Organisations exist for a number of different reasons. For some, it the commercial aspect. For others, it’s all about providing a service for our users. And for others, it’s a way of supporting a workforce. Many are a blend of all three. And in each case, a fundamental question is at the heart of the organisation. How do we best support our teams, to do their best, be their best and feel their best?
There are many approaches to supporting people, and coaching is quickly proving to be one of the most effective. Case studies, reports and research all show the positive impact of coaching within an organisation. Let’s look at some of them together
Benefits for the individuals
No employee or team member ever went home, complaining about their manager by saying “they are so annoying,they just never stop listening!”. Listening, at the heart of great coaching, is both valuable and underused in the modern era. People who feel listened to feel heard and valued. That is a big, big benefit for individuals in the organisation.
Other benefits include:
- Opportunity to change.Bringing topics that are troubling or exciting them to coaching, being able to explorethem and make positive changes.
- Opportunity to reflect.Sometimes we just need some time and space to have our own thoughts, mull thingsover, and see things differently. People in the organisation can use coaching in this powerful way.
- Autonomy and being valued.When we are coached well, we are being given a message that is “we trust you,we know youcan do it”. We then make helpful decisions, focus on next steps and return the trust beingplaced in us.
- Sense of fairness.If everyone gets coached,both high performers and underperformers are receiving similarsupport. It means that people who want to thrive are enabled, and people who are struggling to thrive are both supported and challenged. This feels fair.
- Protection from poor management practices.When organisations have a coaching culture and regular coaching by skilled manager/coaches, automatically the quality of management improves. Recent surveys by the Institute of Leadership and Management showed that 90% of UK employees have worked for a poormanager.
Benefits for the organisation
Often coaching is put in place to consider either the organisation or the individual. If we are clear on the benefits for both, we’re more likely to introduce an effective approach for all.
Benefits for the organisation include:
- Improved quality of leadership responses. No more knee-jerk reactions to organisational obstacles, blackspots or poor results. Knowing that coaching is supporting people for sustainable change, will slow down these type of poor leadership practices.
- Impact on recruitment AND retention. Who wouldn’t want to work in an organisation where they feel listened to, valued, trusted? For people in these types of organisations, the grass definitely is greener where they currently are!
- Forward thinking learning and development strategy. Organisations that invest in coaching avoid the pitfalls of having poor training and weak performance management processes. They don’t have expectations that behavioural change will just “happen”. Coaching isn’t magic and can’t solve these problems on its own. But it can give organisations the direction of travel. And it will work best as part of a well rounded strategy for developing people throughout the organisation.
- Consistency in values and behaviours. Good coaches challenge respectfully and encourage responsibility.Leaders can be assured that coaching sessions will help people to be held to account, to unearth approaches that need to change.
- Measurable return on investment and impact on organisational objectives. It is hard to isolate the benefit that coaching gives on its own. But the impact of it within a strong organisation will be quite clear to see.Whether it is increased income, satisfied service users, improved exam grades–the client will feel and receive the benefit
Don’t ignore the obstacles, but trust the outcome
I am not blind to the fact that there are also obstacles and potential downsides to having a coaching culture. Rather than try to squeeze them into a couple of lines here, stay tuned for our upcoming blog on obstacles to having a coaching culture where we reflect on this topic.
But trust that organisations that engage well in coaching will receive triple bottom line benefits.
The people working there will be happier and more productive
The clients/customers will be receiving better service/value/experience
And the organisation will grow and thrive.
Next steps
If you are serious about creating a coaching culture, or are merely curious, here are some next steps:
- Email me and ask for a collation of case studies about successful coaching organisations. I’ll happily share resources.
- Wondering if your organisation is coaching ready? Ask for our coaching culture audit and I’ll send it to you
- Ready to chat about coaching cultures and coaching in your organisation? Book in a time to chat to me about it– see my diary at https://loveyourcoaching.10to8.com or email charlie@hollyc55.sg-host.com
Happy coaching!
| Is your organisation ready to develop a coaching culture? Perhaps coaching is being introduced informally. Or you have been coached, saw the benefits and are keen to pass this opportunity to others. We support many organisations to develop a strong coaching culture, with advice, planning and ideas. See our create a coaching culture flyer for more details |
