How to create a coaching culture?

The leaders and coaches of Asia conference panel discussion offered me some powerful insights on what it takes to create a coaching culture in an organisation. Here are a few of the things I picked up from the speakers, that have stayed with me.

Get your coaching goals framed right - Learning goals Vs Performance Goals. When an organisation puts money behind a coaching program it is natural to want to measure ROI. Ifthikhar Nadeem, Chair, ICF Global Board for Coaching in Organisations, shared his experience of trying to bell this cat and he felt that over engineering the goals and trying to nail them down to specific performance metrics was counterproductive. He explained that coaching inherently is predicated on the belief that the people being coached are resourceful and will find the right answers for themselves. So, he shared that learning goals helped deliver better results Vs. Performance Goals, which are often the more obvious start point when one is trying to show clear ROI. My own reflections on this are that it probably requires an organisation to mature into this realisation. Having tasted success with a coaching program, not trying too hard to show ROI on business directly, but aligning well defined learning goals probably going to sharpen the focus of the program and in that context actually improve its effectiveness.

If I were creating a performance goal for myself to partner with my coach on it would probably sound like this “To Improve New Business Conversion of High Value Clients by xx percent”. Possibly a learning goal that is linked to this outcome would be on the lines of “To improve my action and speed of decision making”. The logic being that I realise I have a tendency to overthink and that slows me down. If I learn how to take decisions faster and act on opportunities, the chances of me meeting the end performance goals will automatically increase. The learning goal, seems to be a really good way to focus on the input, rather than the outcome which typically follows close on its heels. I loved this view of how to look at creating meaningful coaching goals in an organisational context.

Build a Case for Coaching: Another great way to spotlight the ROI of coaching could be to work on creating some really impactful case studies. Akhil Saxena, Global Executive Coach, felt that case studies were a wonderful way to showcase impact and highlight results that coaching delivers. In his experience he shared that monitoring before and after by evaluation of metrics that are already measured vis-a-vis a leader being coached is useful.

He also talked about leadership development and how it is an organisational agenda that coaching supports beautifully. A mission or a vision that needs to be delivered is another area that coaching enables. Driving culture - by telling rarely works. Asking, sharing, involving is what gets a culture off the posters and into the pores of people. This is another area that coaching plays a pivotal role. Akhil’s views to me were about finding a meaningful way to anchor or integrate coaching into the very fabric of an organisation. Once it is rooted in the culture of the company and the people understand that it has the belief and support of the leader, it takes on a different energy and also unlocks so much potential.

Can Coaching Add to your EVP? Most organisations are looking for unique ways to attract and retain top talent. Building the employer brand is often done by crafting a unique Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Ifthikar talked about how some companies are highlighting the fact that they offer a strong coaching program as a way to attract and retain talent.

In my experience, I have been lucky to work with organisations that provided me access to a company-sponsored coach. In one particular place where I worked for a short stint, I asked for a coach and got one. The point is that it is a value add that can make a place of work more attractive. But I believe it is more than that, a well-integrated coaching program also creates an environment of mental well-being and enables more open communication and dialogue. Enhanced self-awareness and clarity that emerge from coaching permeate their way into the being of the team. Therefore, the way a company behaves is impacted positively. This is a fundamental building block in creating a great place to work.

This was a panel discussion that I really enjoyed, because it was filled with practical examples from leaders who have been championing coaching in their spheres of influence. Reflecting on this session helps me to connect my thoughts on the topic of creating a coaching culture and arrive at these three takeaways – Focus on creating learning goals in a coaching program, think of interesting ways to capture and share case studies and build a coaching program as part of the EVP of an organisation. I would love to hear from anyone who has other interesting ideas on what can be done to create a coaching culture.

Nikhil Dey is a certified ICF coach and founder of soul2solecoaching. He is the first recipient of the ICF India coaching excellence rising star award.

Photo by Steven Wong on Unsplash