CHECK
OUT YOUR CULTURE
If yours is a 'blame' or 'fear' culture it will breed insecurity.
A learning organisation on the other hand accepts mistakes
as part of the learning culture and fosters the need for their
managers to become good coaches and mentors. People in these
organisations undergo new experiences and learn from them
with the help of coaching managers. The culture is one of
mutual support for the customer's benefit. Changing their
culture is the first step for many organisations.
CHALLENGE
OLD BELIEFS
Old beliefs can crush the spirit of coaching and effectively
snuff out new coaching initiatives. Old beliefs can suggest
that:
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He
or she who knows more wins - information is power. |
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Only
the weak need coaching. |
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Short
term results are more important than long term capabilities. |
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It
is better to invest in yourself than in others - the fittest
survive. |
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Nobody
has the time for coaching others; if they do then they
can't be doing their job! |
Have
you ever heard these beliefs expressed in your organisation?
Does anyone dare to challenge them? If they don't, your organisation
may be destined to become a 'has been', with its 'head in
the sand' and its past success turning to future failure.
Where
do your current beliefs come from? Do you need to change the
thinking at the top?
CHANGE
FROM AN INDIVIDUAL TO A TEAM FOCUS
An individual focus promotes the 'prima donna'. A team focus
promotes the team player. Prima donnas are there for the moment,
teams exist for a season and even an era.
There
is nothing more predictable than the fallen star. There is
nothing more exciting than the sustained success of a winning
team.
Coaching
seeks to make the ordinary extraordinary. It seeks to elevate
the average to the above average. It seeks to motivate the
less confident to be more confident.
It
ultimately aims to make everyone winners. It does not thrive
in a political, self-promoting, and self-rewarding environment.
What
does your organisation currently reward - an individual or
a team focus? Corporate success requires a team focus, as
does coaching.
CREATE
COACHES
Think for a moment about your most talented people. Are they
passively working in your business or are they actively working
on your business?
If
they are simply working in your business, then when they move
on, your business moves backwards.
If
they are working on your business, then when they move on,
your business moves on. Why?
Because
their knowledge, insights and abilities have been coached
into others. Knowledge sharing is now critical for your organisation's
future success. How are you creating coaches for this vital
task? What would happen to your organisation if you lost your
most talented individual or team? To create your future you
must create coaches.
TRAIN
YOUR COACHES
Coaches need to be trained in order to be fully effective.
They need to understand how to:
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Respond
to people's learning styles. |
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Unbundle
what makes them successful and explain it to others. |
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Create
learning experiences for people and have them reflect
upon them. |
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Use
a coaching management style. |
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Grow
self-sufficiency in people by helping them solve their
problems. |
...READ
ON
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RECOGNISE
YOUR COACHES
In sport the winner gets the trophy, but the coach gets the
acclaim!
Organisations
hand trophies to winners but they rarely acclaim their coaches.
Make a point of recognising your coaches, however this is done.
Make coaching an attractive pursuit and a valuable competency.
Openly reward those who have grown successful teams. Openly
discourage those who by solo effort have won acclaim for themselves
only.
CAPTURE
THE WISDOM OF ELDERS
How many organisations live to regret the early retirement packages
given to their most experienced managers and technicians. Some
have even had to hire them back as consultants!
Wisdom
is born out of very many years experience. It is often related
to a large customer, a complex internal operation, or a specific
product or product application.
All
three categories can often defy the laws of the 'norm' and require
particular insights, specific know-how, and a unique treatment.
Responsibilities for them cannot be quickly and easily handed
on to others. They require a thorough, thoughtful and timely
handover of wisdom.
Plan
for the capture of the wisdom of your elders by ensuring that
they carry out a coaching role before they leave!
COACH
YOUR DIRECTORS
Directors don't do courses!
Corporate
success is ultimately the responsibility of directors and senior
management. More than any other group they need the soft skills
of leading, motivating and influencing. Unless they model the
behaviours sought by the organisation the chances are no-one
else will.
Formal
training at this level is often not appropriate but coaching
and mentoring most certainly is. This invariably needs to come
from an outside source to be effective.
Make
the coaching and mentoring of your directors the norm. Select
a number of appropriate external coaches and make them available
on an 'as needs' basis to coach your top team.
MAKE
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS THE NORM
You may have a competency framework to give bite to behavioural
change and skills acquisition. You may use assessment or development
centres for recruitment, development or succession planning.
You may employ a finely developed performance management system.
All these will add to the effectiveness of your people and their
contribution to your corporate success. But do you use personal
development plans?
Personal
development plans focus on growing the individual, and growing
people requires a coaching input. If you want to get your managers
to appreciate the need for coaching, then introduce them to
personal development plans for use on themselves. They will
quickly see the benefit of using them with their own teams.
Make
personal development plans a vehicle for coaching.
Is
coaching the lost opportunity for corporate success or just
another soft skill? Only you can decide.
What
is absolutely certain is that in today's markets, intellectual
capital, knowledge management and skills transfer will separate
the winners and losers - your organisation will be one or the
other, depending on its response to the simple issue of coaching.
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