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A coaching culture sounds ‘nice’, but does it work?

News views and events from Leadenhall

A coaching culture sounds ‘nice’, but does it work?

Written by Chris Woodman

 

I have written about creating a culture in a previous Leadenhall Insights article (Link: Creating a Coaching Culture, April 2022) which included some reflections on how a coaching culture might be described and developed.   The phrase was popularised by research by David Megginson and David Clutterbuck nearly 20 years ago.  Suffice it to say, that an organisation that has the characteristics of a coaching culture will be one where the skills of coaching including active listening, skilful questioning, curiosity, appreciative enquiry and positive regard for people are developed and encouraged in the leadership, management and in relationships between staff.  Such a culture may also use formal coaching, internally or externally sourced, to enhance personal, team and group performance.   Sounds good, but does it work?

(It is worth noting at this point, a coaching culture does not mean that other forms of decision making, and leadership styles are not employed regularly in the organisation.  Situational leadership still has its’ place!)

I thought it might be helpful to share some research over the years that provides evidence that adoption of coaching approaches in management and coaching itself makes a difference and why it works.

 

Enhanced Employee Performance

Evidence: A meta-analysis by Theeboom, Beersma, and van Vianen (2014) found that coaching significantly improves performance, well-being, and goal attainment among employees.

Why It Works: Coaching fosters a growth mindset, encourages skill development, and helps employees overcome obstacles, resulting in improved job performance.

 

Increased Employee Engagement

Evidence: Studies by Gallup (2015) show that managers who adopt a coaching approach, focusing on feedback and development, have teams with higher engagement levels.

Why It Works: Coaching enhances employees’ sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, fulfilling core psychological needs identified in Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985).

 

Improved Manager-Employee Relationships

Evidence: Research by Ladyshewsky (2010) found that coaching-oriented managers build stronger relationships with their teams, fostering trust and open communication.

Why It Works: Coaching emphasises listening, empathy, and collaborative problem-solving creating a supportive work environment.

 

Better Organisational Outcomes

Evidence: A study by Grant and O’Connor (2019) highlighted that organisations with coaching cultures experience higher levels of employee satisfaction, retention and importantly, productivity.

Why It Works: Coaching aligns individual development with organisational goals, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

 

Development of Leadership Skills

Evidence: Research by Jones, Woods, and Guillaume (2016) demonstrated that coaching helps managers develop key leadership skills such as emotional intelligence, communication and strategic thinking.

Why It Works: Coaching requires managers to adopt behaviours that build trust, clarity, and collaboration which are critical for effective leadership.

 

Employee Learning and Growth

Evidence: A study by Ellinger and Bostrom (1999) showed that coaching managers facilitate workplace learning and employee development which leads to better organisational adaptability.

Why It Works: Coaching focuses on guiding employees through challenges and fostering self-directed learning which is often more impactful that ‘attending a course’.

 

Stress Reduction and Well-being

Evidence: Coaching-oriented management practices have been linked to reduced workplace stress and increased well-being (Gyllensten & Palmer, 2005).

Why It Works: Coaching provides employees with tools to manage stress, set achievable goals and maintain work-life balance.

 

Adaptation to Change

Evidence: Studies by McCarthy and Milner (2013) indicate that managers with coaching skills help teams navigate change more effectively by addressing concerns that might become resistance and fostering resilience.

Why It Works: Coaching focuses on empowering employees, encouraging adaptability, and addressing concerns proactively.

My personal view is that there are that there are two key foundations for a creating a culture in which coaching skills and coaching approaches flourish.

First, the senior leadership, including the CEO, need to be supportive of the approach and see the value of using the skills of coaching (active listening, appreciative enquiry) as part of their leadership style.  It is likely that some of the top team have a coach and that the team itself may have a team coach or facilitator.

Second, a practical programme of coaching skills training (not to make managers a coach) across the majority, if not all, supervisors and managers in the business.  We would say this wouldn’t we – we offer the Leadership Shift, a programme that develops these skills – but it doesn’t stop me from seeing this as the most impactful way of making a step change towards more effective people management (particularly in the post-pandemic hybrid working environments we have today).

An organisation that gets these first two things in place will then be better placed to know when to invest in individual, team or group coaching and get the most value from deploying it as part of their development strategy.

(ChatGPT was used to enhance the research elements used for this article)

 

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