CASE STUDY:
Creating a Coaching Culture
CLIENT
A leading global financial services firm
NEED
The financial services firm recognized that it was facing a new economic and regulatory landscape comprising a myriad of interconnected complex internal and external challenges. In order to respond to those challenges, the firm wanted to develop a culture of continuous learning and development. The firm needed the agility and resilience to adapt in order to remain competitive. The firm had, until this point, used coaching on an ad hoc basis, with no real structure in place and with mixed results.
SOLUTION
Designed and developed a Global Coaching Strategy and Culture. Critical to the development of the coaching culture was the development of a co-created, dynamic Coaching Strategy that supported change, built leadership capacity, and aligned with and supported the broader mission, vision and strategies of the firm. It was important to ensure that the coaching strategy was supported by an effective Coaching Infrastructure, this included: a strong sponsorship/steering group; a management group to drive, integrate and co-ordinate the various coaching activities; and a community of practice committed to ongoing learning and development. The next step was to work on the 7 key components of creating a coaching culture.
The Key Components in Creating a Coaching Culture
External Coaching – Interviewing and selecting a pool of quality external coaches was an essential component of developing the coaching culture. Whilst there are, necessarily, many desired coaching competencies, critical competencies of those included in the pool, included, a deep understanding of: 1) the theories, methodologies and techniques fundamental to coaching; 2) the psychology and adult learning principals that underpin behavior change; and 3) business, organizational behavior, and the dynamics of working with groups, teams and systems.
Internal Coaching – Developing a community of internal coaches. This comprised: a number of full time internal coaches; and a number line managers who would coach those in different parts of the firm on a part time basis. The coaches were selected in consultation with the firm’s senior HR leaders. We designed and delivered coach training, and provided on-going supervision and professional development.
Leadership Support – Senior leadership support, commitment and encouragement are critical to the success of a coaching culture. Given this, we trained the firm’s leaders to use a coaching style in their own leadership as a way of engaging with all staff and stakeholders.
Team Coaching and Organizational Learning – Recognizing that coaching is a key aspect of high performing teams, Team and Peer coaching were piloted throughout the firm. We also designed processes to coordinate, consolidate and integrate feedback and learning from the firm’s coaching conversations. This ensures that coaching becomes part of the cycle of ongoing learning, development and emergent strategy of the firm.
Embedded in HR & Performance Management Processes – The coaching then needed to be aligned with, and integrated into a firm’s HR, performance management processes and competency framework. In this way, developing coaching capabilities and enabling the growth and success of others become critical KPIs.
Dominant Style of Management – To advance the use of coaching throughout the firm and to support the competency framework, we designed and delivered both Leader as Coach and Manager as Coach programs. The aim of the programs was to develop the workplace coaching skills in both leaders and managers so that they could coach their teams more effectively.
How We Do Business with All Our Stakeholders – Finally, the firm was taught how to adopt a coaching approach to the way it does business with its various stakeholders, including clients, business partners, suppliers and the communities in which it operates This included how they relate to, engage with, and address stakeholder’s current and future needs.
RESULT
The CEO reports that that the culture of coaching and learning within the firm allows it to respond effectively and more creatively to its ever-changing context. Metrics have also demonstrated higher levels of engagement, motivation, performance and productivity. Coaching is now recognized as an essential element all management or leadership roles within the firm. Developing the capacity to work with and through others is a core competency. Coaching helped focus learning on the day- to- day challenges of the firm’s practice, in the context of its critical imperatives and the capabilities needed for success. Hesitant at first, the firm experimented with using a coaching style with a number of its important clients. In a subsequent client survey, this was identified as one of the firm’s key differentiators, elevating it’s Trusted Advisor status to that of Strategic Business Partner.
CLIENT
A leading global financial services firm
NEED
The financial services firm recognized that it was facing a new economic and regulatory landscape comprising a myriad of interconnected complex internal and external challenges. In order to respond to those challenges, the firm wanted to develop a culture of continuous learning and development. The firm needed the agility and resilience to adapt in order to remain competitive. The firm had, until this point, used coaching on an ad hoc basis, with no real structure in place and with mixed results.
SOLUTION
Designed and developed a Global Coaching Strategy and Culture. Critical to the development of the coaching culture was the development of a co-created, dynamic Coaching Strategy that supported change, built leadership capacity, and aligned with and supported the broader mission, vision and strategies of the firm. It was important to ensure that the coaching strategy was supported by an effective Coaching Infrastructure, this included: a strong sponsorship/steering group; a management group to drive, integrate and co-ordinate the various coaching activities; and a community of practice committed to ongoing learning and development. The next step was to work on the 7 key components of creating a coaching culture.
The Key Components in Creating a Coaching Culture
External Coaching – Interviewing and selecting a pool of quality external coaches was an essential component of developing the coaching culture. Whilst there are, necessarily, many desired coaching competencies, critical competencies of those included in the pool, included, a deep understanding of: 1) the theories, methodologies and techniques fundamental to coaching; 2) the psychology and adult learning principals that underpin behavior change; and 3) business, organizational behavior, and the dynamics of working with groups, teams and systems.
Internal Coaching – Developing a community of internal coaches. This comprised: a number of full time internal coaches; and a number line managers who would coach those in different parts of the firm on a part time basis. The coaches were selected in consultation with the firm’s senior HR leaders. We designed and delivered coach training, and provided on-going supervision and professional development.
Leadership Support – Senior leadership support, commitment and encouragement are critical to the success of a coaching culture. Given this, we trained the firm’s leaders to use a coaching style in their own leadership as a way of engaging with all staff and stakeholders.
Team Coaching and Organizational Learning – Recognizing that coaching is a key aspect of high performing teams, Team and Peer coaching were piloted throughout the firm. We also designed processes to coordinate, consolidate and integrate feedback and learning from the firm’s coaching conversations. This ensures that coaching becomes part of the cycle of ongoing learning, development and emergent strategy of the firm.
Embedded in HR & Performance Management Processes – The coaching then needed to be aligned with, and integrated into a firm’s HR, performance management processes and competency framework. In this way, developing coaching capabilities and enabling the growth and success of others become critical KPIs.
Dominant Style of Management – To advance the use of coaching throughout the firm and to support the competency framework, we designed and delivered both Leader as Coach and Manager as Coach programs. The aim of the programs was to develop the workplace coaching skills in both leaders and managers so that they could coach their teams more effectively.
How We Do Business with All Our Stakeholders – Finally, the firm was taught how to adopt a coaching approach to the way it does business with its various stakeholders, including clients, business partners, suppliers and the communities in which it operates This included how they relate to, engage with, and address stakeholder’s current and future needs.
RESULT
The CEO reports that that the culture of coaching and learning within the firm allows it to respond effectively and more creatively to its ever-changing context. Metrics have also demonstrated higher levels of engagement, motivation, performance and productivity. Coaching is now recognized as an essential element all management or leadership roles within the firm. Developing the capacity to work with and through others is a core competency. Coaching helped focus learning on the day- to- day challenges of the firm’s practice, in the context of its critical imperatives and the capabilities needed for success. Hesitant at first, the firm experimented with using a coaching style with a number of its important clients. In a subsequent client survey, this was identified as one of the firm’s key differentiators, elevating it’s Trusted Advisor status to that of Strategic Business Partner.
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