The days of arbitrary and pointless rules within organisations are ending. Amid traditional workplace arrangements, incorporating leadership coaching into company culture has become a new way of managing and developing employees. Instead of simply delegating tasks to their employees, workplaces are beginning to emphasise individual worker growth, development, and accountability as keys to business sustainability.
This fresh overhaul of traditional performance management systems, called coaching culture, is an arrangement that more organisations are shifting to and one that leaders should know how to create and sustain.
Defining ‘Coaching Culture’
A coaching culture is fostered in the office when company leaders and employees aid each other toward career and personal growth. This type of working environment provides adequate space for employees to ask questions, get feedback, and then work from there. It involves training to progress further on their job descriptions, plus becoming collaborative leaders and managers.
Some workers, however, might find it more challenging to let go of traditional management systems. But it is not impossible, as more organisations are already beginning to adopt a coaching culture in their workplaces. If you are unsure where to start, you do not necessarily have to rely on guesswork, as you can always get the help of a culture coaching expert. Indeed, the benefits of hiring a culture coach cannot be understated, given the lasting change they can guide you in enacting.
How Leaders Can Create and Nurture a Coaching Culture
In addition to hiring a coach, it is a good idea to begin spurring a coaching culture from within your workplace. It is an initiative that your organisation leaders should control. It would give you a feel of how your colleagues might receive such management changes, especially since some workers might resist new office arrangements.
If you, yourself, are a leader within your organisation and are wondering how to plant the seeds of a healthy coaching culture, here is a quick rundown of some changes you can attempt to make:
Advocate for a Coaching Culture
Unfortunately, not everyone eagerly welcomes the emergence of a leadership coaching culture. There are still leaders, managers, and employees that would settle for more traditional, task-focused career paths. After all, fulfilling individual tasks is typically the bare minimum requirement for workers.
However, it is essential to know that coaching-based professional development has a proven impact on employee satisfaction and well-being. It translates to a more productive workplace which, in turn, increases work performance and output quality.
As an advocate for leadership coaching, you must inform and educate your colleagues, co-managers, and superiors about these potential improvements. If your company’s performance is at a plateau, perhaps you could discuss how a coaching culture might be the solution to launch your forecasts to new heights, and you can also show them how to do it by example.
Include All Leaders and Executives
As with most hierarchies and chains of command, change is most effective when it starts at the top. It is not enough that employees down the corporate ladder learn through coaching while top-level managers and executives are apart from these developments. Having organisation leaders participate can significantly boost employee morale. And, of course, one leader can’t be expected to do everything alone. To successfully create a coaching culture in any company, all its leaders must pitch in.
As company leaders, you will know that there are many ways management involvement can directly contribute to worker development. For instance, they can try hosting leadership training seminars and sharing pivotal management experiences so employees can learn. However, it’s done, top-level participation can inspire employees to progress in their respective positions and careers, further supporting the efficacy of coaching.
Create a Collaborative Environment
A coaching culture involves a workplace where leaders and employees teach and learn from each other. Therefore, collaboration is the centre of this system. For this to work, leaders must foster an environment wherein colleagues can openly communicate what they learned, where they failed, and why. All these learnings can be shared, contributing to everyone’s knowledge of navigating an increasingly complicated workplace environment.
Furthermore, mistakes are a valuable part of learning. Hence why acknowledging and discussing them should not be discouraged. However, the causes of these mistakes must be identified, and solutions found by team collaboration to prevent these mistakes from being repeated. Therefore, leaders must encourage employees to ask questions and provide feedback while also reassuring them that they won’t face a backlash for doing so. In turn, this will create a critically conducive working and learning environment.
As a leader creating a coaching culture in your workplace can be challenging, especially given the many responsibilities on your plate. Fortunately, you don’t necessarily have to go through this entire process alone. When aiming to achieve such a significant change in your workplace, employing a culture coach is one of the best business decisions you can make.
Should you need guidance on your journey to establishing a coaching culture, especially among the leaders within your organisation, consider reaching out to Team Focus PLUS. Our organisation is led by Ross Judd, who is an expert culture coach with an extensive background in promoting progressive work environments. Contact us today to get the help you need to make your business a better place for everyone to work.
If you want to know more, call us on 1300 551 274 or send an email at team@teamfocusplus.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
