to recognize what has not happened and why. It is all very well to direct the blame on to the client for not changing. There again, why has the mentor not implemented a technique to ensure that move ahead? Back to Mr Sutton.