8
Looking to the Future
Moving forward, more organizations will likely want to create coaching cultures. There is an energy in those organizations that is palpable and inviting. These are organizations where people “see” one another and individuals know they matter. Learning and practicing the necessary skill sets of dialogue, openness, perspective taking, accountability, mutual support, and continuous improvement—whether in a brick and mortar or virtual organization—is the price of entry, and once admitted, most individuals embrace the opportunities provided. People want to take part, experience the interesting, be heard, feel acknowledged and supported, and grow and contribute. This is a human need. And it is met in coaching organizations.
So, what are the benefits of a coaching organization? In “The Benefits of a Coaching Culture,” the author presents research showing that “coaching increases performance, productivity and job satisfaction at all levels” (Yu 2007). In the study, a multinational manufacturer put its managers through a coaching workshop and then surveyed its salespeople three months later to see what results were produced: “The salespeople who reported more intense coaching from their managers also reported a 36% increase in performance.”
In another study, Xerox studied the impact of coaching when provided as a follow-up to training and found an 87 percent increase in effectiveness for the participants who received coaching versus those who did not (Auerbach 2005). Finally, Jeffrey Auerbach (2005) cites the following benefits attributed to coaching and reported by participants in a study of Fortune 1000 companies:
• increase in productivity: 53 percent
• increase in customer service: 39 percent
• increased retention of senior people: 32 percent
• increased bottom-line profitability: 22 percent
• reduction in costs: 22 percent.
In the 2014 research paper Building a Coaching Culture, the International Coach Federation and the Human Capital Institute conclude, “A robust coaching culture has been linked to higher employee engagement: 65% of employees are highly engaged in strong coaching culture organizations compared to 52% of employees in other organizations. Organizations with a strong coaching culture also report greater financial performance: 60% report being above their industry peer group in 2013 revenue compared to 41% of all others” (HCI and ICF 2014, 28).
The future of coaching cultures is distinct from the future of the field of coaching as a whole, but they certainly influence each other. Coaching organizations—or an individual coaching program—are designed to be in sync with the overall goals of the working environment. If an organization implements a coaching program in which leaders and employees can take part in formal coaching, trains everyone to use dialogue in conversations and meetings, uses a coaching style of performance management, and highlights strategic goals to which coaching skill sets and results are linked, the benefits cascade throughout the enterprise. More studies in this area to link specific causal variables with the outcomes we are describing will undoubtedly be forthcoming.
This phenomenon can also be demonstrated in related fields. For example, the training of leaders in emotional intelligence has proven to raise not only the level of success for individual leaders, but also the bottom-line results of their companies. This is totally understandable when you look at the component skill sets of EI (Bharwaney, Bar-On, and MacKinlay 2011):
• self-awareness: realizing your own emotions and drives, knowing how they affect your daily work, and using new skills to manage those emotions in a productive way
• self-regulation: suspending judgment and redirecting your disruptive impulses
• motivation: pursuing goals with energy and passion beyond money or status
• empathy: understanding, connecting, and factoring in the emotions of others when interacting with them
• social skills: managing relationships and building networks.
Sound familiar? The elements of EI further support the kind of dialogue, interpersonal strength, human understanding, and new pathways in the brain that distinguish a coaching organization.
Another driving phenomenon is the Millennial generation, who describe traditional companies as places that “suck out your soul.” What do they want so they can do their best? Again, it sounds like a prescription for a coaching organization (Impraise 2016). According to Impraise, Millennials want someone to:
• Help them navigate their career.
• Give them straight feedback.
• Mentor and coach them.
• Sponsor them for formal development programs.
• Provide flexible schedules.
• Listen to them and acknowledge their thoughts, and explain the “why” and “why not” in a supportive, not dismissive way.
• Provide opportunities for social impact.
The research cited in this book supports the fact that these needs are human needs, no matter how old you are! Going beyond Millennials, a coaching environment supports the needs of all generations by:
• engaging workers of all ages
• engaging and sparking interest
• fostering positive working relationships and actions
• increasing individual productivity
• raising the bottom line.
