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Sometimes, a coach is able to help you see things you might not
notice on your own.
“They’ll help you identify your blind spots and make them
less blind so you can change them,” said Flatt, who shares a story
about a client whose specific objective was to listen more and
build understanding. “This particular client had a habit of being
the first person in a meeting to share everything she knew,” she
said, who notes the behaviour was preventing the client’s growth.
“One of the things she committed to doing was listening in meetings
and letting others speak first.”
To gain insight and shift behaviour, coaches need to develop a
specific set of skills.
“For one thing, they need to know how to ask really good openended
questions,” said Burych. “These are questions that begin
with ‘what’ as opposed to ‘why.’” A good coach then listens to the
answers and follows where they lead. “When a coachee is answering
these questions, you’re helping them go on a path that’s not
determined by you,” she said. “At the end of the ride you’re helping
them create some new revelations for themselves. This is so much
more powerful than a coach saying, ‘This is what I see about you.’”
EXTERNAL VS. INTERNAL
A great deal of training goes into being an effective coach, which
is why many organizations turn to external experts with years
of specialized training and experience to guide their employees.
Outsiders can bring a fresh and unbiased perspective, too.
“Sometimes, not being involved in the day-to-day is helpful
because you’re not attached to anything but the success of your
client,” said Flatt.
HR’s involvement with an external coach can vary wildly from
organization to organization. HR may have recommended the
coaching for the employee in the first place, or they could be responding
to a request. They may consult with the coach or the
individual may work entirely independently.
However, in many cases, businesses prefer to keep coaching
within the organizational family.
“What I do like about an internal coach is that you’ve got somebody
on hand when you need them,” said Burych. “And you’ve got
somebody who knows the lay of the land and the context within
the organization, so he or she understands the environment and
the players.”
Oftentimes, the internal coach might be an objective person
within the organization who doesn’t work directly with the employee.
There are differing opinions about how effective a direct
supervisor can be as a coach, but when the exchange is set up
as coaching conversations and stays firmly in the realm of performance
coaching (rather than the more in-depth development
coaching), it can lead to positive results.
“There are definitely folks who can act as effective internal
coaches, with the caveat that they have training on how to be a
coach,” said Burych.
Cadillac Fairview, for one, has developed an internal program
where a growing number of staff are engaging in performance-
focused coaching conversations with their trained and supported
direct supervisors, at least once a quarter.
“That’s the frequency the executives have committed to,” said
Carmen Klein, senior director of organizational development and
culture at Cadillac Fairview. “But when you dig deeper, they’re
having them more frequently, at least once a month and in many
cases every two weeks.”
The company has set up a thorough support system for managers
that includes a coaching toolkit, workshops and online
learning content. HR offers ongoing education, on-the-job coaching
and real-time feedback.
The company regularly brings external coaches into the mix,
as well.
“Particularly with the more senior leaders where the coaching
needs to exceed the capability or capacity of the one-up manager,
we’ll use executive coaching as a supplement,” said Klein. For
consistency, HR prepares external experts before they work with
employees. “We use different coaches, but it’s important we’re all
using the same language. So we’ve established our intent process
and most coaches can map their process to it.”
WHO NEEDS A COACH?
In many ways, any willing employee could benefit from the skills
of a good coach. Certain conditions, though, make coaching a
particularly good addition to the HR mix.
Often, some kind of change within the organization will spark
a need for coaching. “When there’s unrest, people feel more vulnerable
and performance can start to slip,” said Burych. Or
someone might be disconnected, disengaged or burnt out. “The
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ JANUARY 2015 ❚ 21