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Why every leader needs coaching in their skillset

 We know that coaching is a valuable leadership skill, yet in many businesses it’s not at the top of the agenda to create a leadership culture that empowers a coaching style. Understood as a nice idea, an optional extra perhaps, in some organisations the power of coaching as a leadership style is yet to be fully appreciated. And utilised. 

“Organisations with senior leaders who coach effectively and frequently, improve their business results by 21% as compared to those who never coach.” – Bersin by Deloitte.

 Coaching helps build engagement, improves performance and leads to higher retention. So there is a clear case for it to be embedded in leadership culture.

 The skill of a successful leader is in knowing how and when to utilise different leadership styles – coaching should not eclipse the others. But there is growing evidence that it should be at the forefront of business ethos and in the skillset of every purpose-driven leader.

What are the different leadership styles and where does coaching sit?  

 There are many theories on leadership styles and they all have some truth in them. But one of the theories we often refer to was developed by Daniel Goleman and focuses on emotional intelligence.

Goleman’s leadership styles are based on the idea that leaders need to recognise and understand the emotions, strengths, beliefs and values of others to lead effectively. Goleman’s theory dictates that there is no right or wrong leadership style but reading a situation and reacting using the appropriate style is key.

 So what are the six Goleman leadership styles, when are they most effective and where does coaching fit in?

  1.     Affiliative

 The aim of the affiliative leadership style is to promote collaboration and positive relationships in a team. Done successfully, the leader will facilitate a harmonious atmosphere where all team members feel valued and have a sense of belonging.

 This style of leadership helps build morale and trust and can be an effective solution to healing rifts within teams. Leading this way can help create the right environment for a focus on strategy, innovation, vision and future thinking. 

  1.     Participative (democratic)

 Known also as democratic leadership style, Goleman later switched the word democratic for participative to better represent what he wanted to say. A participative  leader encourages open discussion, equal participation and shared decision-making across the team. It requires an experienced, confident and professional team for this to work. But when a leader has the skills to facilitate and unify, participative leadership can be highly effective.

 It works well for leaders who are comfortable with and value flexibility, and who work in situations where there may be rapid change or frequent problem-solving. Democratic leadership offers challenge and allows for continual individual and team growth.

  1.   Directive (coercive)

 Best preserved for times of emergency or urgency, the directive leadership style comes into play when a leader just needs to get things done. They may have already tried and failed with other leadership styles. It is a firefighting, short-term approach.

 This style of action leaves little or no time for discussion and relies on the assertiveness of the leader and the compliance of the employee or team.

  1.     Pace setting

 For teams who respond well to working under pressure and who are required to consistently meet high standards and frequently hit optimistic targets, the pace setting style can work.

But there are risks and drawbacks to this style. While the pace setting style can achieve excellent outcomes in the short-term, its heavy focus on performance and results can be detrimental to employee wellbeing, engagement and motivation in the longer term. Leaders utilising this leadership style must be mindful of employees’ mental wellbeing and cautious of creating a toxic working environment. 

  1.   Visionary (authoritative)

 In contrast to the pace setting style, the visionary style is generally viewed as an approach that is positive and supportive. Driven by a vision and desire to work together as a team to achieve that vision. Visionary leaders will inspire and motivate teams while offering direction, guidance, feedback and encouragement. 

  1.     Coaching

 The coaching leadership style invests in long-term results, growth and harmony, with a focus on supporting and developing team members. Coaching leaders help employees identify and understand their strengths and weaknesses to improve their skills and working relationships.

 The theory behind the coaching leadership style is to empower employees, encouraging a sense of ownership and accountability, which ultimately leads to positive individual and organisational growth.

How is coaching different to other leadership styles?

 The coaching leadership style is different because of its focus on investing in the long-term. Too often neglected in favour of short-term results and seemingly quick-fix alternatives, some organisations are missing a trick.

 Well trained coaching leaders can bridge the gap between the harsher, results driven pace setting style and the nurturing, long-term style of visionary leadership, to get real results. It empowers leaders to ask difficult questions, lead with purpose and bring about change.

 Coaching leadership works with both talented, skilled and willing employees, as well as those who may be lacking motivation or skills. The leader can tailor their coaching to suit the needs of the individual and help them grow to meet the goals of the wider organisation.

 While coaching requires a greater investment of time, its holistic, developmental approach leads to consistent results across an organisation and loyal, focused, harmonious and productive teams.

 For businesses wanting to appeal to new talent and the modern workforce, a commitment to performance development and professional growth is highly attractive – two thirds of 

Millennials expect their managers to offer professional development opportunities.

 And what of ROI? According to one study, 86% of companies rate their ROI favourably for their investment in coaching, stating that the investment at least paid for itself. Coaching leadership is also proven to improve rates of retention and absenteeism.

 Since investment in coaching leadership style can have such a lasting and sizable human and business impact, every leader should have coaching in their skillset. Contact us to learn more about upcoming courses and how coaching leadership can benefit your business.

In this blog Biran Yilancioglu explores the benefits for organisations of investing in an external coach. 

Why invest in an external coach?

There’s no denying the benefits of a coaching culture – an environment where coaching is the norm is often one where employees and leaders are engaged, motivated and productive.

But there are times when the responsibility for professional development needs to be shared. Times when individuals, even a company, will benefit far more from working with external coaches.

Here’s what an external coach can provide for your company:

Specialist skills and experience

Some leaders and managers will have received training in coaching. But they may lack the depth of expertise and experience of a certified, professional coaching practitioner who will have undergone more extensive training.