So why don’t more organizations choose to create coaching cultures? As stated in chapter 1, the vision and mission of some organizations is to mindfully ignore the employees and align everyone in the pursuit of making money. At different times in people’s lives, this may be the kind of driver they might want to pursue until other needs force them to recalibrate their priorities. Another reason is inertia. A company may be profitable, so why change? Sure, there might be turnover, but essentially the company is on solid ground and issues seem to right themselves when they get too far off track. This inertia is another characteristic within human nature, in which people and entire enterprises ignore something until it gets bad enough to do something about.
When you commit to coaching throughout an organization, you are unleashing the talent of each person and the organization as a whole. To do so, create your vision, assess the organization’s readiness, and then purposefully begin making coaching a part of your organization’s DNA. The work takes time (sometimes several years), an investment in resources and energy, and strong leadership to establish a coaching culture. Revisit the Phillips Corporation case study in chapter 7. Presently, the people leaders at Phillips are continuing to develop new ways to capture the “growth brains” of the employees and generate passion in them. They are relentless in this task. Their vision is very clear: virtuosos engaging in dialogue to create the better idea. At Phillips, dialogue leads to powerful conversation. As Theodore Zeldin explains, “Conversation is a meeting of minds with different memories and habits. When minds meet, they don’t just exchange facts: they transform them, reshape them, draw different implications from them, engage in new trains of thought. Conversation doesn’t just reshuffle the cards: it creates new cards” (Krznaric 2014). The result? A profitable machine-tool company with a dynamic coaching culture that has survived several economic downturns and has expanded into China and India.
As a leader or practitioner trying to build a coaching culture, you need to be ready for certain people who will decide to leave the organization because they can’t or won’t adapt to a coaching environment. That’s OK. They need to move on to places where they can work more comfortably. Remember, coaching is about making choices—and choices lead to change.
Coaching Trends and Opportunities
A review of trends in the field of coaching informs actions to be leveraged when building coaching organizations. Coaching has found its place in the mainstream and is here to stay. So, how can we build on the foundation that has been created? As with any maturing field, it is important to take stock and address obstacles and opportunities. As early as 2003, executive coaches Sheila Maher and Suzi Pomerantz stressed the importance of continually assessing the coaching field and taking action to remain relevant, leading edge, and of value to clients.
From combing much research for this book, and from our own 20-plus years in the field, we see the following trends that practitioners need to watch and influence:
The Economy
Coaching declined during the last recession and then surged when the economy slowly recovered. During the downturn, organizations restructured to do more with less. The results after the recovery are interesting. Organizations did not return to what they were before the recession. Rather, they stayed leaner and more mindful of the type of employees needed for the future. In this new environment, coaching became a strategic way to develop and engage people for the newly defined future. Coaching is being used to build corporate brands, hire the right employees, and ensure continuous development.
Implication and opportunity: Coaching will continue to grow and be a recognized component for organizational health and success. More and more organizations will utilize internal and external coaches serving all employees throughout the enterprise to support their coaching cultures.
Millennials and Different Generations
There are more than 53 million Millennials in today’s workforce, making them the single largest age cohort in decades (Fry 2015). Millennials want frequent feedback, ongoing growth discussions, and open-minded dialogue. And guess what? So do members of every generation.
Implication and opportunity: Coaching cultures provide the kind of environment that will attract, develop, and retain the best and brightest of not only Millennials, but any generation.
Analytics and Bottom-Line Results
Analytics are in demand in every industry to prove results and make decisions. While many individuals and organizations are looking for a clear, causal link between coaching and ROI, practitioners and researchers such as Anthony Grant (2012) have proposed a more robust measure of coaching impact: WBEF, the well-being and engagement framework. Whatever measures are utilized, coaching practitioners need to become educated in and partner with those who have measurement expertise. Analytical results prove the value of coaching for both behavioral and bottom-line results. Gathering such data—including when organizations do so in formulating measurement criteria—and publicizing reliable results will support the future of coaching organizations.
Implication and opportunity: The most successful coaches will be those who understand, use, and encourage the use of measures to support coaching infrastructures. Organizations that track coaching results using both tangible and intangible factors will have more sustainable success. Publicizing such results in the literature will further coaching credibility and professionalism.
