Managers today have more pressure than ever to get results from their teams, and yet often they are promoted through job specific expertise: they know how to get the job done, but they may not have the people and management skills to match. In the workplace, managers that truly have effective coaching skills produce significantly better results. People do better work, for longer and contribute to the organisation in many more ways. Companies that have brought in a coaching culture report significantly reduced staff turnover, increased productivity, greater happiness and satisfaction at work.
The first thing to determine is the main focus of your coaching needs or what you want to achieve from it. Effective Business mentors provide development and support at various management levels. When you have appropriately trained internal coaches, there can be progressive induction, transition and performance coaching. An essential requirement is a comfortable match between the coach and the coached. I have been engaged in a number of coach training services, as a coach, and as a coach trainer. I have found that the success of coaching programmes depends largely on the thinking about how a company will use the coaches.
Some companies use their trained coaches across departments/divisions. This not only spreads the coaching culture quicker, but it is also likely to avoid any 'agenda' that a line manager might be perceived to have if coaching their own staff. Coaching can be set up as a 'series' over a number of months to achieve specific goals, with planned one-on-one coaching sessions each week or fortnight.
As well as having a formal coaching structure in place, the trained coach manager can also use their coaching skills in all of their interpersonal dealings - this is where managers are really experiencing a new level of engagement and commitment from their staff. That is, coaching conversations are taking place, as against a manager making decisions for their staff.
These conversations will help the managers to use their coaching skills and qualities for empowering their staff, stretching their abilities, providing them with valuable feedback, and more. In order to develop a team of internal coaches, you would have to fulfill their support needs and provide them with ongoing development. This can be done by having regular group mentoring meetings, coach training sessions, and working directly with a coach.
Most companies contract external coaches for the senior managers in their organisation. This way they try to focus on the leadership development, however, this may not always be the case! Many senior managers that I have coached have, during the coaching sessions, tried to achieve a better work/life balance for themselves rather than focusing on strategic goals for the company.
It is very important to set up boundaries, expectations and relationships. The contents of coaching sessions are generally kept confidential. All that is required is a basic report from the coach to the sponsor. It mainly includes information regarding sessions that are attended and engaged, tasks completed, progress towards specific goals, and more. Generally, the client, and not the coach, raise issues that arise from coaching sessions. This ensures that the coach remains agenda-free and have a clarity of distance that an effective coach is required to have.
The larger corporates are well placed and probably best served by developing their own teams of internal coaches. The pace at which this is achieved will depend in large part on the financial resources available to commit to training and supporting the new coaches, and, of course, support at the most senior levels. Without doubt, the best way for senior executives to understand the impact coaching can have, is to experience it themselves - in which case the starting point could be for an external coach to work with them initially. In my experience, where a 'sponsor' of a coaching initiative has worked with their own coach, they are much more informed, and passionate about driving the initiative.
When a company is totally committed to coaching, there can be a quicker acceptance to it in the company's culture. When managers view this only as an 'extra task' that needs to 'get done', there is no point in going ahead with it. Coaching should be used to manage, communicate, and grow the business. Basically, it becomes a way to manage.
The first thing to determine is the main focus of your coaching needs or what you want to achieve from it. Effective Business mentors provide development and support at various management levels. When you have appropriately trained internal coaches, there can be progressive induction, transition and performance coaching. An essential requirement is a comfortable match between the coach and the coached. I have been engaged in a number of coach training services, as a coach, and as a coach trainer. I have found that the success of coaching programmes depends largely on the thinking about how a company will use the coaches.
Some companies use their trained coaches across departments/divisions. This not only spreads the coaching culture quicker, but it is also likely to avoid any 'agenda' that a line manager might be perceived to have if coaching their own staff. Coaching can be set up as a 'series' over a number of months to achieve specific goals, with planned one-on-one coaching sessions each week or fortnight.
As well as having a formal coaching structure in place, the trained coach manager can also use their coaching skills in all of their interpersonal dealings - this is where managers are really experiencing a new level of engagement and commitment from their staff. That is, coaching conversations are taking place, as against a manager making decisions for their staff.
These conversations will help the managers to use their coaching skills and qualities for empowering their staff, stretching their abilities, providing them with valuable feedback, and more. In order to develop a team of internal coaches, you would have to fulfill their support needs and provide them with ongoing development. This can be done by having regular group mentoring meetings, coach training sessions, and working directly with a coach.
Most companies contract external coaches for the senior managers in their organisation. This way they try to focus on the leadership development, however, this may not always be the case! Many senior managers that I have coached have, during the coaching sessions, tried to achieve a better work/life balance for themselves rather than focusing on strategic goals for the company.
It is very important to set up boundaries, expectations and relationships. The contents of coaching sessions are generally kept confidential. All that is required is a basic report from the coach to the sponsor. It mainly includes information regarding sessions that are attended and engaged, tasks completed, progress towards specific goals, and more. Generally, the client, and not the coach, raise issues that arise from coaching sessions. This ensures that the coach remains agenda-free and have a clarity of distance that an effective coach is required to have.
The larger corporates are well placed and probably best served by developing their own teams of internal coaches. The pace at which this is achieved will depend in large part on the financial resources available to commit to training and supporting the new coaches, and, of course, support at the most senior levels. Without doubt, the best way for senior executives to understand the impact coaching can have, is to experience it themselves - in which case the starting point could be for an external coach to work with them initially. In my experience, where a 'sponsor' of a coaching initiative has worked with their own coach, they are much more informed, and passionate about driving the initiative.
When a company is totally committed to coaching, there can be a quicker acceptance to it in the company's culture. When managers view this only as an 'extra task' that needs to 'get done', there is no point in going ahead with it. Coaching should be used to manage, communicate, and grow the business. Basically, it becomes a way to manage.
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