Coaching in the Workplace (Part 1)

I have never written a blog before so I guess I am a blogging virgin! After attending my first workshop on the new ILM Coaching & Mentoring Programme, I really wanted to share my passion for Coaching & Mentoring in the workplace. I believe it’s a powerful, beneficial and cost-effective tool for people and organisational development but very much underused in a lot of organisations. I want to help you understand just how effective it can be by sharing what I learn on the programme and demonstrate some of the things we do at DPG plc that have benefited me greatly. So having just started the programme I can now start to see and understand the difference between Coaching & Mentoring. The entire programme is designed to help you to set up coaching initiatives and develop coaching capability which in turn help people become more engaged in their work and understand their strengths and of course development areas. I’m learning that this is key to developing high performing workplaces.

Coaching uses one-to-one conversations to unlock potential. It can help managers deal with change and find solutions to business problems using their own resources, ideas and initiatives. It isn’t about giving people answers. It’s an effective way of creating a high performance culture in your organisation. There has been a lot of change in the last 10 years around the perception of coaching moving it from being seen as a remedial tool and potentially a negative thing to have (as you aren’t good at your job) Many organisations still view coaching as a tool for correcting performance however more and more organisations view coaching as a way to get the best out of their people and to continually improve performance. Coaching is about achieving a high performance culture, not managing a low-performance one, and should not be seen primarily as a remedial tool. ILM research shows that:

  •  90% of organisations with over 2,000 employees use business coaching!

I found a useful video on coaching in the workplace that you mind find useful below

ILM asked Learning & Development professionals in 250 large organisations about the results of their coaching programmes; almost all the organisations said coaching as a development too benefitted both individuals and the organisation. These are things that were highlighted:

  • Better communication and interpersonal skills
  • Increased confidence and motivation
  • Improved conflict resolution
  • Better management performance

As well as the above there was this great statement that really stood out for me…..

95% say that coaching has delivered tangible benefits to their business!! It really has changed individual’s commitment, performance, and their morale.

For me this shows coaching is a highly effective way of raising awareness and driving performance at all levels of an organisation. But good coaches need the right attitude & capability, this can come through experience and training. To embed coaching capability across your organisation, you must first equip your coaches with the abilities and train them to coach effectively.

So this is where my journey starts. I’m learning to practice what I preach

I’m now working through the first unit of the coaching and mentoring programme and learning all the great things to make me a more effective coach and to help others on this journey.

For the first workshop we all got to know one another and learn the difference between Coaching & Mentoring. The things we have done so far is coaching one on one with the other delegate which I personally found very helpful as im quiet and it made me come out of myself and actually show what I had learned. We are gathering all information for our first assignment which for a change I am looking forward to starting. I have lots of information to hand a good group of people so we can help each other out and an understanding facilitator. I am also working with four colleagues at DPG to help coach them on varied things. Therefore I truly am practicing what I preach. Stay tuned to find out how it goes....

If you’re interested in learning more…

If this is something you’re interested in then read about our coaching and mentoring qualifications if you go to this link it will go through the programme in more of a deeper dive take a look at http://www.dpgplc.co.uk/what-we-offer/leadership-management.aspx.

Or you could contact us to find out how we can help your organisation benefit from coaching and ask for me, Claire Smeaton my number is  0161 975 7777 or email claire.smeaton@dpgplc.co.uk

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Comments

  • Thank you Mike! Cant wait to write my next one :)

  • I think the key thing for me with this blog and the most important thing that sometimes we don't do is put in to practice the things we learn straight away. We might not get it perfect the first time however it's trial, error, practice, reflection and then continually improving what we do that helps us improve. Great to see you sharing your experiences Claire and hope the coaching goes well, look forward to hearing more.

  • Thank you Conor :)

    I am really getting into the blogging scene!! Took me a while have to admit but no stopping me now, Kevin thank you for checking it out glad you enjoyed it, after the 3rd workshop I will have another blog  :)

    Thank you Lucy, Stay tuned for the next episode!

  • Great post - well done on beginning in the world of blogging ;-)

  • Claire, you clearly highlight the power of coaching and mentoring, the many benefits it can bring for key stakeholders and the key role it plays in achieving Organisational Success. I look forward to hearing more of your insights.       

  • This is great Claire - very inspirational! And a fantastic first blog, done like a pro :)

    It's definitely a big mindset shift to go from coaching and mentoring as a remedial performance management tool, to something used to manage and improve already high-performing individuals and organisations. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more from you about this, can't wait for the next installment!

    Lucy

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