External coaches have specialist knowledge and training in the complex theories and practices of coaching and know when and how to utilise them. For example, the Process Communication Model is particularly effective in giving managers and leaders a practical framework to understand personality differences and how to engage with them more constructively. 

Particularly in situations where internal coaching leadership has been ineffective, investing in an external coach can be invaluable to reach goals, resolve conflict or settle discontent.

Another point to note is that external coaches often have a specialism. This means an organisation can seek out an external coach with the relevant industry or situational knowledge and match them with the needs of the company.

No other agenda

As a leader, you have multiple responsibilities – the company deliverables, your own performance goals, the targets of those you lead. And this is not always conducive to an effective coaching partnership with those in your organisation.

An external coach doesn’t carry the load of an internal agenda. Because they don’t drive the direction of the company or set employee targets, an external coach has the luxury of being able to focus solely on coaching – they are free of accountability, authority, company politics and preconceptions.

External coaches can be objective partners, motivated only by the aim of helping the individual understand issues and fulfil their potential. And when there is no agenda, open conversations, creativity and increased performance can emerge.

Absolute confidentiality

While discretion is expected in any coaching situation, it is more difficult to trust in absolute confidentiality when the coach has an internal role. Managers have other responsibilities and allegiances. They may be involved in decisions about promotions, pay and performance reviews. Consciously or otherwise, this could impact on their ability to maintain confidentiality and impartiality outside of the coaching partnership.

Because they are not involved in internal decisions or obliged to give feedback on conversations that take place within the coaching environment, an external coach can create an environment where trust can flourish.

Creating a safe, relaxed, confidential environment where people feel confident to talk openly about their feelings and situation, without judgement or repercussions, is essential to find a breakthrough. That’s when the power of coaching can really come alive.

The right outcome

Coaching often starts with a story of dissatisfaction. As a result, an employee may have decided there is no other way to resolve their issues but to leave the company. In this case, the employee is less likely to feel comfortable talking openly with an internal coaching leader.

An external coach, who has no investment in whether the employee leaves the company or not, can focus on finding a solution that is both right for the individual and the company.

The focus for the coach would first be to help the employee understand why they wish to leave, before helping them explore a range of solutions. Often, the employee finds a different perspective – a resolution within the company – and freely chooses to stay. But without the input of external coaching, the company could have lost that talent.

In other cases, the coaching helps the employee understand that the best solution is, in fact, to move on. It may be that they aren’t a good fit for each other and their role isn’t fulfilling the expectations of either party.

Either way, both parties can arrive at an outcome that is right for them, without the pressure of internal agendas or expectations. And in many cases, this turns out to be right for the company, too.

ROI

While the ROI of coaching services can be difficult to measure, there is increasing evidence in its favour. More and more companies worldwide are starting to see external coaching as a proactive, positive way to manage, motivate and improve the performance of their teams.

One study found that 86% of companies rate their ROI favourably for their investment in coaching, stating that they at least made their money back. What’s more, according to the International Coaching Federation (ICF) leaders who participated in coaching saw 50 – 70% increases in work performance, time management and team effectiveness.

The success of an organisation relies on the wellbeing, engagement and collaboration of its leaders. Investment in external coaches who can develop leaders without the complications of a multiple agenda, judgement or bias, will see huge benefits for your business and everyone in it.

TPC Leadership has been providing specialist external, executive coaching for leaders since 2000, working with clients across over 110 countries. Get in touch to learn more about how our coaches can reap benefits for your business.

 

It has been proven in many studies that coaching results in improvements in many areas such as:

In a study (published in the Manchester Review), which primarily investigated executives from Fortune 1000 companies, it was reported that coaching leads to:

So having a coaching culture in an organisation not only increases employee retention but can also increase bottom-line profitability.

But if you are going to make the investment in coaching for your organisation how can you ensure a return on investment?

Over the past twenty years, TPC Leadership has not only trained thousands of coaches, but we have also worked with countless organisations to ensure their internal coaching proposition delivers results.

COACHING INVESTMENT

Here are our top 10 critical success factors to ensure investment in coaching really delivers:

  1. Coaching strategy – a coaching strategy has been developed to link coaching not only to the HR and L&D strategy but also the business strategy.
  2. Definition of coaching exists – the purpose and use of coaching has been clearly defined. This includes the expected outcomes too, e.g. coaching being linked to high potential development so it is not seen as remedial. The organisation has also made a clear decision on the type of coaching they will use, e.g. external, internal or line manager as a coach.
  3. Triangular goal setting – goals for a coaching programme have been agreed between the manager, client and coach. Coaching is therefore seen to support the achievement of business goals.
  4. Learning culture – the learning culture of the organisation is strategically focused on workplace development rather than classroom so is conducive to coaching.
  5. Sponsorship – leaders of the organisation sponsor coaching activity and role model coaching behaviours; they are coached and coach others. There is also a senior figurehead sponsoring the coaching proposition.
  6. Alignment with other people processes – mentoring, development programmes, performance management, reward and talent management systems and processes have been aligned and reinforce coaching activity.
  7. Coaching framework – the organisation has developed a framework and or processes for the induction, selection, matching and evaluation of internal and external coaching activity.
  8. Resources for internal coaches are in-place – resources are in place to enable internal coaches to effectively coach in the workplace and further develop their capabilities. Examples include supervision, development centres and continuing professional development events.
  9. Coach assessment – robust and objective assessment processes are in place for internal and external coach selection.
  10. Management of coaching provision – the organisation has dedicated staff responsible for the coaching provision. These members of staff have high levels of knowledge regarding coaching practices.

