In the past years, the world of work has been talking about the movement of great resignation. Employees, in search of meaning and experience of flow, have been resigning or switching to careers that promise a more human environment. A lot of them are attracted to jobs that create value for the world and are more creative. They also want to become part of a culture that values its people by investing and developing them.
 
Like many others, you might be thinking that developing others is a mindset. I would agree with you to a certain extent, and I would add that it is more than a mindset. It is a skill set!
 
I have been coaching executives and senior managers, including HR teams for more than a decade. I have worked as a corporate business coach and facilitator in cultural transformation programs, M&A processes, and leadership development. In each of these, I insist that including ‘developing others’ in your leadership competency set is not enough. You must provide the tools and invest in the skills of your managers to deliver.
 
In people’s leadership, managers have four core communication tools when working with their people for performance management: 

1.    Directing
2.    The full or partial delegation
3.    Mentoring
4.    Coaching

In my experience as a business coach with various organizations across continents, the majority of the managers are more comfortable with the first three and least familiar with coaching. Both coaching and mentoring are two proven processes for managers to develop their people and eventually create a culture where growth happens with momentum daily. To this day, coaching is still mixed with mentoring and sometimes even with consulting.
 
Coaching in a business setting, when applied with the right pillars it always brings positive results. In one international retail organization where FLOW Coaching Institute had implemented a managerial coaching program for store managers, the turnover within their stores dropped by 25% in 3 months after managers had 6 cross coaching sessions with mid-level managers and supervisors.
 
So, what is the right skill set for managers to engage with their people as a coaching manager? 

1.    Prioritization skills
2.    Engaging their people in the vision
3.    Letting them bring their values to their jobs
4.    Giving them space to think, challenge their thinking, and let them contribute
5.    Using a coach-like language and specific communication tools
6.    The right balance of listening, observing, and powerful inquiry
7.    Facilitating a shift between different levels of energy and building synergies
8.    Balancing productivity with the right amount of optimism
Bringing these elements together is a process. First, you should make them see the value in coaching their people, and maybe even measure as multinational companies do. Then, investing in their coaching skills and practice should follow. Of course, creating a culture takes time and ongoing assessment. Many organizations around the world are measuring coaching as a leadership competency. There are even pioneering companies that replaced their performance evaluations with quarterly coaching sessions.

Does this sound like something that resonates with your organizational goals?

Enroll in our ICF Accredited 60 ACSTH Business Coaching Certification program today to help your organization reach its fullest potential!