Written by talkforce Associate, Diana Cregan
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there is an increasing presence of external coaches in the workplace. We certainly have. Our coaching business has quadrupled in size over the last 12 months. But why is this?
First, let’s agree on what coaching is and what it isn’t. There is a clear distinction between coaching, mentoring, managing and therapy. In brief (because we could spend quite some time here analysing and discussing the different methods), mentoring is about passing on specific skills and experiences so that the person being mentored can learn from this knowledge. Managing is about directing and ‘telling’ and therapy is about looking backwards and understanding the ‘why’ in order to be able to move forward.
Coaching is fundamentally about working with individuals (or teams) to reach their full potential, by working with them to navigate challenges, decisions or development plans. It is achieved through looking forward and setting goals to create a future of their choice. It is through asking questions and causing reflection so that new ideas can be generated and new neural pathways can be formed to lead to lasting change. It’s also about giving individuals the opportunity to develop the skills to problem solve, and then, in turn help others problem solve by building awareness, responsibility & self belief.
Ultimately, in the workplace, it is about increasing productivity and effectiveness. Whether it is directly, for example by developing influencing skills and strategic capability or indirectly through improved interpersonal relationships with employees or clients.
Coaching itself can take on a few forms such as; coaching for skills, for performance, or for development and is often done in conjunction with, or as a result of, an assessment or learning & development tool.
But why is it so valuable in the workplace? What makes it so powerful? Here are some of our observations.
Management With Time Constraints
It is stating the obvious to say most managers are time poor. They are rarely able to spend the time needed with each direct report to ensure each one is being developed to the extent they could be. The impact of this may be missed productivity (or worse, toxic behaviours left in the workplace going unchecked leading to costly staff turnover, lost productivity and poor work culture). A dedicated resource, who meets with employees on a regular basis, is in a very strong position to support change and development to increase that productivity.
Confidentiality
The cornerstone of any coaching relationship is that there is absolute confidentiality between the coach and client. Coaches invest substantial effort in laying this foundation because unless the client has trust and is willing to be completely honest, it’s difficult to get to the heart of the challenge or situation. Whilst the coach clearly has obligations towards the manager, because it is their investment, (herein the sponsor), the coach’s relationship with the client is centred on the fact the coach is there to support the client. They bring no agenda to impose on the individual. As a consequence, clients tend to be completely honest and share their deepest thoughts without fear of recrimination or judgment.
When the coach reports back to the sponsor, confidentiality remains in place. Whatever is revealed to the sponsor has been agreed to by the client.
Importantly though, themes across teams, departments or units can be discussed which serves as valuable feedback to the manager that they might otherwise not have access to. This therefore creates an opportunity for the manager to apply the learning and ultimately, contribute to increased productivity.
Embedding the Learning from Training Investment
Whilst the overarching goal, often agreed upon through the three way meeting with manager, client and coach, has a direction sanctioned or even requested by the manager, the client will ultimately choose the path they need to get there. Coaches meet the client ‘where they are at’ and work at their pace to ensure the learning is embedded. This means that money, invested in training, is not lost but rather, supported by the coaching.
A Safe Place to Explore Options
Clients drive the decision making during coaching and the actions they are committing to. Ultimately, they take responsibility for these things. Coaching is about providing the space and opportunity to experiment, make mistakes, learn and therefore grow. It is, after all, in mistakes and failure that meaningful learning often happens. A coach brings no judgment but holds up the mirror to support self reflection.
For those who are considering the need for introducing coaching into their workplace – for themselves or their team – I hope some of these thoughts provide some valuable insights. If you’d like to discuss coaching, or any other learning interventions, please contact Joseph La Posta on 02 9844 2999.