If you manage a coaching provision – how many of the above do you have in place?

If your organisation wants to develop its coaching provision, get in touch and we can discuss how to move forward.

Leadership development changes with the world it is a part of. It’s well-established that everything is going digital, and the best leaders must adapt to it. 

Anywhere, anytime

“They say, in real estate, success is based on location, location, location. Well, in coaching, we will be saying technology, technology, technology.”  – Brad Federman, F&H Solutions Group

The model of coaching as a one hour sit-down every Wednesday doesn’t match the working lives of many leaders. Increasingly, coaching is becoming a remote experience snatched from whatever minutes happen to work that week. The rise and rise of video calling means that distance and time zones matter less and less. Coaches can be on-call when you need them. 

This is pretty useful for as-you-need-it support, but there’s also a limited amount of introspection that can occur in fifteen minutes between two other mind-demanding appointments. If coaching is going to bring out the deep potential of leaders, intentional time will still need to be carved out.

There’s an app for that

“Gamification works by making technology more engaging, and by encouraging desired behaviours, taking advantage of humans’ psychological predisposition to engage in gaming.” – Jon Radoff, Game On: Energize Your Business with Social Media Games

An old limit of leadership development used to be, ‘How do you keep learning between training/coaching sessions?’ It was easy for learning to be forgotten in the everyday, or forced out by the pressures of the next deadline. 

With the rise of technology, there are now digital coaches like Everskill and AI programs like Volume to fill in the gaps. Especially when it comes to team development, these resources can increase engagement by a significant degree. Digital coaches can embed learning via nudges during ordinary office hours – prompting the practice of new habits. Whereas other AI programs can teach specialised training or reinforce an organisation’s culture via app.

There’s also the video game factor. Leadership development processes don’t exactly look like Call of Duty but they have more in common with it than you might think. Static forms of learning are going through gamification and are developing teamwork and key skills in a surprisingly effective way. Such a shift naturally attracts scrutiny because it appears the company budget is being channelled into ‘fun’. But as the digital age keeps spiralling upwards, traditional development strategies will have to embrace gamification.

What kind of leaders will we need?

“A lot has been written about…artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, etc. Some describe a future where most of the work still done by human beings will require strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence.” – Kathy Bernhard, KFB Leadership Solutions

As more responsibilities are passed into the hands of technology, many forms of traditional expertise will depreciate in value. But the importance of being creative, daring and resilient as a leader will only increase. Processes may require less attention, but leadership will be as essential as ever. 

The world will still need adventurers, dreamers and leaders with the tenacity to take on the status quo. People who can ask better questions and stay steady in the face of the unknown. And while there is speculation about the possibility of imbibing robots with emotions, the emotional intelligence of the internally agile leader will not be replaceable.

The continuing rise of technology could kill off poor leadership coaching by natural selection. It will certainly force leadership development to move away from old models. When so much is being done for us, the power to make a real difference as a human being will depend increasingly on how deep we are willing to go to do the work on ourselves.

Want more insight on how to move forward? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help

In our latest blog, TPC Leadership’s Founder Charles Brook discusses the coaching results you can and should measure to help demonstrate a return on investment (ROI).

How to get coaching results you can measure

There is a growing desire among companies to measure the results of coaching. It’s understandable. After all, the current global leadership development spend is estimated at $31 billion, while the global coaching sector generates revenue estimated at $2 billion. If the ROI is not there, then it is an extravagant waste.

The challenge is that measurable results are external whereas lasting change always originates with the internal. If you hurry to make measurable change occur, you shortcut the process and any results will likewise be short-lived. Inversely, a vision for change without measurable steps may be impossible to translate into day-to-day actions. People might “get it” but not know how to “do it.”

Integrated skills

“The key skill is an integrating skill. When leaders find the wisdom and capacity to sit with all of experience – including being open to what is not wanted – they can sense and shape the system’s intentionality.” – Deborah Rowland

There are three factors that mark the path to change: knowing, doing and being. Knowing is often the first stage, when we gain awareness of a problem and/or a solution.

In Still Moving, Deborah Rowland names eight integrated skills that shift “being” into “doing.” She separates them into inner capabilities:

  1. A capacity to stay present.
  2. A capacity to respond instead of react.
  3. A capacity to perceive the difference between system dynamics and personal transformation.
  4. A capacity to acknowledge difficulties as necessary for transition.

And “outer doing” abilities :

  1. Aligning people behind a shared purpose.
  2. Confronting reality.
  3. Channelling anxiety into purposeful energy.
  4. Spotting and changing repeating patterns as they happen.

These skills are difficult to measure in the traditional sense. But the changes will be noticed by the individual experiencing them and felt by the team around them. Leadership development that places an importance on Rowland’s eight capacities will produce a visible outcome, since these abilities make knowledge actionable. They are soft skills that produce hard results.

The opportunity to act differently

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford

It is possible to experience internal change without ever noticing the effects in action. Leadership development programmes should prepare people to actively step beyond their default response to pressure. Personal development plans are essential.

The time to review is after the moment of pressure, once the dust has settled. If someone has reacted according to their old patterns, it doesn’t mean no change has occurred, or that the training was worthless. It means that they need to reflect and continue asking themselves uncomfortable questions. A continued reflective practice will gradually help internal shifts to become visible, measurable change.

Humanising the measurement

The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people. – Tom Peters

Often success is defined as the achievement of measurable aims such as a new product launch, an increase in market share. A failure to hit targets is perceived to be the result of a leader’s incompetence.