Credentialing, Research, and Marketing
There are many definitions of coaching in the field, often propagated by different gurus, authors, researchers, and accreditation bodies trying to claim their corner of the market. This is troubling in terms of consistency, professionalism, and alignment of expertise and qualifications across practitioners. Because there is money to be made through credentialing, the proliferation of different avenues is understandable but sensitive. There are many coaching niches (“life coach,” “wellness coach,” “spiritual coach”) and a wide range of pay scales, approaches, and results. These circumstances are causing market saturation and watering down the skills needed to be an effective coach.
Implication and opportunity: It is important—for the integrity and credibility of the coaching profession—that those in the coaching field work together in codifying and aligning what is required in terms of standards, ethics, certification, and credentialing expertise. Similar to credentialing in medicine, law, and accounting, there should be a limited number of qualifying bodies with clear and consistent approaches to ensure credibility. This, in turn, would streamline research studies and analytics so the field can have greater impact. By working together, different entities can agree on the right balance of regulation and flexibility. Such cooperation and consistent messaging can foster reliability and respect.
Relationships
Connecting effectively with others is a growing challenge. Most individuals in 2017 spend more time on their various devices and social media than they do in face-to-face communication. More access and less awareness contribute to weaker connections. A large percentage of communication at work is electronic, and many people will text or email each other rather than call or seek out an in-person meeting, even when they are co-located. The preponderance of reality stars and technology has created an environment where we may know more about complete strangers than we do our colleagues.
Implication and opportunity: As Kim Scott tells leaders, “Your relationships are core to your job and you have to build relationships of trust…. Only when you actually care about the whole person with your whole self can you build a relationship” (2017, xvii, 13). There is a tremendous opportunity to connect with others and build a vibrant network that will support discovery and learning. This is the heart of a coaching organization.
Technology
Technology has infiltrated every part of our lives. Leveraging technology is important for coaching to remain accessible and relevant. This can include the use of mobile applications, webinars, video, and software tools.
Implication and opportunity: To ensure that coaching can be used under different circumstances and time constraints—whether face-to-face or virtual—it is necessary to embrace technology. In her 2016 whitepaper, Carol Goldsmith describes three kinds of coaches: “high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech” (27). Coaches and coaching cultures need to creatively use feedback tools, data-gathering software, web-based learning, mobile apps, and other technology-driven support structures to enhance coaching delivery and effectiveness. We need to be leaders in partnering with technology to ensure this support platform.
Coach and coach trainer Julia Stewart (2011) talks about trends and the future of coaching and looks at coaching 10, 20, and 30 years out. She points out that “coaching will no longer be considered exotic or only for the rich and famous. It will be as common as personal training is today…. More dramatically, as a result of the growth in coaching, society will evolve, with more people living values-driven lives.”
Despite the impact of coaching and multiple survey results linking higher productivity and engagement, strong retention, decreased conflict, and increased customer satisfaction, only 13 percent of the organizations participating in Building a Coaching Culture With Managers and Leaders reported a “strong coaching culture” (HCI and ICF 4). Clearly, we have a way to go to make coaching language and culture the organizational norm.
So our work is cut out for us. The future is exciting for coaching and coaching cultures—and even coaching societies. And it’s dynamic for those of us who are fortunate enough to live in and work to create coaching cultures. They are truly transformational. While in practice, each organization is characterized by their own unique implementation, coaching cultures share the same heart: high energy, a strong commitment, a belief in the work, a dedication to colleagues and customers, a desire to help, a service mindset, a results focus, and a desire to deliver. This is the kind of environment that most people dream about. But you can make this environment, this dream, a reality for your organization. We wish you luck in so doing.
Making It Real
This concluding chapter emphasized coaching cultures as an important component of your future in the working world. The essence of coaching is what makes human beings feel connected, productive, and engaged. It also enables strategic and bottom-line success.
1. If you were going to start a company from scratch, write a goal that would support the building of a coaching culture.
2. Of the six coaching trends outlined in this chapter, choose one that resonates with you.
■ Describe the state of that trend in terms of present mindset, behaviors, and results.
■ Envision that positive movement has been made on that trend. Describe that future mindset, behaviors, and results.
3. Given what you have learned in this book, write a personal goal for yourself in terms of how you will incorporate the things you want to be doing and saying one year from now.