Coaching Conundrum

The Coaching Conundrum

Danielle HendersonRegional Director

[email protected]

25 February 2009

© 2009 BlessingWhite, Inc. All Rights Reserved / 2

THE COACHING CONUNDRUM

Who We AreA global training and consulting firm dedicated tocreating sustainable high-performance organizations

Founded in 1973 byBuck Blessing and Tod White



What We Do


The Coaching Conundrum…



Agenda• What is “coaching”?

• Is coaching a way of life at your organization?

• What did we learn in our research?

• How do you build a coaching culture?

• What have organizations done to solve the conundrum?


What do we mean when we say…

… “Coaching”?



A Coach Is… “A vehicle to transport very important people from where they are to where they want to be…”

…and to where you need them to be.



Coaching Is……helping another person

• achieve his or her goals

• build skill sets or expertise

• produce the results the organization needs.

Coaching is not telling someone what to do. It is notstepping in to actually do the work. Coaching is also not restricted to formal or scheduled discussions.


Is coaching…

…a way of life?



A Reality Check• Complete 15 questions.

• Score yourself.– Count the number of

4s and 5s– Don’t add them!

• Share your findings

with a small group.

©

BlessingWhite 2009

All Rights Reserved


Our research…



About Our Study• 3rd study in the series

• Global online survey– 2,041 respondents– 70% North America,

14% Europe, 8% Asia,6% Australia/New Zealand

– 50% hold the titleof supervisor or above

• 60 interviews with HR and line leaders

• Coaching profile analysis– Assessments for 8,100+ managers

Download a copy for free from

http://www.blessingwhite.com/research


co·nun·drum\kə-‘nəndrəm\ noun.

A confusing and difficult problem or question. A question asked for

amusement, typically one with a punin its answer; a riddle.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English, 2008



High Expectations, Low Accountability

24%A portion of my compensation is tied to my coaching activities

67%There is an established organizational belief that coaching by managers leads to greater business results

84%I am expected to coach and develop my team

% who agree or strongly

agree



The Believers (Managers)• 84% of managers agreed or strongly agreed that they

love to coach.

• 88% of managers overall believe that the time spent coaching team members pays off by helping them achieve their goals.



True Believers (Managers)• “If I do nothing else with my staff during the week, we

always have a scheduled one on one. It is a time where I have the opportunity to coach and it pays more dividends then any other activity I do.”

• “If you coach your team members they are more efficient and effective. It’s a more cost-effective way of working in the long run. On a personal level, you also get to see your team develop and blossom.”

• “It is fun and one of my favorite parts of the job. It’s also important. It makes the difference between a good team and a great team.”



Employees: “I like to be coached AND…”

69% 73%67%

60%73%

63%68%74% 71%

64%70% 65%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Asia Australia/NewZealand

ContinentalEurope

North America UK/Ireland Total

% A

gree

or S

tron

gly

Agr

ee

Job performance Job satisfaction

“The coaching I receive from my manager has significantly improved my…”

87% agree or

strongly agree with statement “I like to

be coached”



Are coachedAre NOT coached

1 in 2 EmployeesReceive Coaching48%

52%



Mismatched PerceptionsEmployees…

• Want to be stretched.

And

• Want help coming up with their own answers.

Managers…

• Worry about having all the answers.



Many Managers Can’t Find the Time• Survey says…“It takes too long.” (32%)

• Leaders say:– “There’s no time to coach. I know I should develop my people.

I’m too busy with other tasks.”– “Most companies now expect their people to be working

managers who tend to do ‘work’ more and ‘manage’ less.”– “In a rapid-paced environment like ours, today’s deliverables

get attention and tomorrow’s requirements take a back seat.”– “My goal is to help my team of highly expert scientists become

more like business partners. But it has been hard to create the time to coach to this issue. We are so activity-driven. The culture rewards completion of tasks.”



Relationships RuleOrganizations…

• Invest in models, skills, and processes/procedures that structure planning and interactions.

Employees and managers…

• Rate behaviors that create supportive, encouraging, and trusting relationships as most important.



The Conundrum in a Nutshell…• Managers love to

coach and see the payoff

• Employees like to be coached and see the payoff

• Organizations expect managers to coach

• Organizations invest in skills, processes, models

• Managers worry they don’t have all the answers

• Managers struggle to “find the time”

• Half don’t receive coaching currently

• Few hold managers accountable or reward it

• Employees & managers value trusting, supportive relationships

• Employees want to be stretched and help in finding their own answers

BUT


Building…

…a coaching culture



Building a Coaching Culture

Organizational & Employee Success

Belief & Backbone

Individualized Partnerships

Coaching Essentials

Skills

TimelyRelevant to the situation


Establish trust, Build confidence Unleash potential


One-on-one, Unique,Joint accountability


The culture values and reinforces coaching

The leaders value coaching



Business strategy & results, employee

satisfaction & aspirations





What’s Important to YOU?

Step 1

• Consider your current work priorities and what motivates you to do your best work…

• Identify the 3 most important coaching actions you need from your manager right now.

©

BlessingWhite 2009

All Rights Reserved


So what have organizations done…

…to solve the conundrum?



5 Recommendations1. Tackle your next problem with a coaching initiative.

2. Get new managers on the coaching track.

3. Think beyond coaching skills.

4. Coach the coaches.

5. Build belief & backbone into your culture.



Tackle Business Problems with Coaching InitiativesDon’t just tell managers to coach.

Give your managers a reason to coach:

• Culture change

• Innovation

• Increased engagement or retention

• A new business strategy

• Leadership bench strength



Set New Managers on the Coaching Track• Define coaching.

• Dispel myths. Coaching is not:– An event– A discrete tactic for performance problems– A one-size-fits-all approach– Something you do to employees– Advice

• Emphasize relationships when on-boarding.



Think Beyond Coaching Skills“We had an assistant store manager who transferred to a new location. She never took the time to build relationships and just told people what to do. Then she went to a coaching workshop, came back, and started coaching –but things didn’t go well. She did it ‘to’ her team. She eventually left the company.”

• Encourage manager-employee dialogue.

• Stress authentic leadership.

• Address trust issues.



The Impact of TrustCoaching Actions…

Boss-SubordinatePartnership

DumpingDelegating

Orders Goal-Setting

MeddlingInterest

“Spying”Concern

MicromanagingCheck-in

ReprimandFeedback

InterrogationConversationWithout TrustWith Trust

©

BlessingWhite 2009

All Rights Reserved



Coach the Coaches• Set the tone.

• Cascade from above down through the ranks.

• Model it.

• Provide support.



Build Belief & Backbone into Your Culture

• Change your talk.

• Set expectations.

• Build accountability and rewards.



What’s Next?

Organizational & Employee Success

Belief & Backbone

Individualized Partnerships

Coaching Essentials

Skills

















Coaching CultureDiagnostics

Senior Leader Master ClassSolving the Coaching Conundrum

Helping Others SucceedProcess

Leading Technical Professionals

Program

Career CoachingWorkshop

High Performance Coaching Workshop

Executive Coaching& Consulting

How BlessingWhite Can Help


Questions?Thank you ODN Omaha!

[email protected]

312.755.0129www.blessingwhite.com/research

Coaching Conundrum

Health & Medicine

Transcript of Coaching Conundrum