However, the failure may be (and probably is) the result of a wider systemic problem. A leader’s capacity may have increased ten-fold over the last year and yet they still deliver an unsuccessful quarter. The true test of their development is not found in a numerical figure but in their handling of failure. How much they have learned from the experience will be a far more accurate indication of growth. Upon reflection, they may be able to provide insights that highlight systemic issues within the company that are hindering financial success. Their unique vantage point should not be dismissed because they were the one “responsible” for the disappointing result.

Supporting the behaviouralisation of insight

Companies and coaches can close the knowing-being-doing gap by putting key structures in place. Ongoing workshops targeting this can help, as can mutual support groups that help leadership development feel like a co-operative effort. Tools like the Everskill app can aid personal development plans by prompting a person to make decisions differently each day.

Leadership always comes from the sense of identity and purpose which drives us. But coaching shouldn’t stop at the internal. Everything internal can be translated into pragmatic action that looks like lasting change.

Want more insight on how to move forward? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help.

When you’re looking to work with an executive coach do you ever need a coach with a specialism? TPC Leadership’s founder Charles Brook explores the factors you should consider.

As a baseline, you would hope that an executive coach has a background in leadership themselves. If for no other reason than so they understand the weight of your decisions as a leader. But should you look for leadership coaches with specialisms beyond the general executive world?

 They might understand you better

 “To effectively communicate, we must realise that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” – Tony Robbins, entrepreneur and coach

 Sometimes you need a specialist to talk to a specialist. It’s difficult to trust someone who doesn’t seem to understand you. Trust is essential to making any coach – leader dynamic work. If an executive of an IT company knows their coach has a background in coding, it can help them to feel in safe hands.

 TPCL coaches come from all kinds of backgrounds including education, business science, philosophy, psychology and neuroscience. Our founders bring specialisms to their coaching too – for Andrew McDowell it is health and psychology, whereas Charles Brook has years of experience in business and sport.

Their experience might be relevant

 “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” – Heraclitus, Greek Philosopher

 Which is more important: specialist corporate or coaching experience? Every coach is an amalgamation of both, but some will have spent thirty years in their field before beginning to think about coaching, whereas others will have been coaching for decades.

 For those that like formulas, there isn’t one here. Although a coach may have been the CEO of an insurance company, that doesn’t mean they stayed true to their values, resolved conflict well or experienced a happy life during that time. Specialist experience helps a coach to engage with the complexity of a leader’s work, but it doesn’t prove they are proficient.

 It’s worth being aware of a certain kind of executive coach, who’s story looks like this: They spent their life operating in a dysfunctional manner, reached burnout, recovered slightly before deciding that they will be a leadership coach (in their specialist field) to prevent the same thing happening to others. They may have some success as a coach, but at no point in their tale did they learn to lead others in a holistically successful way. In the words of Oscar Wilde, sometimes ‘’experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.’’

It’s not about expertise

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Helen Keller, the first deaf-blind person to achieve a degree.

 Ultimately a coach’s role is not to give you specialist advice in your field. Their purpose is to help you find the answers yourself. Be wary of coaches that jump quickly into giving you a diagnosis and cure. Lasting change isn’t found in specialist advice; it requires you to do the hard work of introspection that digs way below the surface.

 The best coaches are the ones who have gone to the depths themselves. They are self-aware and have learned to navigate the unknown, to resolve conflict in their relationships. They have learned that coaching is about skilful listening more than knowledge and that leaders are unique and cannot just be forced through a cookie cutter coaching model.

 There is another kind of specialist coach though: They might be practised at helping leaders find their voice, or adept at helping executives recover from burnout, or at enabling teams to resolve conflict. They may have a relevant background that helps you feel in safe hands – or they may just be such an expert listener that you trust them regardless.

 For further advice on what to look for in an executive coach, read our 15 signs a coach can deliver what they claim. And to chat with us about it, please contact us.

In this blog TPC Leadership’s Associate Partner Biran Yilancioglu discusses the importance of coaching during periods of change.

How many of you are familiar with neuroscience? The amygdala, the limbic system and the pre-frontal cortex? 

I’m not going to go deep into neuroscience here but there is one thing that I want to explain so please bear with me.

Amygdala, the limbic system and the pre-frontal cortex

There are two different parts of our brain. 

1)    Firstly the pre-frontal cortex, the place that stores our skills like logical thinking, problem-solving, abstract thinking, decision making etc…

2)    Secondly the limbic system (where our amygdala is). The task of the limbic system is basically survival. It evaluates each and every stimulus and decides if it is a threat to our survival or not. If the limbic system decides that a stimulus, (doesn’t matter what it is…a car coming at you, someone threatening you, a lion chasing you or your team going to lunch without inviting you….), is a threat it doesn’t deliver the message to the cortex.  This is called amygdala high-jack. The message sticks in our limbic system and we start to behave from the limbic, not from the cortex. Meaning we can’t use our problem-solving skills! And sorry to say but, our limbic system knows only three responses fight, flight or freeze. 

Uncertainty/lack of clarity

Research shows that one of the things our brain consider as a threat is uncertainty or a lack of clarity. Think about your self driving in heavy fog, unable to see the road. How do you feel? 

Your brain thinks the lack of clarity and uncertainty is a threat to your survival, so you feel uncomfortable and stressed. 

Logical thinking

The limbic system is actually a protection system. But sometimes it fools us and keeps us from logical thinking. Think about the people jumping from the window on the 5th floor during an earthquake… Does that make sense? No, but at the time of threat, we just can’t think logically. 

