Before dashing in to coaching sessions, review whether this is best way forward. (Is going to gym only way to get in shape?) It could be that boss will benefit from having a mentor rather than a coach, or having some formal training to learn some specific skills. Should coaching be way ahead, boss, coach and any other stakeholders need to meet and agree overall aims of project and a number of other things to do with support and confidentiality. As part of this, probable timescale can be discussed along with actual method of working together.

The coaching phase will typically take place over several face to face sessions, probably supported by telephone and email. The key to this is to set really clear outcomes or objectives in first session. These can be short-term (even for each session) and for overall project. The boss is in control of this part in terms of setting their outcomes, although a good coach will push them.

The actual coaching sessions will keep boss thinking about what they can do to move towards their outcomes and objectives. The coach will offer a combination of challenge and support to push boss onwards. (Again, like personal trainer will do!) They will provide encouragement and feedback where appropriate. One of major pluses coach brings, is that they can be direct and open with boss when giving feedback. The boss generates ideas and chooses which ones they are committed to pursuing, with coach helping if they get really stuck.

As with any plan to get in shape, we all like to know what progress we are making. This is why we think third part of process can be started alongside coaching sessions – Personal Development Plan. Whatever actual method is for writing up or keeping plan, it can be developed throughout project. As progress is noted, it gives added motivation for continuing and stretching still further.

The key for sessions and plan are for examples of improvement to be noticed and noted. They can be discussed and reviewed to explore why they have been achieved and what payoffs are for boss, organisation and others around them. Wherever possible, aim to quantify these – still more of an incentive!!

As boss is getting into better shape, they need to know that others are observing it too! (Well, friends and family would tell you if personal trainer and exercise was making a difference!) How can they get evidence? The coach should encourage them to look for it. As with any plan to get into shape, there may be some times when things seem to plateau or go into reverse. Accept that this might happen, and use coach to help you breakthrough.

Part way through any project it is often a good idea to have a mid-point review with all concerned stakeholders. Even if this is just boss and coach – set up this session with no coaching activity on agenda! Review what has been achieved, benefits to all concerned, how does it feel for boss, and agree if there is any need to change for future sessions.

At end of overall project, there need to be some clearly identified deliverables. These should link back to outcomes and objectives set at beginning – with any new ones added! The on-going personal development plan will feed into this too. The deliverables can be both for organisation and for individual and their development. Once these are made clear, trick is to find ways to measure their impact or contribution to organisation.

Having got in shape, trick is to keep there! Going to gym or maintaining exercise routine is how we do it in that context. How does boss keep their new shape? Without working at it, there is a severe risk that they will slip back. Maybe they need to get some on-going support, with occasional contact from coach. Possibly, as a result of coaching, they have better self-awareness and will assess themselves and encourage others to give them feedback. Whatever they do, it is better for everyone’s health if they stay in shape!!

Graham Yemm a founding partner of Solutions 4 Training Ltd. He has worked with many different organisations around the world conducting both training and consultancy assignments. He is a Master Practitioner of NLP and an accredited trainer for the LAB profile programme – “Words that Change Minds”. Contact,

Ukraine's Prospects

Due to Market Visio's research, volume of Ukrainian IT-services export in 2003 was estimated to be $70M, 40% more in comparison with 2002. The market prospects for 2005 were to be $150M; that is three times more in three years.

There are about 300 public companies that work for export. They are located mainly in big cities such as Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk etc. There are also a huge amount of groups of professionals who are mainly engaged in export on a level of freelancers. The total number of IT specialists engaged in IT-export services was about 10,000 in 2003 and grew considerably during next years.

Everything mentioned above shows that Ukraine has great prospects to become and equal player to most known leaders of market. Its well-developed IT infrastructure, level of services, and professionalism of programmers made Ukrainian companies able to compete for complex and complicated projects with other well-known developers. There are several companies that invest in their own software solutions and market them internationally with success. However, all of them are engaged into smaller or bigger software development projects as subcontractors.

The next step of Ukrainian gait into world IT market seems to be a wide establishment of offshore development centers based on currently existing software development companies. Prerequisites are obvious:

1. Ukrainian IT companies have whole infrastructure required to develop reliable custom application and deliver it in time.
2. The gross yearly expenditure per one programmer will vary from $20,000 to $30,000.
3. Ukraine's time zone is GMT +02:00. Hence, all programmers and project managers will be available on daytime for any European company.

The only thing remains to be done, though. Ukrainian IT companies are making only their first steps in self-promotion. The more professional they become in this field, more obvious it would be that Ukraine becomes a competitive player on world software outsourcing market.