Thomas Lim is the COO of Technicorum Holdings, a Web 3.0 Coach & Dean with Thrive Consulting and Master Trainer: PEARLS Coaching Framework.
getty
The current operating environment is marked by accelerated business evolution, with excellence in corporate performance and dynamic adaptation no longer optional. In this milieu, workplace coaching emerges as a powerful catalyst, propelling both individual advancement and organizational metamorphosis. This article underscores the potential of workplace coaching as an instrumental force in organizational development, with six tangible examples to illustrate its impact.
1. Giving Feedback
Coaching provides a constructive platform for feedback, enabling employees to identify their strengths and areas for improvement. Instead of purely critiquing, coaches guide employees on their path to personal growth, fostering a positive feedback culture. Employees are more likely to accept feedback that helps them learn and grow, thereby enhancing overall performance.
For Client A, their managers were facing challenges in providing feedback to their team members. Many felt unprepared and awkward. The organizational development team worked with me to imbue a set "how-to" for having conversations around major milestone events, such as after a 360-degree survey has been conducted. One specific shift was for the organization to split up the post-360 conversations into two separate sessions: the first one being “I hear you,” where workplace coaching is the mainstay, followed by the “I am here for you” appraisal feedback session. Anxiety and animosity were drastically reduced as a result.
2. Improving Performance
Coaching is not just about addressing weaknesses; it's also about leveraging strengths. By focusing on strengths, coaches can help employees improve their performance and productivity. Moreover, coaching can better enable employees to handle stress and work pressures, contributing to a healthier and more balanced work-life experience.
Client B used workplace coaching to inspire its leaders who had to take on multiple roles and portfolios in their organization. The coaching focus for these internal managers was to explore different perspectives, aligning their personal vision in light of the corporate mission. The outcomes were positive in that it helped activate motivation and a sense of confidence that work-life balance is indeed possible and they can find their own answers within themselves.
3. Developing Team Leaders
Through coaching, organizations can create a culture of continuous learning and growth. It enables employees to take charge of their own development, fostering a proactive mindset that extends beyond the limits of their current role. This not only prepares them for future responsibilities but also promotes career satisfaction and employee retention.
In the case of Client C, their intent is to cascade the "leader as coach" doctrine within the enterprise. The goal is to scale workplace coaching for all team leaders as part of their development road map. Coaching becomes embedded as an essential piece of a manager’s competency, and a coaching culture can gradually be established. A suitable coach-training curriculum was introduced for the client to adopt over time across the different cohorts of team leaders.
4. Enhancing Collaboration
Good coaching doesn't just cultivate individual skills, it also promotes effective teamwork. By teaching effective communication skills, conflict resolution and the art of compromise, coaching can significantly enhance collaboration among employees. It encourages a workplace culture that values diverse perspectives and promotes mutual understanding and respect.
Client D wanted to see vast improvements in the way their branch heads engaged their counterparts across different functions in this large corporation. I used a bespoke workplace coaching method to foster teamwork conversations through a series of group conversations. The end result was that "the level of energy, motivation, confidence and inter-departmental co-operation is at a new high." This client saw renewed efforts in sharing information more freely across different functions.
5. Managing Conflict Resolution
Conflict is inevitable in any workplace setting. However, how conflicts are managed can significantly impact team dynamics and overall productivity. Coaching provides the tools necessary to handle and resolve conflicts effectively, ensuring they serve as opportunities for growth rather than as hurdles.
For Client E, being a multinational service-based vendor, every product line has a sales team that services their large accounts. In many instances, their customers complained that they had been inundated with requests from multiple sales personnel for the different products they represent. There was a sense of frustration from their customer and also from the management team because their product lines report by geography rather than by country. Workplace coaching helped bring their collective awareness to the current reality, with the intent to adopt a more systems-thinking approach (sub-system to component interactions) in designing the customer journey more as an organization and less as a collection of product offerings.
6. Increasing Productivity
By providing support and guidance, coaching helps employees navigate professional challenges more effectively. This enhances their capacity to focus on their tasks, leading to higher productivity levels. Further, by promoting job satisfaction and employee engagement, coaching contributes to a positive work environment, directly boosting productivity.
The bureaucracy at Client F saw a lot of inefficiencies arising from legacy systemic structures and outdated process flows. The client wanted to see how workplace coaching can be deployed across all corporate functions, such as procurement, legal, finance, admin and human resources, and how these internal teams are better able to more effectively drive the productivity agenda for the business functions. Workplace coaching unlocked new sensibilities and the creation of action teams to address the bureaucracy issues more systemically to improve overall productivity for the organization.
Incorporating workplace coaching into organizational strategy is a proactive investment in human capital—one that promises high returns in terms of employee satisfaction, output and overall organizational efficacy. As businesses navigate the uncertainties of the future, having a coaching culture can encourage open and authentic conversations and provide a firm foundation to build antifragility in individual employees and across teams, leading to greater agility and responsiveness.
In conclusion, the integration of coaching within the workplace can serve as a potent catalyst for organizational development. By cultivating a coaching culture coupled with forward-looking leadership, organizations can harness the transformative power enabled through coaching to drive impactful and sustainable change in an ever-evolving business landscape.
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