So what does it have to do with change, complexity and ambiguity? 

It is clear, right? Change brings uncertainty/ambiguity and again complexity also brings the ambiguity…

So when we are talking about coaching through complexity and ambiguity we are talking about helping our brains to get out of the limbic system and reach our potential in the cortex.

Next time when you think someone is resisting to change, think twice!

Links to more information about neuroscience: https://davidrock.net/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wu33SdjeCs

“What is the difference between Team Coaching and Group Coaching?”

HR Directors and professionals, like many students of our courses, get often confused by this subtle difference. This confusion may imply the loss of a significant opportunity to chose the right approach for the right people.

I want to briefly highlight this difference, and why this difference matters, hoping to shed some light about how to chose the most effective methodology.

Team Coaching defined

In general, we define Team Coaching as the art of facilitating and challenging a real team to maximize its performance and enjoyment in service of meaningful organizational goals.

Team Coaching is the art of facilitating and challenging a real team to maximize its performance and enjoyment in service of meaningful organizational goals.

According to John Katzenbach and Douglas Smith, a real team is “a small group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they are mutually accountable” (1993, The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-performance Organisation, Harvard Business School, Boston).

In Team Coaching, the client is a real team, including the team leader and each one of their direct reports. They work together for common goals against which the whole team’s performance is evaluated. Individuals in a team are therefore interdependent.

In Team Coaching, the client is a real team.

Often real teams stumble at operating as high performing teams because of problems such as:

Stumbling blocks like these can create a dramatic impact on business performance, especially when they involve boards or directive teams managing entire businesses, functions or divisions.

Team Coaches work overtime with teams by supporting them to increase awareness of the current patterns, and by challenging its members to leverage on their resources, strengths and life-giving forces to enhance team processes, relationships and performance.

Group Coaching Defined

Group Coaching is a facilitative process that leverages the experience of a group of individuals which may or not work together.

Group Coaching is a facilitative process that leverages the resources and knowledge of a group of individuals working on a common theme but having different individual performance goals.

Unlike in Team Coaching, in Group Coaching, individuals do not need to achieve common objectives for which they are interdependent, but have in common just a theme or competency all of them want to develop.

HRs often use Group Coaching as a cost-effective alternative to one to one coaching when organizations want to develop a larger number of middle managers or professional while using a reflective, empowering and bespoke approach.

Unlike traditional training, a Group Coach does not ‘teach’ or ‘lecture’ about models or theories or tools, but partners with the group in building the process and in creating an effective thinking environment. In order to achieve this, Group Coaches use different methodologies such as plenary coaching, structured questions sets, activities of buddy work, peer-consultation sets, learning diaries, discussion of critical cases etc.

Choosing the right approach

We use Team Coaching and Group Coaching not only with different targets but also in different situations and with different aims.

We implement Team Coaching when we want individuals of the same team to collaborate in order to boost team performance. It is therefore often useful when a team needs to:

We need Group Coaching when we want individuals from different teams or departments to share challenges and best practices in service of transversal developmental goals. Typical examples are:

As a final note: not all Team Coaches are also good Group Coaches, and the other way around. I usually advise HR professionals to verify upfront the approach of the coach they are about to engage, for example by asking how they would articulate the difference between Group and Team Coaching or what have been their previous experiences in these fields.

The key for successful coaching interventions lies in striking the ideal mix between right target, aims, approach and coach.

The key for successful coaching interventions lies in striking the ideal mix between right target, right aims, right approach and naturally right coach

Original article by Andrea Cardillo PhD, PCC – Managing Partner at TPC Leadership, Italy

For more information on team coaching please contact us.

In an age of echo chambers and generational divide, reverse mentoring strides onto the scene, turning over hierarchies and proclaiming new strategies.

The evolution of an idea

A term first made popular by Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, reverse mentoring seeks to partner a senior employee with a junior one, so that the younger can teach the older. The original motivation behind this was to enable the senior workers to become versed in the technological tools that were forcing out the old ways of working. In the words of Welch, they “tipped the organisation upside down.”

Reverse mentoring has a different emphasis now, though the need for senior employees to learn new tech remains in some industries. The benefits now go two ways: senior employees learn to see from another perspective, junior employees gain a communication link to the top. In its best forms, reverse mentoring fosters connection, understanding and empathy – this worked to interesting effect at The Guardian. Ideally, reverse mentoring allows relationships to form, instead of a series of forced conversations over coffee.

In many ways, reverse mentoring is simply collective leadership rebranded. If you give an old idea a new name, then the idea might safely sail its way into the heart of hierarchical territory as an accepted model. Reverse mentoring has become a trojan horse.  

The power and pitfalls of language

Language is our way of making sense of an idea. The trouble is that language can become a substitute for an idea, a dynamic the Center for Creative Leadership describes as “similar to seeing a country on a map and therefore thinking one understands the people who live there.” As a result, reverse mentoring can mean one thing to General Electric and another to The Guardian. A new term can quickly become a buzzword. We can mistake one thing for another.

Reverse mentoring is important. But it is part of a wider search to understand what good leadership is and when power matters. It is a reinforcement of an idea voiced by Craig Pearce of MEF University: “knowledge trumps position when it comes to leadership.”

The redefining of leadership finds form in Barry Oshry’s system thinking, in network leadership, in self-organising teams. Reverse mentoring is another on the list. Each may appeal to different leaders, to different industries. In many ways, we are all talking about the same idea and believing we are innovative unique because of the terminology we use.

