Firms’ coaching culture: underestimated potential?

Coaching includes leveraging current leaders to support the next new ones’ growth. In this method, incumbent leaders can act as mentors and transfer their internal knowledge, skills and behaviour patterns to assist their successors.

“If an organisation does not use its own leaders as a resource for developing future generations, it may be missing out on one of the richest methods to improve leadership performance,” the study reads.

It also indicates that coaching should be deeply embedded in a firm’s leadership development strategy since it increases participation and mobilises the inherent management skills in employees at all levels.

Indeed, empowerment at the earlier stages of an individual’s career is a powerful motivator. Younger workers are often hungry for opportunities that allow them to influence the organisation, earn recognition in their workplace and contribute at a higher level.

As a result, when leadership competencies are promoted and encouraged throughout the organisation, empowerment and collaboration takes place at multiple levels. It bolsters the talent pipeline and enhances the organisation’s on boarding, retention and engagement levels, the study says.

Upon this realisation, firms have strived to expand the scope of their leadership strategies beyond top-tier executives and high-potential employees. The study comments that this extension does not only strengthen the internal pipeline for succession planning, but also accrue greater benefits to the overall organisation.

However, firms also face challenges upon implementing this method. 78 per cent of the respondents of the study are concerned about the lack of funding and resources for a successful coaching programme.

In response, the study recommends the cost-effective shared learning model in which one coach works either virtually or in person with four to six employees.

“Typically, this model begins with a workshop where specific coaching skills are presented and practiced,” the study suggests. “In subsequent weeks, participants share their coaching successes and challenges through group “coaching circle” calls. They can also receive in-the-moment coaching by their peers and a master coach.”

Lee Hecht Harrison, the conductor of the study, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Adecco Group and a global leader in career transition, leadership development, employee engagement and change management.

The firm has 350 offices in 64 countries and provides professional assistance to over 7,000 client firms and 200,000 candidates every year.