Linking Coaching-Based Leadership to the Business

When I am in initial conversations with an organization about starting an initiative to integrate coaching-based leadership into the DNA of the organization, one of the first questions I ask is “How do you envision coaching-based leadership adding value to the business?”  If the answer sounds something like “Well, we just need coaching skills” that’s a huge red flag for me.

In my experience, if the people spearheading a coaching initiative can’t articulate the value to the business one of two outcomes is likely:

The initiative won’t get off the ground, usually because there’s insufficient support (read, insufficient budget.)

OR

The initiative will be sputter out under its own weight, since no one is quite sure why they are investing in something with no clear expected return.

“Just because” isn’t a good enough reason to engage in coaching-based leadership. 

When Cylient and the Center for Creative Leadership surveyed 350 senior business leaders earlier this year to get their thoughts on creating coaching cultures (download the white paper here ), the number one challenge for creating a coaching culture the leaders identified was, “The purpose and expectations regarding a coaching culture are unclear,” sited by 60% of respondents. Clearly linking the benefits of engaging in coaching-based leadership to what matters most to the company matters – a lot! 

At Cylient, we have worked with our clients to articulate some compelling business reasons for making coaching-based leadership an integral part of how business gets done:

• The pace of change continues to accelerate.  Leaders need to use coaching approaches to create more agile and innovative cultures that can more easily respond to opportunities and threats in this ever-changing environment.
• The business is transitioning from a siloed / product focused sales model to a more collaborative and consultative approach.  This requires coaching skills both to make the transition and successfully execute this new relationship-based approach. 
• Attracting and retaining young, talented works is essential for the lifeblood of the organization.  These new workers resonate with coaching-based leadership and have little tolerance for the old command and control regime. 
• In the emotional aftermath of a merger or acquisition leaders need the capability to engage in more meaningful conversations in order to engage the new organization in creating a unified culture. 
• Fostering engagement at all levels in the organization to make learning and development a natural part of everyone’s day-to-day interactions, and not an expensive and time consuming event.

If you aren’t clear on the compelling business reasons for your organization to embrace coaching, well, you need to discover what they are.  That means engaging in conversation with a cross section of leaders. I offer this piece of advice: 

Don’t ask, “So how do you think coaching will benefit the business?”  There’s a good chance they won’t have any idea. 

Do ask questions such as “What are the three greatest business challenges that you face?” and “What do you feel leaders need to do differently to address these challenges successfully?”  

 
Listen for both the literal answer and the underlying themes that emerge regarding how to attain the desired outcomes. When you listen carefully, you will hear how coaching-based leadership can turn the wheel of change in meaningful ways for your business.

Comments

[Matthew Coppola]

Great site, Well done.