“Last year we tried BBQs. The year before was Karaoke, I guess this year is coaching.”
I was disappointed to hear these words. I’d been asked to meet this particular manager of a fairly large team for a pre-coaching session as he was in the process of selecting a coach as part of his further leadership development approach. Or not. It appeared that I had been thrust upon him and he was at best doubtful that I was going to be the answer to the challenges facing him currently, namely poor staff morale, budget cuts and a head-count freeze.
It’s true that coaching is becoming more widely used in organisations. In previous years it seemed to be more of an executive perk, reserved for top management and high potential candidates. In a competitive economy, companies are realising that their people can be a differentiator in their overall performance and that the most successful companies employ highly engaged and self-aware employees. There is a risk however, that in aiming to benefit the organisation by coaching people towards their strategic goals, the employee’s own needs don’t necessarily coincide with those of the broader company.
Coaching can be effective when used as part of a change management process, but it’s important that it is positioned appropriately to the potential coachees to ensure that it is the right investment for the business. Coaching needs to be supported by leadership and needs to benefit both the organisation and the individual. Unfortunately if coaching is introduced from a perspective that other interventions have not achieved the proposed results or to “force fit” with the organisation’s needs without regard for the person’s developmental requirements, it is not likely be successful or beneficial.
Coaching is a mindset and needs to be valued in an organization. In order to make this shift happen, organizations need to create a culture of coaching, incorporate it in training and development programs and performance review processes at all levels of the organization. In this way, the role of coaching and its importance as a management and leadership practice will be valued. If an organization is going to develop and implement a coaching program, the first task is to understand the context. That is, the organization needs to articulate why coaching and mentoring are important for both the development of people and the organization’s success in the short-term and long-term. Beverley Patwell, https://irc.queensu.ca/articles/why-coaching-must-play-integral-role-leading-and-managing-todays-workplace
3 reasons not to coach:
- The individual is lacking certain specific skills. Perhaps training is the answer, not coaching
- The coachee is not open to coaching and is sensitive to the reasons for the intervention
- Performance issues due to lack of resources (budgets, head-count, equipment) are a concern
Coaching works best for:
- Developing leaders and their capabilities
- Preparing individuals for future roles
- Defining and achieving specific goals
It is extremely important that the organisational climate and culture suits a coaching approach. Coaching is able to support the development of competent, productive and flexible leaders and employees, but employees are not machines, they need to participate freely and with deep interest in developing themselves to their fullest potential.
Windstorm Consulting is experienced in people development particularly helping individuals to build on their own talents, harnessing their energy and passion to achieve their ambitions.
Our coaching services include personal and/or leadership development for individuals as well as young adults, couples, families and business teams.
Our engagement is through one-on-one coaching sessions, as well as dynamic, interactive workshops using the Enneagram.