This is the time of year when many of us give gifts to our family and our friends.  We search for weeks – sometimes months – to find just the right thing.  But there is probably someone – or many someones – whom you have left off your list.  Have you thought about what gift you want to give your colleagues and your organization in 2012?  What is the one thing – no, the one experience – you want to help them have in 2012 that will add the most value possible? 

Consider giving the gift of coaching.  In our 2011 High-Impact Performance Management research on coaching (click here for free webcast replay), we found that organizations with a coaching culture have much stronger employee engagement, employee productivity and customer satisfaction (see Figure 1).  We also found a strong relationship between the effectiveness of organizations at teaching coaching and business outcomes.  In short, coaching organizations are more effective organizations.

Figure 1:  Relationship between Coaching Culture and Employee Results

Source:  Bersin & Associates, 2011

In our study, High-Impact Performance Management:  Maximizing Coaching, we lay out what HR should do to help create a coaching culture.  One of the most important first steps is to obtain senior leadership support for coaching.  To do this effectively, our research shows that organizations should segment their leader population into one of four groups:

·        True Believers – Those who coach every day, expect others to coach regularly and hold their direct reports responsible for coaching (roughly 11 percent of the population, based on our survey).

·        Regulars – Those who coach often and have a strong belief in the value of coaching (roughly 32 percent of the population, based on our survey).

·        Fair Weather Fans – Those who coach sometimes, typically when it seems easy or there is pressure to do so (roughly 45 percent of the population, based on our survey).

·        Agnostics – Those who do not coach and see little or no value in spending their time this way (roughly 12 percent of the population, based on our survey).

After identifying these different populations, develop a strategy for approaching and leveraging each group.  Figure 2 outlines our recommendations for how to effectively leverage each group to gain maximum senior leader engagement with coaching.

Figure 2:  Tactics for Creating a Culture of Coaching within Senior Leaders

Source:  Bersin & Associates, 2011.

As you start your 2012, identify those “True Believers” in your organization and determine you can do to collaborate with them to make coaching a bigger part of your organization’s culture.  Work with them to answer the following questions:

1.      What business issues are we facing today that would be solved if our leaders were effective coaches?

2.      How effective are our managers at coaching currently?  What do our managers most struggle with when it comes to coaching?

3.      To what extent does our culture align with a focus on coaching?  Do senior leaders believe that managers do not coach their direct reports enough or effectively? 

4.      What resources do we currently offer to managers on coaching?  Would we be able to build from any existing programs or do we need to create an entirely new coaching learning experience?

5.      What can we offer to senior leaders to enable them to coach more frequently and effectively?  What do senior leaders need in terms of information and support so they can hold their direct reports accountable for coaching?

Improving your organization’s focus on coaching is one of the greatest gifts you can give in 2012.  We truly believe it is the gift that keeps giving.  We look forward to hearing about your experience and providing additional guidance as you progress on this journey in the New Year. 

Happy holidays!

~Stacia