PD Pathways

When a coaching framework is followed through to the end, a coaching culture, and coaching, will become embedded within the organisation over time, and survive all the turbulence of the constantly changing world we work in. 

Step 1 Why create a coaching culture? 

A coaching culture is a means to an end, so begin with clearly defining the technical and behavioural outcomes you want to achieve as a result. To this end be specific, realistic and timely, with an emphasis on defining who needs to be engaged to succeed in attaining the results. Clearly define in measurable terms how the coaching culture will support the core business strategy. Be clear and unambiguous about the desired outcomes. 

Step 2 Link to the business strategy 

Describe what is the appropriate organisation culture to achieve your strategy. What is the current organisation culture? For example, the strategy may require high growth, or greater customer focus. Without leaders throughout the organisation who can draw out the best performance from their people, high growth or greater customer focus will not be sustainable. So, set up a group of people from across functions and departments and at different levels in the organisation, to elicit what is working and what is not working in the current culture, and what needs to be developed. 

Step 3 Identify internal sponsors 

The sponsors act as champions to develop the coaching culture. Consult with your leaders and employees to describe how they themselves will foster the culture they want for the organisation, so that the initiative becomes demand-led. Ideally one of the senior managers will head up the sponsor team. A good sponsor will be someone who has experienced coaching first-hand and can see the benefits for the wider organisation. 

Step 4 Integrate coaching into leadership development initiatives 

External coaches can help support the work of the OD/L&D team and facilitators/ trainers, to ensure a well-integrated approach, so that a coaching mindset can be adopted. Start at the top of the organisation as this sends a strong message across the organisation and assists in addressing any preconceptions. These individuals will become role models and implementers of ‘best practice’. 

Step 5 Create a pool of internal coaches 

Although senior management teams may benefit best from having an external coach, internal manager-coaches are invaluable in promoting the coaching culture. They will ensure that meetings with employees, team meetings and performance reviews conform to the organisation’s coaching methodology and approach. Remember to define the quality criteria and standards the organisation requires of their internal coaches. 

Step 6 Ensure coaching features in processes, metrics and performance measures 

Coaching should become part of each leader’s/manager’s roles and responsibilities, as well as be part of job descriptions, selection and promotion criteria, leadership and management capabilities, and integral to the performance review process. 

Step 7 Examine how a coaching approach can be implemented by all staff, with both internal and external stakeholders 

Coaching skills are useful to engage customers, to encourage effective partnership working, to develop cross-functional and cross-departmental teams, and even when talking with financial investors. Managing virtual technology and its use for working with stakeholders of all types is critical to success. 

Step 8 Develop evaluation strategies 

Planning is essential, as for any new initiative; it is not sufficient to announce the culture change programme, provide information and assume the change will take place. Be clear about the goals. Examine the costs and benefits, and anticipate and plan for resistance. Measures of return on expectations and ROI are critical to ensure support from the senior management team. The investment in coaching has to be put into perspective in relation to the outcome desired – “If you think coaching is expensive, try incompetence.” 

Step 9 Communicate

Coaching and its benefits need to be communicated actively throughout the organisation, e.g. postings intranet or internal technology platforms, a video message from the sponsors about how coaching has helped them, place coaching the agenda for quarterly meetings where a coach and coachee talk about their work. 

With the pool of coaches. Regular quarterly meetings with internal and external coaches are a good idea, to share information and create a joint learning culture. The organisation can bring them up-to-speed about any recent developments, e.g. modifications to the strategy, demands and expectations of senior management team, new initiatives, etc. The coaches can share latest developments and examples of best practice. Ground rules for confidentiality need to be underlined and maintained. 

Remote coaching protocols and tools to enhance virtual coaching options. Consider multiple virtual platforms and apps to facilitate conversation and related coaching deliverables. 

Step 10 Evaluate and Review 

Check back with the desired outcomes espoused. Has the strategy produced the coaching culture desired and contributed to the achievement of the business goals? The sponsors at all levels in the organisation, senior leaders and managers, and internal and external coaches, should be involved in any evaluation and review.

Dr. Shawn Ireland, Ph.D is a founding partner and managing director of HRCgroup, Inc. He works extensively with Fortune 500 companies, foreign governments and international aid agencies. His expertise includes fostering critical thinking, strategic change, virtual teamwork, and managing human behaviour. He is Program Director and Core Faculty member of the Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology programs at Adler University in Vancouver.

Here are three ways to encourage a continuous learning environment at work:

Make Learning Accessible

Based on the same LinkedIn Report, one of the hindrances to employee learning is the lack of time. Providing a variety of learning options is a great way to overcome this concern and motivate staff to prioritize learning. On-Demand options that can be taken at their convenience, virtual offerings that can be attended from the comfort of their own home or office and scheduling company-wide in-house presentations are all examples to support staff training and also show that development opportunities are valued by the organization. 

Create a Growth Mindset

Does your company support a learning environment where people can learn from their mistakes and ask and receive help openly without repercussions?  

Implementing a coaching or mentoring plan at work can help recognize existing skill gaps and develop training plans that can enable your staff to fulfill their full potential. Coaching and mentoring for performance improvement provides support that empowers staff to take responsibility for their learning and development resulting in increased employee engagement. 

Identify Goals and Available Resources 

Whether it is communicating effectively under pressure, managing change or dealing with stress more effectively, achieving personal and professional goals begin with figuring what they are in the first place. Defining your starting point and knowing where you want to go will make it easier to define your action plans, create an effective learning plan and discover resources that can help you achieve them. 

Creating a continuous learning culture will not happen overnight and will require constant effort and improvement, but with only fifteen percent of employees engaged in the workplace  and over forty percent of the workforce considering leaving their employer this year, the benefits of investing in the growth and personal development of your employees can provide immense benefits to your organization. 

Additional Resources: How to Bring out the Best in Your Staff; Skills CPAs Need in 2022; Effective Learning Plans; Learning resources to help you tackle 2022; How to take control of your learning at work.