Is your organization ready to use a coaching style of leadership? Are your leaders ready to add skills to their toolbox of leadership styles? How do you know? When is a good time to start?
Often leaders are interested in using coaching throughout the organization – but — they hesitate.
Let’s consider some of the common barriers to using a COACH Approach that we’ve heard raised.
Leaders aren’t trained executive coaches. Some leaders worry that without rigorous training, none of their leadership team or managers are really ready to coach other team members. It’s important to understand that there is a difference between studying and certifying as a professional executive leadership coach (all of our Padraig coaches in Canada have graduated from the highly acclaimed Executive Coaching program offered by Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC and are all certified by the International Coach Federation) and a leader or manager learning how to use a coaching style with staff. Using a COACH Approach is a tool to add to your leadership toolkit.
It might take too long to learn how to coach staff. When there are time constraints and multiple priorities, it can seem like learning a new leadership skill will take too long. We offer a workshop that, in one day (or two half-days), shows leaders how to use specific coaching strategies with their teams and helps them practice and get comfortable so that they actually use it in their day-to-day work. A COACH Approach to Leading and Managing has been successful because participants learn techniques they can immediately start applying to encourage their team members to develop their best qualities.
The leadership team is too busy to use a COACH Approach. Leaders who don’t use any sort of coach approach are frequently too busy because they’re not empowering their teams as effectively as they could. Using a coaching style helps leaders move from telling everyone the answers to helping team members find answers and solutions for themselves. We know that organizations with a coaching culture win big. If you’re busy, now is the time to shift from solving problems to asking questions and cultivating a sense of curiosity about everything. Are you too busy to bring out the best in your team? Too busy to make your team function better and be more productive? Too busy to find freedom in your own day? It’s worth noting that when you’re swamped at work, it can also be a good time to find a professional coach for yourself. Some of the busiest leaders in North America find our 1:1 coaching and group coaching invaluable.
There’s no way coaching works for every situation. This is true; while coaching works extremely well for many situations, it is not the right approach for every situation. Coaching is one of many tools leaders can learn and use. When leaders feel ready for coaching, they will also know when to use other tools. For example, if someone is learning a new skill then a manager would use teaching (telling them how to do something), mentoring (sharing experience to guide them) or directing (telling them what to do). Coaching can help someone who is struggling or underperforming, but it’s not going to be the right approach for someone at the point of disciplinary action.
The timing isn’t right to learn a new technique. Is there ever really an ideal time? When organizations start using a COACH Approach, we see (over and over) relationships strengthen, communication become more effective at all levels, productivity improve and job satisfaction increase. It works well through any sort of conflict or challenge, including managing change or getting buy-in. No matter what is happening in your workplace right now, learning how to use a COACH Approach offers many benefits. The time to start is now.
If you think you and your team would like to try using a COACH Approach, why not give us a call to explore whether this one-day workshop might work for you? We can offer this workshop in-house for your leadership team or there is a live virtual version for single-seat registration.
Coach’s Questions
Have you ever tried a coach approach with your team? What would give your leaders more confidence to try a coach approach? What would help your organization develop a coaching culture?