The philosophy found beneath

The emphasis of reverse mentoring is to share knowledge across systems. It allows influence to rise up as well as trickle down. It melts the ice that can form around an insular boardroom or an intimidated junior team. The legacy it leaves may well be in millennial retention as new employees feel less like pawns and more part of a collective. Meanwhile, those closer to the executive end may discover how many answers lie buried within their organisation.

Reverse mentoring can be a core ingredient in changing the culture of a system, especially if the more radical forms of collective leadership cannot yet be implemented. We established it as a key part of our Leading Together programme, which sought to build bridges between 120 health professionals and lay people. The key philosophy was that everybody had something to learn.

As we press into truer expressions of leadership, fresh waves of language will continue to wash over the leadership world. Some will become entry points for people still yet to shake off their outmoded models of leadership. We can celebrate most of them, so long as we don’t mistake the language for the actual process. The language of reverse mentoring may come and go, but its philosophy will continue to influence industries for many years to come.

To learn more about reverse mentoring, please contact us.

In theory the first sign should be a qualification. ICF, EMCC, ILM and the Association for Coaching are the main accrediting bodies for leadership coaches. They all exist to uphold a certain standard of coaching, and require that coaches exhibit self-awareness and relational skills, and learn accepted models, techniques and ethics, but two coaches with the same accrediting body can still have very different approaches to coaching.

For instance, we offer ICF, ILM and EMCC accredited courses to the coaches we train. But our method is interactive, as much about personal self-development as learning skills to teach others. Our approach produces a very different kind of coach to lecture-based courses with the same accreditation. So if qualifications aren’t the clearest indicator of an effective coach, what should you look for?

1) They have a personal approach

There really isn’t a substitute for this. The wisest person in business can be teaching you, but it isn’t effective coaching unless it deals specifically with the individual. Inspirational talks and large group sessions are valuable. But they do not allow a person to grapple with their underlying issues: their dualities, doubts and fears. A face-to-face approach creates space for such things to come to the surface so they can be addressed.

2) They listen more than they speak

If a coach is secure, they don’t need to prove they are an expert. Beware of coaches that are overly-quick to diagnose or to give their opinion. They are likely to be afraid of dealing with the unknown or with nuances. Maybe they are even more worried about losing their reputation as the one who knows everything. But coaches shouldn’t know everything. In fact, they should be very comfortable with the fact that they know very little. Any ‘answers’ will come with time and probably not from a coach’s external perspective.

3) They are curious and open-minded

Remaining curious allows a coach to keep asking questions instead of arriving at a premature conclusion. Every coach will come to a situation with a narrative of what they suspect is going on. It is their job to ignore that narrative, to recognise their own judgements as partially or totally false, and to stay open-minded. When a coach has this capacity, dialogue can progress to a place where new perspective can be gained by both coach and coachee.

4) They address beliefs above behaviour

There are so many principles that can be taught, so many behavioural tendencies to find and correct. But the overall effect of this kind of coaching is to pile additional weight on an already-fractured back. Unless underlying beliefs are given far more attention than symptomatic behaviour, any ‘progress’ made through a coaching session will likely be short-lived and shallow.

5) They are growing themselves

Every coach needs to be coached. On an ongoing basis. If a coach feels they have outgrown their need for coaching, empathy will come less easily to them and they may have forgotten what it feels like to be in the hot seat. Coaches can also only take you as far as they have gone themselves. It’s not worth having a coach who hasn’t gone far and it is worse still if a coach feels they have ‘arrived’.

6) They are authentic

The best coaches are the fullest versions of themselves. The haven’t hidden their humanity under a cloak of pseudo-professionalism and expertise. Conversation with them leads quickly to a click – a real connection with a real person. You feel at ease in their presence and they help you bring your authentic self to the table too.

7) They understand your context

“No baby without a mother, no leader without a context”, says Manfred Kets de Vries. Every leader is both limited and empowered by their organisation to varying degrees. If a coach understands exactly how, they will be far better equipped to deliver meaningful coaching. At the very least, coaches need to understand organisational structures and how they work.

8) They don’t oversimplify

Coaches seem to love their acronyms. Especially if it sounds catchy or motivational. They generally seem to be made up of 4-5 letters as well, which means there are only 4-5 easy steps before you are PURE or become SMART. Memorable learning has its advantage. But it also has its limits. Tools have the potential to be helpful but humans are complicated creatures whose lives seem to colour outside the lines of formulae. Be careful of coaches that don’t recognise this.

9) They don’t give the answers

To quote Manfred Kets de Vries again, “When I coach teams, it regularly happens that I look around and ask myself ‘What in heaven is going on here?’ Then I just wait. Waiting is the art of letting the answers come up.”

Any meaningful answers will come from within an individual or team. And usually after they have wrestled with some difficult, probing and personal questions. A coach needs to be comfortable with the awkwardness of offering nothing but another question. This way, everybody experiences discomfort for a while – sometimes a long while – but on the other side something of value is often discovered.

10) They have a holistic approach

If there seems to be little separating your leadership coach from a life coach, it’s probably a good sign. Leaders are people before they are leaders. And their business practices will come from their very personal sense of identity. Work can be an opportunity to bring meaning to life and a flourishing life can result in successful work.

11) They have a clear objective

Is the focus of a leadership coach to increase performance or wellbeing? Is it to encourage personal growth or to unlock creativity? Are they all linked? Work out what your own objective is and see if it aligns with what the coach claims to offer.

