Chapter 9
Coaching: A Key Competency for Leadership Development
In companies all over the world, surveys are showing that a leadership shortage is coming soon. Future leaders are needed in all industry sectors and functional areas and at all levels within organizations. The development of new leaders is becoming an important focus for executives and senior managers. More and more, coaching is being recognized as one of the key competencies that effectively develops future leaders.
A 2008 American Management Association study found that coaching is associated with higher performance in organizations, yet it is used by only about half of today’s companies. Coaching continues to gain in popularity, and the field offers great growth opportunities.1 The AMA concluded its report by stating: “We expect that coaching will become one of the keys to developing and retaining scarce talent in the future, and we think companies that learn to leverage it well will have a significant competitive advantage in the global marketplace.”
Definition of Coaching
When we talk about coaching in this context, we are expanding our definition far beyond the coaching leadership style described in Situational Leadership® II. In the narrow definition, a coaching leadership style involves providing the appropriate direction and support needed when disillusionment sets in, either because a task is more complicated than anticipated or circumstances have caused a change in attitude. Coaching as we describe it in this chapter is a broader term that encompasses several applications. We define this broader term as follows:
Coaching is a deliberate process using focused conversations to create an environment that results in individual growth, purposeful action, and sustained improvement.
Regardless of people’s function or position, successful coaching encourages them to be deliberate, purposeful, and fully aligned with team and organizational objectives as they make decisions and take action. Central to coaching is a focus on self responsibility, forward movement, and taking intentional action.
Five Applications of Coaching
Coaching can be provided for leaders in organizations by the use of external coaches or managers and HR professionals trained to provide coaching as one of their job responsibilities. In our discussion, all the examples used focus on internal coaches. Regardless of who performs the coaching, it has five common applications:
• Performance coaching is used when individuals need help returning their performance to acceptable standards.
• Development coaching is used when high performing individuals are ready to become more fully rounded in their current role.
• Career coaching is employed when individuals are ready to plan their next career moves.
• Coaching to support learning occurs when managers or direct reports need support, encouragement, and accountability to sustain recent training and turn insights into action.
• Creating an internal coaching culture is what happens when leaders recognize the value of coaching and use it to develop others.
After working with thousands of people in organizations, we have found that many managers and leaders spend the majority of their time dealing with performance challenges. With the leadership shortage ahead, it is important to shift from managing performance to focusing on development. As shown in Figure 9.1, while coaching sometimes involves discussions or conversations about performance and career, the coaching sweet spot centers on development.
Figure 9.1 The Coaching Sweet Spot
Let’s take a deeper look at the five applications of coaching.
Application One: Performance Coaching
Performance coaching is needed when individuals have been capable and confident about goals or tasks in the past, but their present performance no longer reflects that. Often they seem to be regressing. This usually results from a change in attitude, not skills.
Let’s take the example of Erin and Max:
For the past two years, Erin knew that Max could deliver on his key responsibility areas without much direction. However, over the past three months Erin has noticed that Max isn’t completing projects the way he used to. Being extremely busy, Erin hadn’t scheduled regular one-on-ones to check in with Max. Finally, she called him into her office.
“You missed that last deadline,” Erin said to Max. “What’s going on?”
With a shrug he said, “What’s the big deal with missing one deadline? We have lots of time to take care of it. I’ll get it by next week.”
Surprised by his comment, Erin asked Max where he was in his development level around the project and what he needed to complete it. Again he just shrugged.
The purpose of performance coaching is to reignite past competence and confidence about the goals or tasks, thus regaining momentum and improving performance. Situational Leadership® II is useful for diagnosing development level and matching the leadership style that’s needed.
Erin was concerned about Max’s response. After observing him for several months, she decided it was time to give him feedback.
“Max, I want to share with you what I’ve noticed the past few months. Prior to January, you seemed to enjoy the team and the work we were doing. On most of the projects and goals, you have been either a capable but cautious performer or a self-reliant achiever. You certainly haven’t needed much direction from me. You’ve been a major contributor to this team’s work for years, but lately you’ve been missing deadlines and keeping your door closed.” Erin paused to look him in the eye. “What’s going on?” she asked.
Max did not respond.
Erin continued, “We have a lot at stake with this project. I’m happy to give you more direction if that’s what you need to continue moving forward. If we don’t get the project done this week, our unit will hold up others who are relying on us for the next step. I need you to step back in, or I will have to get someone else involved.”
Max raised his eyes and looked at Erin. “You don’t have to do that. I admit I’ve gotten a little disillusioned about the project, but now that I hear from you how important it is, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and tackle it.”
