Imperial College is proving its commitment to learning and development by making coaching available to all of its employees. Judy Barnett, head of the Coaching Academy, reveals the business case that made it happen
As one of the world’s highest ranked universities1, it is perhaps unsurprising that science-based institution Imperial College London is expressing its commitment to learning and development by offering coaching to staff at all levels and across all job roles.
But before its Imperial Coaching Academy was launched in 2009, most of the coaching was done by external coaches and, because of the cost, it tended to be reserved for senior staff.
Judy Barnett, talent development manager and head of the Academy, had long wanted to make coaching more widely available to staff. However, it wasn’t until she took on the talent development remit with responsibility for nurturing staff with the potential to work at more senior levels, that the business case for talent coaches became more compelling.
Some 28 internal coaches now form part of the Academy, taking on assignments with any member of staff that requests coaching. They also support participants on the Horizon and Pegasus talent development programmes.
The coaches come from across the college. “They represent a wide cross-section of departments and divisions and bring a range of experience and insight to the coaching role,” says Barnett.
Between spring 2009 and autumn 2011, around 150 Imperial staff have worked with a coach over, on average, four meetings across two to six months.
Demand has increased during this period too, and requests for coaching come from all groups of staff – academic, technical and professional, says Barnett.
Client issues vary widely. The areas they want to work on include: enhancing personal impact; career transition/moving into a more senior role; managing a new team more effectively; developing greater self-awareness; building confidence; handling stress during restructuring, and time and workload management.
Training and support
Coaches undergo a four-day Coach Development programme consisting of one two-day module and two one-day modules over three months. Based on International Coach Federation coaching competencies, it takes a solutions-focused approach and is endorsed by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).
Participants work in coaching trios alongside the programme and are required to complete a learning log as part of their coaching work.
This enables reflective practice, while those who want to gain further accreditation can use the programme as evidence of their ability to coach.
Ongoing support after the programme has ended is offered through:
Individual supervision during the first six months and on request thereafter.
Group supervision, in groups of six, once every 10 weeks, to which participants can bring coaching issues, and share good practice.
One-day CPD events with all other members of the Imperial Coaching Academy, three times a year. Recent events have included a Careers Coaching Masterclass, a focus on ‘The Art of Constructive Conversations with a Solutions Focus’ and a workshop exploring the power of storytelling and metaphor in coaching.
Lessons learned
Coach selection
Interest in the Coaching Academy has increased over the past three years, and significantly more people are interested than there are places on the programme.
The challenge has been to find an appropriate selection process that identifies those who are most likely to develop into effective coaches.
Initially, all those who were interested were interviewed by one of the programme facilitators. An initial written stage was added last year, requiring staff to answer questions on how they currently used coaching skills such as listening, questioning and offering challenge inside or outside work. This proved a very effective way of finding out about experience and likely approach.
Contracting and confidentiality
With internal coaches, some form of contract was necessary to enable coach and client to clarify expectations and establish ground rules. Imperial has developed the Coaching Academy Agreement. The coach talks through the agreement at the initial ‘coffee meeting’, and this seems to work very well, says Barnett.
The contract asks that coaches take on two clients every six months for two years after completing the programme, although some have worked with many more.
Generating the ‘right’ demand
Barnett says this has been her biggest challenge – how best to ensure a steady supply of clients so the coaches have enough opportunity to develop their capability, while avoiding the risk of generating a demand for coaching that cannot be met because of the relatively small number of coaches available.
“Initially I used the first cohort of coaches to support the talent programmes and advertised the coaching offer through existing staff networks. As the number of coaches grew, I developed a website… and the coaching offer is now widely advertised.”
www3.imperial.ac.uk/staffdevelopment/talentdevelopment/coaching
The accreditation option
It became clear that a number of the coaches valued some form of recognition for participating in the programme, but not all wanted to do the same amount of work. An arrangement with the ILM enables coaches to receive recognition for participation in a development or an endorsed programme, depending on assignments and hours undertaken.
Judy Barnett is talent development manager and runs the Coaching Academy at Imperial College London
1 University College London, founded in 1907, was rated as third in Europe and eighth in the world overall (Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2011-12).
Some 38 internal coaches form part of the Academy, taking on assignments with any member of staff that requests coaching
The challenge has been to find an appropriate selection process that identifies those who are most likely to develop into effective coaches
What the clients think
- “Coaching made me think about my role as a supervisor and how I approach problems. My coach was very good at making me think about the problem and finding a solution myself. In this way I got more confident in my role.”
- “I found the coaching to be extremely beneficial. It allowed me to become much more productive and clear in my aims. Without it, I would have been under a great deal more stress at a difficult time.”
- “The coaching sessions have been immensely helpful and I’m convinced the coaching process and techniques are a really useful tool for personal development.”
- “I have really enjoyed our coaching sessions. X has been a great listener and has a unique way of raising awareness of my strengths and the alternative approaches available to tackle emerging issues.”
Coaching at Work, Volume 7, Issue 1