12) They know what they can promise

If a coach claims they can change anything quickly or totally, they are overpromising. Coaching is a part of a greater process that takes time. Coaches are not magicians, even if they put on their best wise-wizard performance. A secure coach who has a lot to offer will be humbly realistic about what they can give.

13) They invest in the long game

The best coaches are looking to benefit you years down the line, long after you have forgotten them. They are not after producing a fast result that proves their market value. They are about doing the hard work that brings about lasting change slowly.

14) They have clear vision and values 

A great coach will not compromise their values if you ask them and they will certainly know what those values are. They know the difference they want to make in the coaching and business world. If a coach doesn’t know this, it is unlikely they will able to help leaders stay true to their own vision and values.

15) They know how to create transitional space

Creating a safe place to experiment and explore the unknown is not easily done. But a great coach will have done exactly that for years on end. If everyone feels free to be candid, to be vulnerable, to uncover the new – then hold onto your coach for all they are worth. They won’t give all the answers, work miracles or make everything easy. But they will create space to ask better questions. And who knows where that might lead?

To find out more, please contact us.

The term listening and especially active listening can easily be bandied about without consideration of the actual ingredients, let alone the complexities of delivering it consistently within the coaching environment. It can be difficult to maintain listening with intent during the coaching session, instead we can experience mental interference, a need to fix it and instinct to offer advice. In this blog post I offer my thoughts on active listening based on research I did.

Levels of Listening

There has been much research in to the levels of listening with The International Listening Association (ILA, 2012) describing listening as, “the process of receiving, constructing meaning from and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages”.

Carl Rogers was instrumental in researching in to levels of listening; one level he identified was active listening. He noted the benefits it can have aiding communication between two or more people. Rogers talks of his discovery of the importance of listening with understanding. This can help build trust and create an environment of understanding rather than an impulse to react, evaluate or judge either approvingly or disapprovingly to what another person is saying.

The coach’s role is to create a trusting partnership and a safe environment where the coachee can explore their own behaviours and beliefs to better their own self-development and performance. Listening is one of the essential techniques which are indispensable to any coach. It is interesting to consider that active listening contributes most to the coaching environment as a significant building block to building trust and rapport for a successful coaching session.

Active Listening

There are many descriptions of active listening with varying components. Part of this is hearing the words of what is being said with an awareness of vocal changes in tone, speed and pitch. Other techniques, which are not purely based on listening with our ears, include visual responses from the listener by nodding or subtle verbal responses such as uh – huh and eye contact. Further elements comprise of observing the speakers body language, awareness of their reactions to words they are speaking.

On top of this is our own awareness as the listener of our body language and how we ‘show up’ and interact with the coachee. This includes refraining from judgement. Our own internal dialogue may start based on what we think of the content and although we may not share verbally, it can be shown through our body language or facial expressions. We are all human and have our own belief and value system, the importance is to focus on the dialogue rather than our interpretation and judgement of the content. It is essential that the coach has an acute sense of awareness both of themselves as well as the coachee. These might appear to us as simple components and yet it is important to make them authentic.

The common theme is the need for the listener or coach to understand both content and feeling of the speaker and at the same time not show judgement. Research has identified this as telling the speaker they are worth listening to.

Active listening is an integral part of coaching, being at a deeper level and offering many benefits to a dyadic relationship. Some view the importance for the listener to identify both words and thoughts as well as what the coachee is feeling. The process can be aided by the use of questions to encourage further talking by the coachee.

Newkirk & Linden offer 5 techniques to develop the overall impact of active listening, these being;

Research (1) suggests that individuals, who received active listening felt more understood, produced rewarding and positive outcomes as well as building stronger relationships. It is interesting to consider if negative results and unsatisfying relationships would be the outcome of poor or ‘not’ using active listening skills.

Complexities of Active Listening

Active listening appears far from an easily learned skill due to the complexities of the interaction of each element within the coaching conversation. It requires more concentration to be able to show the coachee that you have an understanding of the content, their feelings and underlying beliefs and values without judging them. By managing our own personal responses to the coachee’s words can enable us as the listener to show empathy authentically.

It might be said it [active listening] is a conduit to building trust, creating a safe and honest environment for the coachee to share their thoughts and feelings and reflect on their beliefs and behaviours as a catalyst for change. Rogers & Farson (1987) identify that active listening takes more awareness and is not an easy skill to develop. Take for instance now whilst reading this page, are you ’listening’ to the words your mind is reading or to something that is not on the page. By placing yourself in front of a coachee and listening to them speak you may encounter internal interference. This could be distracting and might impact negatively on your ability to listen actively.

Mullender, hostage negotiator talks of listening elite level and challenges concepts by stating the mind cannot refrain from making mental judgements. According to Mullender we are all making judgements based on our values and beliefs that will impact and cloud out thoughts. This internal conversation can continue and may include filters or assumptions about what the coachee has said. During a dialogue, should the listener use active listening skills to encourage the speaker, show empathy and understanding; this can lead to greater understanding and appreciation of each other. By making judgement, evaluating or commenting by approval or disapproval will impede the flow of conversation as well as the level to which the speaker will share their true thoughts and feelings (Rogers et al, 1991 / 1952). There appear to be many inter-related aspects of active listening.

Different Coaching Environments

Another consideration is how we use active listening in different coaching environments. Certain aspects of active listening are much easier in face to face sessions where you can absorb visual clues from the speaker. When you are coaching over the telephone it may heighten the listening experience and you notice the changes in the voice more readily and yet you have less opportunity to witness the speaker’s expressions. It is interesting to consider when you are coaching over the telephone and have less visual cues how do you know when the coachee needs verbal re-assurance or needs quiet space to think? This is probably most critical early in the relationship when you are trying to build rapport and trust.

