Motorola Singapore Women’s Business Council, American Express Women’s Interest Network and international business school Insead have formed a collective partnership in corporate responsibility to lead women’s development and social enterprise across the globe.
I’ve been invited to facilitate a workshop for a women’s leadership development programme. Delegates are senior leaders from Singapore, China, India, Australia, Korea, the US and Japan.
Most of the delegates have heard of coaching, yet the view seems to be that it is something remedial for poor staff performance. However, the delegates soon become receptive to my alternative view – coaching for the successful.
The worldwide financial crisis has increased interest in the business benefits of coaching. Delegates have been fascinated to discover that cost-effective coaching can prioritise the learning needs of leaders who have already undertaken most conventional types of training.
I got participants started with a listening consultancy activity. It soon became clear that some were unused to listening. The brief was to ask previously prepared consultancy questions – and just listen.
Eventually they got the hang of it, and the results were impressive. “Clients” and “observers” reported the extent to which they’d been made to think and come up with solutions.
Dolores said: “I’m juggling so many balls in the air. The trouble is, they’re all glass: my friendships, my integrity, my family – they could all shatter, all except my career. I know that ball will bounce back. I just have to catch it at the right time.”
She noted that she needed more than just high performance; she needed to display executive presence and networking to win promotion. “What’s stopping you?” I asked. She laughed and replied: “I guess I’m lazy.”
I repeated the question. This time it stopped her in her tracks. A deep discussion followed, ranging from her imperative to perform to a consideration of her values and motivation.
Jaylee wanted to know “how to be more successful”. I pressed her to expand on her meaning. She replied: “My boss keeps telling me he would like me to display more strategic thinking. I know I need to be more visionary, but what can I do? Tell me what to do.”
I explained that in coaching terminology “the solution lies within” and persisted with my questioning techniques until she grasped the need to do her own thinking.
She responded: “I actually need to improve my confidence and my communication skills with high-level people and to think of different ways to improve my presence. I’m involved in a restructure, a talent review, and I have to lead marketing, sales and product development. They’re all operations.”
I encouraged Jaylee to walk her life-line and she was astonished to realise how far off the strategic track she had strayed as she ploughed her way through operations. She retraced her steps towards her goal.
The women took to coaching really well. Once they realised its potential they were engaged and adapted their leadership styles. They reported trying their newly developed listening skills on their own staff members – with positive results: “I normally just tell him, just go and do A, B and C… but today I stopped, listened and, do you know, he came up with the answer all by himself.”
Elaine Robinson is a senior lecturer at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University. She is an expert in executive education, women’s leadership development and coaching.
Volume 4, Issue 1