Staying Fully Apprised
Just as with the performance plans of your employees, you must stay fully apprised of the external coach-employee relationship from beginning to end. You are still the head honcho, and you are responsible for your employees' performances in all areas. You can't step away from this sidebar relationship just because it will be over in short order. You've got to know what gains (if any) your people are making, and how those gains will impact your relationship with them, and all future projects on which you will be working together.
Throughout this entire process, it's imperative that you consult frequently with the external coach and share your thoughts on the progress of the tutelage and whether it's getting the results that are desired. And likewise, you need to talk to your employees about how they feel the special instruction is going. That said, this doesn't mean that you impose yourself on the relationship.
As a coach yourself, you know that the coaching process is about giving employees latitude and as much freedom as is possible and sensible. This same latitude has got to be extended to an external coach. Outsiders, in particular, need to feel comfortable right from the start. They need to work in an environment of relative independence, performing their specialty without interference and unnecessary roadblocks. Coaches-for-hire are ordinarily specialists at what they do, with track records of accomplishment, and shouldn't be treated as upstart employees. They are working for you, yes, but they are also independent.
Seek and ye shall find help. Liberally use outside resources to supplement your coaching and the special training efforts that come with the territory. Potential sources of help include professional associations, books and periodicals, public workshops, college courses, technical seminars, and so on.
So you've got another fine line to walk. That's part of the life of a coach in business. You need to be fully aware of what's going on within the confines of your office space, taking measure of everything from time to time, but you also need to respect others' abilities in doing their jobs with minimal amounts of interference and nitpicking on your part. This certainly extends to external coaches, who need to maintain a certain level of autonomy in working with employees, while simultaneously being on the same page as you, the coach who brought them in to fix a problem or teach a skill.
