Coaching in organisations
March 20, 2008
Coaching is becoming an ever popular method of learning and development in organisations, with 71% of respondents to the 2008 CIPD Learning and Development survey claiming to use coaching of some sort in their organisations.
Coaching is a goal focussed method of helping an individual improve specified aspects of their work performance. It differs from mentoring as it concentrates on one aspect or area of a person’s job at a time, and normally for a set length of time, whereas mentoring is a long term ongoing development method that focuses on all aspects of the person’s work or personal life to enable development to take place. Coaching is an alternative to traditional training methods as it is very individual and tailored, plus the style is non-directive; the coach’s role is to enable the individual to develop within a framework of support rather than ‘teaching’ them skills or imparting information. The individual is given time to practice and experiment with new ways of working and behaving rather than being given a ‘one best way’ approach.
One of the biggest questions when considering developing some form of coaching within an organisation is how exactly you want it to work and be implemented. The method can be used on a small scale with individual managers and employees, or the organisation can choose to develop what’s commonly referred to as a ‘coaching culture’, where the method is so embedded within the practices of the company it is almost a style of management. I think that in many organisations the first option, i.e. managers using coaching as a development tool in their departments, is done on an informal level automatically – it is where I work. On the other hand, embedding coaching as a culture takes a lot more commitment, resources and time. However this investment can pay dividends: whilst small scale ‘operational’ coaching can be very useful as a performance management and improvement tool, consistent ‘transformational ‘ coaching can provide a new way of managing the company that can help to drive important changes in an ever more competitive business environment.
Finding the right approach to the implementation of coaching will depend on the current culture and attitudes within the organisation, not least at the top. I recently read about some CIPD research (member only resource) into this subject which has found two main approaches to implementation. The first approach, “centralised and structured”, is planned and controlled, integrating coaching activities with policies and procedures as part of a learning strategy. The focus links more to business improvement than to individual growth and development. The second approach; “organic and emergent”, sees coaching as a personal and individual activity, focussing on the need for guidance, support and supervision, but not for a strict policy or framework. A number of factors will affect the choice of approach: including the purpose of introducing coaching, the size of organisation, resources available and the way learning and development is viewed within the organisation. In organisations where L&D does not have a high importance, it is hardly going to be appropriate to suggest implementing a large and costly programme; in this case the organic and emergent approach will be more successful as the practice can gradually develop, building on ‘small wins’ by adding more participants once the news of its effectiveness begins to spread. In organisations where a large scale change is required then the centralised and structured approach will be required; this worked well for Vodafone in the late 1990s and early 2000s when new business models were required to allow the company to stay competitive with all the new networks that suddenly appeared. The large integrated coaching programme helped to change attitudes and management style to help accommodate the business changes.
Developing coaching in an organisation is probably not something that can be done without advice and assistance from an external expert. A consultant will be able to ascertain what is required by assessing the needs of the organisation and judging the current climate for learning and development practices. However to get this kind of help there would have to be an up front investment, which is where the opportunity might fail to even get off the ground!
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