Erin said, “Wonderful. You’ve been a great contributor to our team in the past, and I value your work. Let’s keep in touch with the steps you’re taking this week, because I want both of us to be successful with the deadline. When would be a good time for our next meeting?”
Tips for Performance Coaching
Managers and HR professionals who use coaching when performance is dropping need to be comfortable giving accurate and objective feedback. They need to be clear about what is at stake and who is accountable for what.
It’s important to remain neutral when giving feedback and talking about consequences. It’s also important to be clear that the person has a choice whether to make the changes. Come to an agreement about the changes that are needed. This step may take time and is not always as easy as it sounds.
Beware of being pulled off focus. Stay on track with the points you want to make. Take care not to come across as punishing. As much as possible, be positive and encouraging. Also be certain to clearly state the consequences if the agreed-upon goals are not met. To avoid confusion and misunderstandings, it’s important to be clear in your mind about the consequences before you begin performance coaching conversations.
Application Two: Development Coaching
Most managers are so busy putting out fires that they overlook development conversations. They may forget that team members, like themselves, are energized and encouraged when their development is kept in mind.
Development coaching is useful when direct reports are doing well and are ready for the next steps. They may be functioning at a self-reliant achiever level (D4) on most of their projects and goals. They are ready to be more fully rounded in their current role. The responsibility remains primarily on the direct report for keeping development top of mind. Yet when the manager focuses on it too, it conveys an underlying message of trust and support to the team member.
Becca loved her job. She had been in it for four years, often taking on new responsibilities and projects. She also knew that she needed to be challenged more often so that she wouldn’t get bored. One day she noticed that Aidan, her manager, had requested a meeting on her calendar. Because their company had many locations, she called Aidan at the meeting time.
“Hi, Becca. Thanks for calling and for being so prompt. I’ve always liked that about you. I’ve been thinking of you recently and realized we haven’t talked about your development lately. You consistently are such a self-reliant achiever with your responsibilities and projects that I sometimes forget to talk with you about what’s next for you in this role. Can we talk about that for a few minutes?”
Becca felt a rush of excitement. “That would be great,” she said.
Development coaching is focused on encouraging and increasing opportunities that lead to further development in the same role. To keep people engaged and growing, it’s important for managers to keep expanding people’s capability whenever possible. This helps develop them as future managers or leaders.
When using coaching for development, a supporting style (S3) is useful. Be sure to listen for what’s most important to the person and to ask probing questions. Be sure to ask what the team member thinks is a developmental opportunity and what ideas he has. Think about the conversation as a way of challenging and inspiring the person to think more broadly.
When Aidan heard the enthusiasm in Becca’s voice, he continued. “Becca, what do you see as some development opportunities ahead?”
Becca replied, “You know, I would love to know more about the budgeting process for our team. I’ve always been fascinated by that area.”
Aidan was pleased to hear that Becca had been thinking about her development, even though she hadn’t brought it up before. “Becca, I think it’s very timely that you’re interested in budgeting, especially since we’re about to start our budgeting process for next year. I’ve got a couple of people who might be good for you to connect with.”
Tips for Development Coaching
When thinking about coaching to develop others, remember that either the team member or the manager can begin these conversations. When identifying a person’s strengths and weaknesses, keep the emphasis on maximizing strengths. Focus broadly on developmental opportunities for the person, but beware of making specific promises. Don’t forget that introducing your direct reports to your network of professionals may be as important as finding a new project for them.
Application Three: Career Coaching
Career coaching is taking off in organizations as the need for leaders continues to increase. It’s a strategy that retains talent and increases bench strength over time. Even in flat organizations that don’t have a lot of upward mobility, it’s energizing for people to talk about their future.
When should a manager broach these discussions? When a direct report is consistently functioning at a self-reliant achiever level, it’s time to begin conversations about that person’s career. Coaching at this time can help the direct report look ahead to where he or she wants to be in the next few years, and the leader, as coach, can assist in planning the next career moves.
Several signals can indicate that it’s time to have a career discussion. When direct reports continually exceed expectations, they might be ready to grow. Has one of your direct reports told you he or she wants more responsibility? That can also be a sign. An obvious signal is when a direct report brings up the topic. But just because high performers haven’t asked to talk about their careers doesn’t mean they don’t want to. In the majority of cases, they do.
