The Value of Coaching

In these tough economic times all companies are watching what they spend their money on. Every dollar spent must have a tangible payback; development and training are very closely scrutinized for their rewards. Unfortunately some companies see employee development as “nice to have” as opposed to a critical strategy for developing and retaining their employees.

Good wages and benefits are what normally attract an employee to work for a company in the first place, but it is not enough to keep them. Employees want to feel valued and to be heard, leaders who can communicate well will retain their employees.

A study of Fortune 500 companies found that 21% to 40% utilize Executive Coaching as standard leadership development for elite executives and talented up-and-comers. (Hay Group) in those companies;

77% Improved relationships with direct reports

71% Improved relationships with immediate supervisors

67% increase in teamwork

63% improved relationship with peers

61% increase in job satisfaction

44% Increase in Organizational Commitment

37% Improvement in Relationships with Clients

(McGovern, Lindemann, Vergara, Murphy, Barker and Warrenfeltz with Manchester, Inc.)

Is Team Conflict a Good Thing?

Providing the conflict is focused on the business problems, and not personal in nature, the answer is a resounding yes! Conflict is a sign of a healthy team that is engaged and committed. All too often teams sacrifice opportunities to grow and move forward for fear of violating the “cultural conformity” of their business.

Patrick Lencioni in his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, advises that it is important to distinguish productive ideological conflict from fighting and interpersonal politics. Ideological conflict is limited to concepts and ideas and avoids personality-focused, mean-spirited attack. However they can have many of the same external qualities of interpersonal conflict – passion, emotion, and frustration.

All too many times leaders for the sake of team harmony don’t allow their teams to exchange ideas and thoughts in an open format. Team members in conflict, are told to take the discussion “offline” which sends the message that conflict is not acceptable in the team. So what can a good team leader do?

·        Create an environment where conflict around ideas is encouraged, and rewarded.

·        Model the behaviour to show that healthy conflict is good and productive.

·        Establish team norms around conflict that team members understand.

·        Watch team members for signs of disagreement and encourage them to speak up.

·         Do not avoid the critical or sensitive topics in team meetings.

Your teams will always have conflict, it’s up to the leader if the conflict happens in the meeting or at the water cooler.

Welcome to my Blog!

I am extremely excited about launching Soundingboard Coaching.

As a Manager with Canada Post, I discovered the profound effects that coaching had on leaders. It was rewarding to see ideas come alive, people energized about seeing their challenges in a new light, and the rekindled passion about excellence.

As I move forward I want to acknowledge the support and encouragement that I have had while making this transition to business owner. Firstly to my wife Linda who has always been there for me during my career, to J.L. Rousset & Leo Henry, for helping me discover the power of Coaching. Also to my own “Soundingboards” Stephen, Amy, Pat Kenny, Jim Heidema, David Bratton, Carolyn Moyne, to name a few.

And lastly I would like to acknowledge those who I have had the pleasure of Coaching over the past years. One thing I learned about Coaching…. Even when it is bad (which it sometimes was!) somebody is learning something.