‘How will coaching and mentoring be affected by the downturn?’
Here are some of your responses to our recent discussion thread. (If you are not receiving the monthly e-newsletter or are having problems accessing Coaching at Work online, email c.suri@cipd.co.uk)
- “Our business has already been affected! Our public-sector work has been reduced, with some projects put on hold for the time being or tackled in-house, and private clients are cutting back on the frequency of their sessions. Also, the flow of work coming through our occupational health contacts has dried up considerably. Time to be creative with our marketing and flexible with our approach to clients.”
- “I’m having a slightly different experience in the private sector. Many of my client companies are restructuring and people are leaving roles as a consequence. Some are transitioning into new roles while others are being made redundant – both situations can be supported positively by coaching. So I’m seeing a few more clients coming on board on the executive coaching front.”
- “We began a lengthy manager-as-coach training programme for a large financial institution a while ago (before any of the really dramatic events began). During our schedule of delivery they announced a significant restructure and we imagined they would put us on hold. But they actually see that coaching is a key tool to support people going through the change process, eg, a way of having supportive conversations where managers listen, seek to understand and help colleagues to talk through their experiences in a productive way.” Julie Starr, author, The Coaching Manual
So, for the present at least, coaching is seen as an enabler of change, rather than an overhead.
Keep it civil
Andy McLellan’s article, “Civil unrest”, paints a mixed picture of what is happening in coaching in the civil service. As an internal coach with clients in a number of central government departments and agencies, and a contributor to McLellan’s research, I can certainly confirm there is a wide variation in both the understanding of, and enthusiasm for, coaching across the sector.
I’m sure this is the case in other sectors too. Rather than a situation of “civil unrest”, however, I would prefer to paint a scene of greater optimism. In the past 18 months, interest and activity in coaching in the civil service has increased hugely, with much being done to introduce or extend internal coaching services for the benefit of a wider and more diverse range of our staff.
Sometimes this falls within well-developed HR strategies, sometimes within flexible, customer-focused structures. Whatever the delivery model, it is happening through the personal commitment and professional contribution of the civil service’s internal coaching community.
I look forward to future editions of Coaching at Work featuring case studies of coaching in the civil service that celebrate more of our achievements.
Ken Smith
Co-ordinator, Coaches in Government Network
Chinese whispers
As the Institute of Leadership and Management’s Global Management Challenge: China vs the World study recently confirmed, there is much scope for managers to enhance their understanding of peers in other countries and cultures and address many of their misconceptions and prejudices. (“Knowledge-thirsty Chinese managers are ripe for coaching”).
The economic slowdown further confirms the significance of the global market we’re in. As small changes in one country can inflict massive change on another, this challenging business environment reinforces the need for managers and their companies to understand, engage and work with their peers around the world.
Cross-cultural coaching will encourage individuals and their organisations to challenge their well-established assumptions. Refreshing their thinking in this way will do much for individuals’ personal development, as well as the ability of their organisation to develop a strong pool of talent that can compete in today’s complex market.
Penny de Valk
Chief executive, Institute of Leadership and Management
Health check
The article “Scale model” in your special report on health coaching highlights the importance of coaching in this area, whether by training doctors and allied health professionals to use coaching skills in their consultations or by using external coaches.
However, I was interested to note that among the therapies and models specifically mentioned, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and Grow, there was no mention of NLP, which would seem appropriate in this sort of scenario.
I will leave it to my esteemed colleagues in psychology to expand, but I do think there are “sexier” techniques out there than CBT, such as cognitive analytic therapy, which might get to the heart of such issues.
Tara Swart
Psychiatrist, coach and founder, Executive Coach for Change
tara@executivecoachforchange.com
Volume 3, Issue 6