Research Paper: Using Coaching to Support Organizational Transformation

Five Phase Approach for Leadership Team Building Programme

Phase 1: Discovering

This phase creates the foundation for effective change by assisting the leaders in understanding how to lead in times of uncertainty; developing self leadership skills and techniques (e.g. the role of a leader, time management, managing to outcomes. prioritization etc); enhancing communication skills; reconnecting to the organization; creating a master operational plan to deliver the agreed business goals/ results.

Phase 2: Breaking Down the Barriers

The focus is on understanding what can hinder the leaders and team’s performance and finds ways to overcome/breakdown these potential barriers; building leadership competencies (e.g. having difficult conversations, active listening skills, influencing skills, creating new perspectives, root cause analysis etc), reviewing past month’s departmental performance and creating new actions to meet the desired goals.

Phase 3: Overcoming the Barriers

The focus is building competencies to turn obstacles and challenges into opportunities; learning new skills to effectively lead others (e.g. conflict resolution, coaching tools, increased emotional intelligence, social awareness, being empathetic, etc) and strengthening the lines of collaboration and communication both internally and externally, reviewing past month’s departmental performance and creating new actions to meet the desired goals.

Phase 4: Becoming an Effective Communicator

The focus on creating awareness of effective leadership styles (e.g. situational leadership; creative tension, relationship management, developing high performing teams, enhanced collaboration etc) developing greater communication skills; learning skills and techniques to lead teams, reviewing past month’s departmental performance and creating new actions to meet the desired goals.

Phase 5: Charting the Way Forward

The team will be reviewing their progress to date; highlighting the lessons learned; defining their new strengths and area of improvement, reviewing past month’s departmental performance and creating new actions to meet the desired goals.

This final stage will concentrate on defining the ‘next level’ for the team; developing the related implementation plan; creating team and personal development plans, so that there is a clear continuous improvement plan in place.

Critical Success Factors

• Leaders are open to being coached
• Supporting change agent to have coaching competencies
• All leaders to at least attend 80% of workshops
• Change agent attends 100% of workshops
• Leaders to meet as required with Change Agent
• Departmental goals to be supported by Senior Management

Coaching & Mentoring Policy and Guidelines

A Coaching & Mentoring Policy and Guidelines was developed for the Human Resources department. The main highlights of the policy are:

I. Coaching & Mentoring Policy Statement

ABC Ltd. recognizes that continuous development of all employees is of significant importance to the company’s overall performance. In keeping with this belief, ABC Ltd. encourages and supports employee development fields such as Coaching and Mentoring.

The goal of ABC’s Mentoring and Coaching Program is to support, motivate and develop its greatest asset, its employees so that they can attain their fullest potential, thus improving individual and organizational performance.

II. What is Coaching and Mentoring?

Coaching is a management method of planned interventions designed to improve the performance of an individual in performing a specific task or in certain instances provides guidance in other development areas. Coaching is also about learning and can improve workforce performance by challenging the mindset – helping individuals discover the questions and answers for themselves by drawing on individuals own abilities.

A mentoring partnership is an agreement between two persons sharing experiences and expertise to assist with personal growth. A formal mentoring program offers a structured approach to developing employee talents and abilities.

Coaching and mentoring have much in common, both are one-to-one relationships which help people to improve their talents. Coaches can sometimes go beyond their formal role to providing guidance well outside the area of a specific task. The mentor may also increase their scope and focus on a particular skill that the other person needs to develop, although that still will almost always be behavioural and linked to longer term development needs.