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Creating a Manager-Led Coaching Culture

I’ve attended some great sessions today at the 2014 CIPD L&D Show.  This afternoon I’ve been on the Creating a Manager led coaching culture session.  The session was delivered by Sue Miller, Learning and Development Manager, Hilton Worldwide and Stuart Holdsworth, National Learning and Development Manager, Cineworld Cinemas.  They both described their different challenges that coaching aimed to address.  These included:

• A need to focus on people development as well as the customer experience
• Individual units in the business needing to take more ownership of learning
• Employee surveys indicating a need to engage teams more in learning
• Succession planning
• To deliver strategies

I wrote lots of notes during the session and probably too much to write in a blog.  But let me summarise my two main learning points on coaching today.

Developing Coaching Skills is a Journey not a one-off event

We’ve probably all seen the one-day coaching workshop, designed to transform our organisations into a coaching-rich environment. We’ve all probably seen people left scratching their head wondering why the great one-day event hasn’t overnight transformed the organisation’s approach to coaching. One thing that seems to be common today in conversations I’ve had, but also in this session is developing coaching skills needs to be a journey – more of a programme rather than a single isolated event. Both Cineworld and Hilton have seen huge benefits by engaging with coaches on a regular frequent basis. For me, I’ve concluded that developing coaching skills is best done when “coaches” are part of a “mini-community” within an organisation.  A community that can meet on a regular basis, share best practice and reflect on their experience.  So, as I say, coaching programmes seems to work better than a single one-off coaching workshop and today’s case studies from Stuart and Sue confirm that.

Everyone, at every level needs to buy-in to coaching

The buy-in piece is critical and it starts from the very top. Helping our exec teams to understand the importance of coaching is as important as ensuring our frontline teams understand the process too. I suppose it’s preparing the coachees to be coached. Doing this, I believe, removes the scepticism that may present itself as we begin the coaching culture journey.  Perhaps there’s a training need in itself here?

Flexible Learning….it starts with flexible learners

I’ve no doubt I’m going to pick up on more of this from the 2014 CIPD L&D show tomorrow. I’m particularly looking forward to a related topic from DPG’s Mike Collins at the event. It’s called “Flexible Learning….it starts with flexible learners”. Mike says in advance of the session that “Blended or flexible learning has been a focus of L&D for some time but it is ineffective unless learners possess the attitudes & skills to make the most out of every learning opportunity presented to them.”  The session will help you to discover how to maximise learning opportunities and learning transfer in your organisation.

Perhaps it will also be a good thought provoker on preparing our coachees to be coached.  I’ll let you know more tomorrow.

Keep in touch

Regardless of whether you’re here in London at the 2014 CIPD Learning and Development Show or you are going about you’re day to day business, please do keep  in touch with us. There’s regular Tweets from @dpgplc. 

Tweet you there.

Ady

For more Tweets from me from the Learning and Development follow @dpgplc on Twitter.

Tweet you there! See you there.

Ady