In an increasingly complex and competitive world, organisations today are under more pressure than ever before to keep their operations effective and efficient
Leadership and coaching are recognised as critical to help move a company forward and create strong teams who are constantly growing, developing skills, and are committed to the vision and mission of an organisation.
Coaching can have a profound impact in teams and for a company’s bottom line and many organisations are looking for leaders and managers who are effective coaches. Through equipping employees with support, resources, knowledge and development opportunities, you can improve many aspects of your organisation and results, as well as lead to organisational resiliency.
What is the purpose of coaching?
The purpose of coaching within a team or organisation is to improve an employee’s performance, efficiency, and development. This improved performance can then translate into better business results.
Coaching can be used when an organisation is looking to develop key competencies or skills for existing employees, when employees are not performing at the level the company would like them to perform at but have the ability to do so, when a company is introducing new processes or procedures, or when you would like to take an employee to a higher role and work towards more responsibilities or promotions. It can also be used generally to build capabilities and overcome skill gaps.
The purpose of coaching is to extend the performance zone of an employee from their comfort zone to the potential of their learning zone. It is not to discipline or blame an employee, it is not counselling, and it is not training or telling employees what to do. It is about providing support, suggestions, guidance, and tool and resources to the employee which ultimately assists with their concerns, weaknesses, goals, skill gaps, and/or aspirations.
What are the benefits of coaching?
There are a number of benefits of coaching, but it ultimately depends on the coach, individual, and organisation and how much are all willing to commit to the process.
Benefits can include:
- Staff becoming more self-reliant and confident in their roles
- Higher likelihood of achieving personal and professional goals
- Improved communication between stakeholders
- Increase in productivity and performance
- Contributing more effectively to organisation and team mission
- Greater responsibility and accountability
- Boost to job satisfaction, employee engagement, and trust in the organisation, manager, and leaders
- Building skills and key competencies which the organisation requires employees to possess
How can coaching lead to stronger business results, not just personal results?
With an increasingly complex and complex environment for many businesses, coaching can mean all the difference between good results and great results and future growth.
Coaching can lead to stronger business results because:
- It improves employees' performance and skills, meaning they are more efficient and effective at their job, leading to greater output and higher productivity for the company.
- It can help to overcome performance issues and get higher quality work out of employees.
- Employee retention can improve, meaning you are able to keep high quality workers, lower time and costs associated with finding the right people and training them, and have the ability to keep knowledge within your company and succession plan.
- Staff engagement is improved, and they are more aligned, loyal and committed to the organisation and its goals.
- Coaching is task oriented and performance driven and a way to help organisations stay ahead of the curve and ahead of their competitors. It is about adding value.
- They are more likely to be able to deal with change, which is important in a rapidly changing environment and VUCA world.
In order to successfully implement coaching into an organisation or team, you must make feedback a regular and expected part of your work process and communication, be realistic and consistent, ensure you’re engaging and interacting with employees, help identify blind spots and weaknesses while leaving emotions out of the equation, align goals with what the employee wants but also with what is good for the team and company, provide support, and work it into your workplace culture.
If you would like to discuss how to fill your team with candidates capable of coaching skills, learn how to incorporate this in your corporate culture, or create a pool of leaders who can be role models and coaches in your organisation, contact us today to hear how we can help.
