COACHING THE LEADER/MANAGER-AS-COACH

This program consists of regular group coaching sessions over several months for managers and leaders who have completed a course in coaching skills. The aim is to ensure that newly learnt coaching behaviours are more consistently and confidently applied in daily workplace practices. Research has demonstrated that coaching following training dramatically increases training outcomes*.

Programs are individually tailored to meet the specific needs of the organisation. Individual sessions can be included as part of the program.

Leaders and managers as coaches become enablers, fostering independent thinking and increased competence and effectiveness in their team members. The emphasis is on reflection and evaluation, leading to the use of solution-focussed approaches to achieve workplace objectives.

Each group of four to five managers/leaders meets regularly for up to three hours with a master coach/supervisor to support them in dealing with specific coaching challenges. The sessions:

• are outcome focused and thus geared towards specific employee objectives
• are highly practical, using role-play and behavioural rehearsal to explore a range of possible applications of coaching skills to specific workplace challenges
• reinforce key principles presented in leader/manager-as-coach courses when relevant
• support participants to increase their awareness and understanding of possible factors that impact on employees’ performance challenges

* Olivero, G, Bane, K.D. & Kopelman, R. (1997) Executive Coaching as a Transfer of Training Tool: Effects on Productivity in a Public Agency, Public Personnel Management, Vol 26, (4), pp 461-469