Even during the best of times, juggling work and family demands can be a challenge. Add in makeshift offices, homeschooled kids, and worries over the health of ourselves and others while doing this can be, well, trying to say the least. You know firsthand the many challenges of life right about now, and so do we, our families, colleagues and clients.
We really are all in this together.
That’s why we want to share a strategy that’s helping organizations transition and adapt during this time, and one that will help them as they move forward: coaching. For many workplaces, coaching has been a part of their culture long before Covid-19, for others it’s a newfound ally. It may be helpful for your organization, too.
Give Your Teams the Golden Key
According the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), “Coaching in a business environment is a training method in which a more experienced or skilled individual provides an employee with advice and guidance intended to help develop the individual’s skills, performance and career.”
Best-selling author and speaker Rick Conlow has coached more than a half a million managers across the globe, transforming them into leaders through trust building leadership practices, coaching and training. “Great coaching is the golden key to exceptional employee engagement and performance,” he said, adding that one-on-one coaching can provide the personal support, objectivity and constructive feedback the people need to succeed.
Coaching before, during and after a crisis: Why coaching your leaders is always good business
In an October 2019 article featured online from Training Industry, Executive Coaching During a Crisis, the authors cite the importance of executive coaching BEFORE a time of upheaval.
“Even when executive coaching is not precipitated by a crisis, it’s likely one that will crop up during the course of engagement. The key is to determine what kind of crisis it is. From there, the coach’s effectiveness centers on calibrating the emotions and launching the roadmap. Once the winds of crisis calm, it is time to discuss about why, in hindsight, it was a good experience: Wrestling with calamity both builds resilience and opens a window to wisdom.”
When Covid-19 was unfolding, leadership in my workplace was fast to act with information - from how to set up remote workspaces, ways to stay safe and healthy, best practices for communicating with each other and our clients, to frequent check-ins, including Friday afternoon organization-wide video chats brimming with humor and camaraderie. The coaching that was in place before the crisis has extended to the crisis and will be what leads us successfully out of the crisis.
Coaching cultures have widespread positive impact
When leaders entrust managers through coaching, they spread the responsibility of training, L&D, branding and culture building across different levels of an organization. This shared accountability leads to better efficiency and greater outcomes.
Coaching not only empowers others in the organization, it’s a smart move for profitability. According to a study by the Human Capital Institute and the International Coach Federation as featured in an Association for Talent and Development (ATD) article, organizations with strong coaching cultures report revenue growth well above their industry peer group (51% compared with only 38%) and significantly higher engagement (62% compared with 50%).
I’m ready to build my coaching culture! How, how do I get there?
HR Daily Advisor, a website devoted to information impacting human resources, provides a “how to” in its article, “The Four Steps to Building a Coaching Culture.” Known as RLAA (pronounced “relay”): Relevance, Learning, Application, and Accountability.
- Build Relevance from the Top Down: When seniors leaders are involved in coaching, others will follow. When the entire team sees how coaching can engage associates, increase team performance, and build skills, everyone wants in.
- Foster Learning on a Regular Basis: Organizations with a successful coaching culture were nearly 40 percent more likely to engage every employee in the coaching process than those with less of a coaching culture.
- Help Employees Apply What They Learn: Establish personalized follow up plans and check ins. Develop a system that helps everyone apply what he or she learns and check in on it regularly.
- Develop Positive Accountability for Results: Develop a workforce based on accountability. This encourages managers to take ownership of their coaching and associates of their performance. This can be done through frequent conversations and widespread transparency.
A coach’s playbook includes the right platform
The right platform can go a long way to support coaching efforts across an organization. A development platform that includes learning, talent, and performance management can ensure that coaching reaches every level of an organization. A strong system should deliver, track, and report on coaches and their efforts to best equip all associates to lead, regardless of the circumstances they find themselves facing.
What should you look for in performance management or coaching software? Our blog, “How to Find Your Perfect Match in Performance Management” can help! Or, feel free to reach out to us to help find the performance platform that’s just right for you!
