Re-inventing organizations that can flourish in 2020s is the critical business need today! While leadership teams and business academia across the globe are aggressively discussing way forward, current business trends make it apparent that re-inventing is not going to be a trivial task.
There can be no one approach that fits all but, a WEF report on Businesses ahead(*1) suggests that increasing business complexities imposes one critical need on all organizations –
“Shift focus from rigidity and completeness of structures to more flexible, dynamic and continuously evolving work systems.”
That’s where catch lies!
By ways of traditional practice, we are so hardwired to first formalize all the planning steps and then move to execution stage that we – invariably end up creating inflexible work structures around us. These structures leave us with little scope to accommodate changes and re-invent in times of sudden shocks.
The same applies to our mindset. Despite our well-meaning intent, we are so controlled by our rigid thinking that it blocks our ability to think clearly, consider alternate perspectives or act in absence of clear direction.
And, this is where we need to fully understand and appreciate the need and power of ‘Coaching Culture’ which can go a long way in developing habits conducive to navigate complexities of current business times.
What Is Coaching And How Can Coaching Culture Help?
“Coaching in its essence is the most meaningful and effective way of being with someone.”
Today, companies are dying much faster than ever before, and many are dying young, because they are failing to adapt and demonstrate right behaviours and capabilities. (2*)In such a scenario, we cannot ignore coaching as a capability which lets employees demonstrate most meaningful and effective behaviour.
Moreover, the potential that gets unleashed by such effective and meaningful way of associating within an organization gets translated into a positive energy that amplifies human capability, creativity and new ways of doing things.
It is this safe energy that we refer to as ‘Culture of Coaching’!
How To Move Towards A ‘Culture Of Coaching’?
Traditionally, in a command and control style of organizational structures, managers and leaders have been telling employees what to do. While this approach could have worked well in the stable environments of yesteryear, it is ineffective today, as no one can address the different dimensions of complexities facing today’s business environment. (3*)Therefore managers and leaders today cannot claim to have all the right answers.
The problem here is – while a telling style will not work, the employees do not by themselves know what to do? This leads to a situation of disorder and anxiety for both employees as well as managers and leaders, resulting in –
- Managers and Leaders trying to themselves do the work or solve the problem – thereby creating over-dependence
- Above leads to pile up of work for managers and leaders – resulting in loss of focus
- While there may be an attempt to do work from everyone – it is devoid of the feeling of doing meaningful work that engages.
In such a situation, creating a ‘Culture of Coaching’ will build habits of working that can break through to more effective ways of working.
“So, what happens here?”
When leaders, managers and employees associate with each other using coach-like behaviours, they cultivate an atmosphere of open discourse where everyone feels driven to be responsible and accountable for their work. In such an atmosphere, everyone commits to align their efforts towards a common direction. This is exactly where leaders have been failing- “to take people along in the journey.”(*4)
Therefore, fostering a ‘Culture of Coaching’ not only leads to a power source of learning and development, but also equips people to develop in a way that–
- Is more relevant and contextual
- Enables them to move beyond competition and silos to collaboration and networked style of working
- Helps build brain muscles to be comfortable with discomfort and being okay with not having all the answers before initiating certain work
- Builds flexibility and a mindset of alternate perspectives that triggers novel ways of working and innovation
- Builds a sense of urgency but also the patience to execute
- Builds a clean language of clean communication that helps set the expectations right between the teller and the doer
- Equips employees to look at situations more as a problem solver from a dissociated stand point.
What Specific Steps Can Organizations Take To Build A ‘Culture Of Coaching’?
Distil the Work Behaviours to be Developed: The ‘Culture of Coaching’ can be effectively developed only when the behavioural developments are aligned to the organizational direction. Coaching interventions without a prior behavioural finding to be developed or enhanced can result in individual benefits. But for it to be a strategic approach for the organization and develop as a part of the organization’s culture, it is required to align it to the organization’s vision.
