Training for the coaching leader: how organizations can support managers

Abstract

Purpose The demand for leaders to coach their employees is increasing as the benefits become more and more evident. However, little is known about the training managers have received in coaching or what support is available/required from their organizations. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The paper encompassed a survey of 580 managers in Australian organizations with more than 200 employees. The authors used qualitative thematic analysis to examine the extensive free text answers. Findings The findings indicated that while some managers had received some form of training in coaching (30-40 percent, depending on training type), 40 percent of them expressed a desire for introductory and/or further training. The findings suggest that training should be tailored to the managerial context instead of a generic coaching training, with a more structured and coordinated approach to organizational coaching required. Practical implications Organizations could benefit from supporting managers with the following strategies: Why – Organizations need to explain clearly why a coaching leadership style is beneficial. How – Training can come in many forms from workshops to “on-the-job” learning. When – Managers want more insights into when and when not to use a coaching style. What – it should not be assumed that all leaders possess coaching skills but rather those coaching skills need to be acquired and developed. Originality/value This paper offers insight into current training and support structures for “leadership coaching”, and suggests strategies to help managers to implement coaching as a leadership skillset.

Coaching-Based Leadership Intervention Program: A Controlled Trial Study

“…Grounded theoretically in coaching leadership theory, this recently form of leadership has been defined as a day-to-day process of providing support, and helping employees identify opportunities to achieve individual development goals (Cox et al, 2010;Berg and Karlsen, 2016). Leaders who succeed with a coaching style enable employees to gain awareness and reflection, generate their own answers (Cox et al, 2010;Milner et al, 2018), require less control and directing, and have a desire to help them develop and flourish (Berg and Karlsen, 2016). Goleman et al (2012) suggested that coaching is one of the leadership styles that achieves the best results, and that its main purpose is to develop employees' personal resources.…”

“…According to the International Coach Federation (n.d.), the leading global coaching organization, essential coaching competencies consist of establishing trust and a working alliance, active listening, powerful questioning, direct communication, designing actions and goal setting, and managing progress. In using coaching skills, leaders enable employees to generate their own answers, thus enhancing development and performance (Grant and O'Connor, 2010;Milner et al, 2018). In the current study, we follow previous literature and research related to the professional coach's skills, the leader-as-coach, and managerial coaching, in order to identify eight core coaching-based leadership skills classified into four dimensions: (a) working alliance: developing a working alliance (1); (b) open communication: active, empathic, and compassionate listening (2), and powerful questioning (3); (c) learning and development: facilitating development (4), providing feedback (5), and strengths spotting and development (6); and (d) progress and results: planning and goal setting (7), and managing progress (8).…”

“…Although leaders are often expected to apply coaching principles at work, and many of them express a desire for further training, these developmental programs do not always focus on specific coaching skills. In fact, to be operational, training needs to align these skills with personal and professional goals (Milner et al, 2018).…”

“…In such cultures, coaching is the main style of managing and working with others, with a predominant commitment to employees' growth (Underhill et al, 2007;Wood and Gordon, 2009). Currently, organizations are starting to invest in training to develop coaching skills in their managers and leaders (Milner et al, 2018) in order to enhance wellbeing and performance and facilitate organizational and personal change (Ellinger et al, 2003;Wright, 2005;Grant and Cavanagh, 2007a).…”

“…Despite the growing popularity of coaching-based leadership interventions (Milner et al, 2018), the efficacy of these programs and their impact on the development of effective leaders have rarely been assessed (Ellinger et al, 2011;Grant and Hartley, 2014;Berg and Karlsen, 2016). Indeed, previous research has revealed that only one-third of these initiatives are evaluated (Ely et al, 2010).…”