By understanding that listening is far greater than hearing the spoken word but also picking up on subtle verbal and non-verbal cues, a reflection might be how we become more aware as coaches to identify these. This leads on to the importance of being conscious to the coachee, an awareness of being in the moment.

Preparation is Key

How we prepare for each conversation can greatly impact on the quality and outcome for the coachee. Personally I need to create space for me so that in turn I can offer mental space to the coachee. The use of mindfulness as preparation and centering prior to a coaching session has proved invaluable. This enabled me to be present for the coachee and avoid personal assumptions. This has also been ignited further following working alongside two wild ponies where being present and understanding subtle non-verbal cues are essential to build trust and rapport.

Preparation is important for future coaching De Haan (2014) emphasises the need to listen is the base function a coach should be offering before any intervention verbally and staying attentive to the coachee. It is very humbling to consider that according to De Haan (2006) even experienced practitioners feel that they still have a lot to learn when it comes to listening.

A reflection might be to consider the Conscious Competence Model by A Maslow; a good model to reflect upon during a coaching journey.

The challenge is to become consciously aware and focussed on the coachee. This will enable further practice and development of listening skills so that it becomes an unconscious competence.

Reference List

Within a coaching relationship, unchecked transference can hinder the ability to hold positive regard and a nonjudgemental position and research has found it is often the cause of the deterioration of a coaching relationship. In this blog post, I offer three steps the coach might use to help manage transference and countertransference.

This is a guest post by one of our Postgraduate Diploma in Coaching and Development students, Nicola Williams

What is transference and countertransference?

Transference and countertransference are two related psychological processes. Transference occurs all the time in everyday interactions and is where we may be reminded of someone in the behaviour of others or where previous memories are triggered. Countertransference is a specific reaction by the coach to the client’s transference. Here are some examples to help illustrate:

Transference

  • I have the strongest sense at this moment that my boss is just like my beloved father
  • I experience the same emotions towards a team colleague that I felt towards my brother, with whom I competed
  • My current work situation feels just like a traumatic period at school in my teenage years

Countertransference

  • Giving longer sessions than is useful to the client
  • Never challenging the client for fear of losing her love
  • Avoiding confrontation out of her own fear of anger
  • Unconsciously using the client’s dependency to feel powerful
  • Fulfilling her needs for intimacy
  • Giving unnecessary advice out of a need to be an authority
  • Overvaluing the client’s progress for her own success

(See references 1 and 2)

Most research on this topic comes from psychotherapy, where the way of managing transference and countertransference would be to bring it into the room, and use it as part of the therapy process.  There is also some research relating to mentoring, for for example where separation anxiety occurs for the mentor as their mentee reminds them of a time when their own opportunities for promotion were blocked (3).

Research in coaching focuses on transference occurring by the client rather than by the coach, but it can also occur between the coach and client or the client/coach and something or someone in their wider system, be it an individual or an organization.  In team coaching, the challenge of managing transference and countertransference is increased, as the relational spaces in which it can occur are clearly multiplied.

The focus for most of the literature on transference and countertransference in mentoring and coaching is on identification that transference and countertransference is occurring, rather than on methods of managing it.

Practical ways to help manage transference and countertransference

From a review of the literature and my own interviews with some coaches, it is clear there are a number of ways to more actively attend to these processes, which increases the coach’s choice about how or when to manage them. The factors that help manage countertransference in psychotherapy (but I suggest are as relevant to coaching) are:

  1. Empathy
  2. Self-insight
  3. Conceptual ability
  4. High therapist self-integration (i.e. the less unresolved inner conflicts the therapist has)
  5. Low therapist anxiety

Below is a summary of three practical steps a coach might take to attend to these:

Step 1: Increase your own awareness of when it is occurring

  • Ensure you are aware of own countertransference
  • Attend to client transference patterns from the start
  • Notice resistance to coaching
  • Pick up on cues that may be defences
  • Follow anxieties
  • Spot feelings and wishes beneath those anxieties

See references, point (4)

Step 2: Reflect

Self-reflection, the development of the inner supervisor and coaching supervision all increase coach self-insight, resolve inner conflicts and reduce coach anxiety.

Research shows supervision in particular is an important method in increasing awareness of the coach. In psychotherapy the counsellor must have worked on their own psychological history in order to be clear what is their own response and what is their client’s. In coaching, this may not be part of the supervisory relationship as it will depend on the skills of the supervisor. In a survey of 376 coaches, 70% had discussed unconscious processes in supervision (5).

Step 3:  Develop your ‘in the moment’ techniques

If noticed during a session, use presencing or centering techniques, such as mindful breathing to reduce the likelihood of countertransference occurring.

For more information,  please contact us.

References

  1. Thornton, C. (2010) Group & Team Coaching: the essential guide. Sussex, UK: Routledge.
  2. Whitmore, D. (2014) Psychosynthesis Counselling in Action, 4th Edition. London: Sage.
  3. Mcauley, M.J. (2003) Transference, countertransference and mentoring:The ghost in the process, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 31:1, 11-23.
  4. De Haan, E. (2011) Back to basics: How the discovery of transference is relevant for coaches and consultants today. International Coaching Psychology Review, 6(2); 180-193.
  5. Turner, E. (2010) Coaches’ views on the relevance of unconscious dynamics to executive coaching, Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3:1,12-29