Leaders and managers might find career coaching conversations threatening, since they could lead to losing an important team member. Be sure to curb your anxiety about losing the person and move bravely into the discussion. Marshall Goldsmith’s research shows that one of the reasons top performers leave a company is because nobody asked them to stay.2 Conversations about career are opportunities to show your direct reports how valued they are. In the end, it’s important to think about what’s best for the direct report as well as for the organization.
Don’t avoid career coaching conversations because you think they take too much time. These are exactly the conversations that high performers want to have to stay in the organization. A gentle transition generally is less time-consuming than having to fill a position that’s been vacated without discussion.
Career conversations are a time to challenge and encourage high-potential employees to keep developing as they look ahead. Focusing on the future creates a win for the organization as well as the direct report. When part of the career strategy includes bringing people into the role that may be vacated, it creates a win for the manager, too.
As the following example shows, most employees look to their leaders for guidance and support in the career area:
Hannah had been with her company for eight years when she started wondering what might be ahead. She knew it was time to talk with Niki, her manager. Niki had also been thinking about Hannah’s development, but she hadn’t said anything yet, except in conversations with colleagues.
Hannah brought it up at their next one-on-one meeting. “Niki, I’d really like to talk with you about what’s next for me. I’ve worked with you for several years, and most of the time I feel like I’m a self-reliant achiever in my tasks and goals. What’s next?”
Niki knew this conversation had been coming. She also knew that she didn’t want to lose Hannah. Yet she knew that keeping her would stunt Hannah’s growth, which ultimately wouldn’t be good for their company.
“Hannah,” Niki said, “I’m glad you’re thinking about this. I’ve thought about it, too, and I apologize for not talking with you sooner. I’d love to hear your thoughts about your goals and how they support our corporate goals. Thanks for starting the conversation.”
Hannah began by telling Niki about the things she was doing, being sure to mention that she was ready for new challenges and opportunities.
Niki listened carefully, thinking about where Hannah’s skills and passion aligned with their organization’s needs. “Hannah, I’m thinking that a cross-functional project would be perfect for you and will expand your skills and network.” Niki went on to describe the project.
“I’d love to get involved in that,” said Hannah.
“Who could you be training to take over your job if this leads to a career change for you?” Niki asked.
Hannah thought for a moment. “I have a couple of people in mind.”
Niki said, “Great. You’ll have to reach out to them and see if they are ready and willing to take on your old role. Let’s keep talking about this, okay?”
“Absolutely,” said Hannah. Both she and Niki were pleased when the meeting ended.
Tips for Career Coaching
Hold career coaching conversations on a regular basis with your high performing direct reports. Again, when a manager brings up the subject of careers, it’s a proactive move that makes direct reports feel cared about. During these conversations, it’s important to explore what the employee is thinking and how his or her ideas align with organizational objectives. Familiarize yourself with the career services your HR department offers and what information is available about job roles and their corresponding competencies. Share this information with your direct report as you talk about all aspects of the next steps: when, where, and how the person’s career will move forward. Finally, be sure to offer resources and make introductions when needed.
Application Four: Coaching to Support Learning
People learn through training, and training is one of the best ways to develop people in your organization. Training can enhance any number of areas: management, leadership, skills, processes, communication, and a host of other job-related areas. A major challenge with training, though, is narrowing the learning-doing gap—getting people to use what they’ve learned after the training. One of the best ways to maximize an organization’s investment in training is to do follow-up coaching.
We have found that coaching to support learning is most effective when the learning process is followed by at least three follow-up coaching conversations. These are conversations that managers, HR professionals, and internal or external coaches can have immediately after the training.
With as few as three coaching sessions during the eight-week period following a training event, participants consistently apply what they’ve learned. Having the first follow-up coaching session within two weeks of the training and continuing with a coaching session once every two to three weeks generates the best results. Each coaching conversation should be focused on how to apply information from the training to the workplace.
Here’s an example of what it might look like to follow up training with coaching:
Morgan loved to learn as part of her new manager training. Her company offered excellent training. She was pleased when her manager told her she could attend an advanced management course that focused on Situational Leadership® II. What she didn’t know was that this course would be different, in that it included six months of follow-up coaching with an external professional coach.
During their first call, her coach, Kyle, asked Morgan what she had learned that would be helpful to implement on the job. This caused her to think about the material and revisit her notes. She realized that some of her interactions with her team members had not been going well. Kyle asked her what she could immediately apply from the training that would help with those conversations. First, Morgan realized that she tended to use the same leadership style with all her people. Diagnosing the specific development levels of her team members and determining the appropriate leadership style for each was eye-opening for her. She learned that having one-on-one meetings with her people would not only help their relationships, but also would help her apply what she had learned.