Bring in Training: You need expert coaches to train leaders, managers and employees in coach-like practices if you want coaching to be successfully integrated into your workplace culture.(*5) Also, what is coaching’ must be well explained and differentiated from mentoring for it to be effective.
Start at the Top: Developing and sustaining a ‘Culture of Coaching’ requires support, periodic re-enforcements and buy-in from senior management. It’s not just about being able to coach others, but also if these senior executives and managers have themselves undergone coaching to be able to appreciate the benefits it can bring.
Involve Everyone: A sudden change in ways managers and leaders respond may result in people finding them very in-authentic. However, if they have been communicated about the ideas being put in place and explained the motivation behind then instead of facing resistance there will be acceptance and collaboration to shape such a culture.
Build Leader-As-Coach, Manager-As-Coach and Peer-As-Coach Culture: Equipping Leaders, Managers and Peers with an ability to coach others, is going to be the differentiating factor between organizations that will be successful in developing a ‘Culture of Coaching’ from those that will not. One-off classroom interventions will not result in building ‘Coaching Habits’. It must be an on the job and an ongoing exercise through a trained mentor/coach.
Integrate Coaching into Inductions: This not only helps employees reduce the learning curve in their new roles but also makes them feel more involved in taking the responsibility of their own learning, exploring ways things work, building effective relationships, prioritizing their tasks and consciously communicate their brand for a better impact.
Listen and Ask more Questions than you Answer: Listening and silence opens up space for others to be themselves and often communicates more cues about what’s on their mind than they actually do. Asking coaching questions leads them to think clearly about the problem they are facing or problem they have come up with.
For example- if someone asks you what they should do? Simply ask- “What do they think they should do?” To whatever answer they provide, ask- “What will happen if they do that?” Then ask – “What other options have they considered?” You can also ask- “What made them come to that conclusion?”
Such coaching habits lets managers and leaders develop people in their clear-thinking abilities, which in turn they can practice with their teams’ members or peers. At the same time, it also leads to developing new neural pathways for looking at and resolving a problem. This also leads to a self-sustaining power source of learning and development which in time develops into a differentiating competence.
Build a Coaching Routine: This one is Non- Negotiable! You can’t build a coaching culture without giving in the weekly hours needed to create a certain habit.(*6)As sucked up as you may feel with the piled-up work on your table- unless you devote the hours you will not be able to unlock the real potential of your team members. Some things are just to do it. This is one such activity which needs to be religious! By this I don’t mean an employing someone else to do it, that step is over. It’s your turn now at your level!
Embed Accountability and Reward: Make managers and leaders responsible for developing and demonstrating coach-like behaviours and for coaching employees to master and develop new skills aligned to their work need. Also, recognize and reward managers who meet or exceed their goals and re-evaluate others who don’t.
Starting from coaching the top leaders to the managers and so on, sets in a cascading willingness and feeling of being challenged for the better. When above steps are followed and enough time, support and focus is given right from the top to bottom, the domino effect will continue and reflect in all work relationships including that with the clients.
A ‘Culture of Coaching’ is birthed!
Traditionally, hierarchical authority, clearly demarcated role functions, rules around every work and processes led to a very siloed and set way of working. This served well in a much less connected world. But today, organizations operate in a dynamic and diversely interconnected world that is highly unpredictable. Relying on classic approaches designed for a different business circumstance would be like defying the direction of business evolution.
In such situation where old ways of thinking, doing and being needs to be challenged and newer ways of thinking, doing and being needs to be cultivated, a ‘Culture of Coaching’ will serve as the most potent conduit to impact such change!
“In the New Business Order, it’s going to be less about managing people and more about managing and developing right behaviours.”
Ref- *1WEF, Jan, 2019, *2 Harvard Business Review, Feb, 2016, *3Harvard Business Review Press, 2014, *4 Mckinsey Report ,*5 Janet Zaretsky, The Zenith Business , 6* Taylor Jacobson, Team Possible: Achieve more of what matters
