Letter from Switzerland
With 21 per cent of the population from overseas, the one common factor in Swiss society is its extreme diversity. A clear national identity runs parallel with an independent Swiss culture in the various language regions. Even though coaching has yet to be formally recognised as a profession by the federal bodies, the market is growing quickly, with the main focus on international companies, along with domestic organisations and entrepreneurs.
Few organisations have internal coaches, so coaching is done mainly through external coaches, with middle and senior managers the main beneficiaries. Switzerland has many languages, so this and the cultural make-up can represent a challenge. Unofficially, four main languages are spoken in addition to English – Italian, French, German and Rhaeto-Romanic, so coaches need to be multilingual. For example, if a coach based in the Italian region wants to work elsewhere, an extra two languages are normally required, German being the most requested. It is common for Swiss coaches to speak three to four languages.
Another challenge is management style. The Swiss are results-oriented and the “do as you’re told” management approach is still prevalent. This is reinforced by a compulsory military service for all able-bodied Swiss men, with annual refresher courses of two or three weeks until the age of 45. This is slightly mitigated where the Italian and French influence is present.
Management is still highly sectored in terms of gender. Respect for status and hierarchy are very important in Swiss culture. Coaching approaches, therefore, tend to be directive rather than facilitative, especially among the 60 per cent who are German-speaking. The Zurich area is increasingly international, English being the second most spoken language. Most coaching here is for high-level executives, with a range of offers in terms of coaches and competencies.
In the French region, there are two main markets: the English-speaking one, which is highly concentrated in the Geneva area and has an English-flavoured coaching approach, and the French speaking one, which often has an extra touch of philosophy and depth, reflecting the characteristics of the French language.
In bilingual cantons such as Bern, Fribourg, Valais and Graubünden, the industry is very active economically and retains a national flavour. Coaching is developing slowly. There is a mix of English and Swiss coaches operating in the territory, the most international ones based around Geneva and Zurich. Executive education programmes are predominantly run by English coaches either based locally or called in sporadically with European coaches still few and far between.
Host to the 2008 International Coach Federation European Conference, ICF Switzerland is the main supportive body for the profession in the country. It has a structure reflecting Switzerland’s territoriality, with two co-presidents representing the “most” important part of the country. Training and initiatives are of a high quality. There is, to date, only one ICF-recognised school of coaching in Geneva. Strikingly enough, for a country that loves insurance of all kind, professional liability insurance for coaches is not common practice.
A final distinctive aspect of coaching in Switzerland is the people themselves. The Swiss respond well to new ways of thinking once challenged on their own view of the world, and there is huge potential for coaching here.
Angelique Miralles is an executive coach at Full Potential Group.
Volume 3, Issue 1