How to create a coaching culture in your workplace

According to a 2017 report conducted by Gallup, a mere 15% of employees worldwide are engaged with their work. That’s about one person in every team of seven! So what’s the reason for such a high rate of disengagement? Well, it could be put down to a lack of coaching culture.

What exactly is a coaching culture?

A coaching culture is a workplace approach in which leaders, managers and staff members work together to increase individual, team and company organisational performance.

A workplace that has a coaching culture is one where workers feel empowered to work towards their own goals independently. Managers who foster this type of environment have a positive impact on employee engagement and organisational productivity. In the same report, Gallup found that managers are a huge influence on engagement rates, accounting for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units. And with high engagement rates comes better company results.

So how can you transform your managers into coaches to create a coaching culture in your workplace?

Teach coaching skills

A coach is someone who works one-on-one with an individual or with a team to help them unlock their maximum potential. In a workplace environment, a coach helps individuals achieve their professional outcomes while still holding them accountable for their work. They also provide non-judgemental support, ensuring the welfare of their coachee is met, both at work and outside of work.

Not all managers have a coaching mindset, but all great managers do. Prioritising coaching in your workplace training is the best way to create a coaching culture at work. This type of training is particularly important for employees who are transitioning into leadership roles, however can be beneficial for every employee within your organisation, no matter what their role is. Make sure your coach training is from an International Coaching Federation Accredited Coach Training Provider (ACTP). The IECL offers excellent courses that comply.

Adopting a leader-as-coach mindset will help you as manager/leader to identify coachable moments. And in turn encourage your team to model this type of behaviour with their team members The development of a coaching culture starts at the top. As leaders we are constantly on display so maintaining self awareness and composure especially in stressful situations is a must.

Communicate effectively

A coaching mindset involves asking the right questions and listening intently. Rather than saying “do this please”, a coach will ask “what approach do you think will help to achieve this outcome?”. This type of framing puts the onus on the coachee to think, gives them ownership and empowers them to reach their own goals and helps them to gain valuable problem solving skills along the way. A great leader/manager will arrange regular one-on-one meetings with employees to see where each employee is at with their work. They will check in to see if individuals feel good about their work, and they will give feedback, both positive and constructive, on a regular basis.

A great coach will prioritise the development of individuals because they know that in order to achieve vital business objectives, the company needs engaged, motivated and high performing individuals to work collectively towards a shared goal.

Prioritise employee engagement

Tying together talent and employee engagement to achieve important business objectives is what coaching is all about. The more engaged your workers are, the more motivated they will be to achieve results.

In Australia and New Zealand, the Gallup study found that employees have lackluster engagement scores, with just 14% feeling engaged in their job.

To keep employees engaged, it’s important to nurture their own professional development. In order to develop your people, a good step is discussing with each employee their own professional goals and communicating clearly and precisely how the organisation can support them to achieve these. In this regard it’s really important that the employee understands they own their own development and their careers and that the company’s role is to support them and guide them along the way. It should not be a case of the employee waiting for something to happen to them. Remember, not every organisation has the resources to provide in-house training or coaching but organisations focused on developing people can support their development through various outsourced initiatives and check in regularly to see how they are going. A focus on workplace morale should be prioritised in the same way that other important company objectives are. The wellbeing of individuals and teams will have a direct influence on their level of productivity and performance.

Foster an environment of trust

A workplace environment in which managers trust their employees and employees trust their managers is one where productivity can thrive. Creating trust is challenging and again this is where a coaching mindset can play a huge role. Professor Ralph Stacey says it best – “the quality of the system is determined by the quality of the relationships which is determined by the quality of the conversation.”  

When individuals have accountability over their work, they are more likely to achieve important business outcomes independently. Autonomous workers also understand how their everyday work contributes to the overall success of the company. This connection helps to empower individuals to reach their highest potential.

To find out more about how to incorporate a coaching mindset in your leaders, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.