Kyle asked Morgan what actions she was willing to take between this call and the next to move forward in these areas. Morgan agreed to schedule one-on-one meetings with each of her people before her next call with Kyle.
Tips for Coaching to Support Learning
It’s important to get started with the coaching as soon as possible after the training event. Have a system in place to get people scheduled with their first and subsequent sessions. Focus on how your direct reports can apply their new learning to their jobs. Help them identify action items and obstacles to action.
Don’t fall into the trap of debating the point of the training. The purpose of the coaching is to help your people apply the learning, not to debate the learning itself. Stay focused on action. Coaching to support learning is a time to talk about how to use the material in the real world.
Finally, don’t use the excuse that you don’t have time for coaching to support learning. Remember that time spent coaching maximizes the investment in training, empowers you and your direct reports, and saves time down the road.
Application Five: Creating an Internal Coaching Culture
The best way for coaching to positively impact an organization is to create your own internal coaching culture. This can happen only when leaders and managers recognize the value of coaching and use it to develop people for much-needed future leadership roles.
In Coaching in Organizations, Madeleine Blanchard and Linda Miller contend that creating an internal coaching climate has a number of benefits.3 Not only does coaching emphasize leadership development, but it also fosters a mentality of taking ownership for work that is done. A coaching culture is a culture of self responsibility rather than blaming or pointing to others when things go awry. Even though it takes a while to cultivate, this type of culture creates a wonderful work environment that supports productivity and boosts morale.
It can take twelve to eighteen months to roll out an internal coaching culture. The ramp-up and rollout process may include coach training for managers and leaders, mentor coaching for those who are learning how to coach others, and time to develop the support systems and measurement strategies that ensure success.
The following example shows the extent of thinking that must be done prior to establishing an internal coaching culture:
When Rob realized how much he loved coaching and how important it could be for his manufacturing company, he wasted no time in interviewing coaching companies with which he could partner. The company he hired assigned a team lead, Alec, to work with Rob because Alec knew coaching and had experience setting up coaching systems in other companies. When Rob and Alec first met face to face, Alec began asking questions.
“Rob, we need to address several areas before we go any further with this project. First, what does coaching mean to you, and what do you expect coaching to do for your company?”
Rob responded, “Since I’ve been working with my coach over the past year, I’ve experienced such great growth. My team has become much more productive than it was, and this has gained the attention of senior leadership. They’re asking me what I’m doing differently. The only thing I’m doing differently is coaching my team. I think it’s time for others to get the same experience, and I want to lead the way here in our company.”
“How will you get senior-level sponsorship and clarity on the objectives for the coaching?” Alec asked.
Rob replied, “Our CEO and COO have already bought in. Your question about the objectives is interesting. I think I need to do a bit more work on that. I’m not sure we’re clear enough on the objectives.”
Alec nodded. “While you’re talking about the objectives, be sure to ask how your top managers want the outcomes measured. Many organizations are measuring the success of coaching by thinking about ROE, return on expectations, rather than ROI, return on investment.”
Rob agreed. “Yes, it would be good to figure that out now. We’re a company that’s big on ROI, so I’ll start talking about the difference. I know that measuring this type of thing can be challenging, and we’ll need to talk more about it down the road.”
“That’s for sure,” said Alec. “The clearer you can be on what you want to measure and how you’ll go about measuring it, the better. You’ll also want to agree with senior leaders on what information is shared and what is kept confidential. Keeping confidential the content of the coaching conversations is a critical part of coaching.”
Rob nodded. From his own coaching experience, he knew immediately what Alec was talking about.
Tips for Creating an Internal Coaching Culture
First, define the purpose and objectives of the coaching culture, and make sure they fit with the organization’s purpose and values. Next, find senior leadership advocates who can role-model the coaching culture, and be sure to get administrative help to roll out the initiative. Reward coaching behaviors and activities, and set up an internal communication about the coaching to help cascade it throughout the organization. Depending on who is available, it may be appropriate to provide professional coaches from outside the organization.
As you take steps to create an internal coaching culture, you should watch for several things. First, be sure to define and honor confidentiality. One breach of confidentiality from coaching conversations can severely damage the entire coaching initiative. Second, remember that a coaching culture isn’t established overnight. Allocate plenty of time to get started. Third, remember to stay flexible. If something isn’t working, you can always change it.
The examples of Situational Leadership® II, partnering for performance, and now coaching have focused on one-on-one relationships. The next step in the transformation leadership journey is toward groups. The following chapter focuses on creating high performing teams.