What Could Happen if Your Organization Had it's Own Personal Coach?

I read recently that a survey of more than 300 companies by Manchester Inc, a career management and consulting firm, found that 59% of companies offered developmental assistance and coaching to their senior executive staff. A further 20% indicated they would probably be doing so in the next year. Why the interest in coaching? 

A trained, professional coach moves ready, willing and able people ahead. It's that simple. Regular meetings with a coach generate clarity about yourself and your situation. Better ideas are teased out. Roadblocks and blind spots to effectiveness are dealt with. Bigger actions are taken. More effective behavior means less stress and more visionary, effective and satisfying results. Communications may be improved. Now don't get us wrong. Coaching as a profession is new. It's not a miracle cure. It's not the magic bullet that will go straight to the bulls eye of rising company profits. Sooner or later some individuals will give coaching a black eye. But the reports are good, very good, that coaching accomplishes some good things. 

When organizations pay attention to the people side of their business, the people will pay better attention to the business. They will have less of other demanding things going on in people's thinking enabling them to better focus on what is at hand. Goals will be aligned with values and interests and attitudes. 

Both Judy and I work with Christians - senior executive leadership from across North America. We observe daily that what is seen on the surface, only hints at what needs to be addressed. One recent Sunday, my Pastor reminded us of the one seventh of an iceberg that is above the water and the six sevenths that rest below the surface, unseen, but needing to be reckoned with for any approaching vessel.

Our lives are like that, aren't they? Any number of things might affect the way we do our work or the actual work we do. When an owner of a company starts coaching, they may want to flesh out a developing vision for the future of the organization. What could actually be standing in the way of that happening may be a challenge communicating with some key staff to get needed input from them. Get that solved, and the owner discovers that they have thoughts of success that put a ceiling on how far they think they can go. Or they may feel unsettled about where God's claims fit into the picture. Do you see that large part of the iceberg under the surface? Work with it and a lot of positive things can happen. 

Companies are realizing the benefits of having their valued staff work with a coach. They are making investments in their staff, that go beyond the thousands of dollars spent on the next high priced seminar. Coaching assists clients to integrate what they have learned elsewhere and apply it to real life situations, in real time. That kind of an investment pays dividends. Take care of the person and the person will take care of the business. 
GW

Key Coaching

1. Along with yourself, identify 4 other key and valued senior staff in your organization. 
2. For each person, take a sheet of paper and write down, from your point of view, what you think that person is really capable of. What is their potential, not just as an employee, but as a whole person?

3. If just 25 % of that potential were directed toward the aims of your organization, what do you think could happen? What could this mean to your organization over the next 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? In working conditions? Financially? In taking the organization forward?

4. What do you think you are capable of? If you could be 25% more effective or change one self-limiting attitude or eliminate a major blind spot, what could that mean to the organization?

5. If it is important to your organization, put some numbers to this. Maybe you have calculated what some of the above could mean in terms of revenue. What percentage of that would make achieving it worthwhile? 20%, 10%, 2%. 

6. If the financial factors aren't of importance in your organization, what is? What could the above mean in your terms? Is investing in your staff important to what you are doing?