Various Perceptions of Coaching
These days it is fashionable to say that the value of a company resides in its people rather than in its balance sheet data. A majority of corporate managers accept this as a basic principle and, as a result , sound the cry: "Managers should develop their people!"There are companies where this takes the form of one or more training courses in coaching for managers, and the inclusion of coaching activity as a criterion in management performance appraisal. (Training courses in coaching: at these training courses, participants become familiar with some of the theory of coaching, gain an understanding of its impact on performance, learn the steps involved in applying it, and then use what they have learned as they see it. Application is generally ad hoc or limited to extreme cases (conspicuously negative performance). (Inclusion as a criterion in management performance appraisal: in such systems, financial incentives are rarely used to stimulate performance of coaching activity, as the managers organizing the appraisals themselves feel the concept to be so vague as to be difficult to evaluate.).
This method, which targets promotion of the coaching approach, generally operates only superficially: its employment never achieves the true goal, which is to improve corporate results through the conscious development of employees, and often only acts as a drain on the organization’s resources. (Operates only superficially: we see this at companies where senior management does not appreciate that introducing an effective coaching system requires more than an initiative from the HR department. HR can only create the framework and provide the means; ensuring the effective implementation and operation of the system is the task of the line managers. Without them, coaching remains an abstract concept that soon fades from corporate culture, or remains, but loses its underlying purpose.)
If we wish to introduce coaching successfully, we need to go further. Providing the approach is merely the first step, involving the provision of guidance needed to set up a coaching system in the various areas of the company. But only the subsequent purposeful use of the system will lead to improvement in corporate results, and only then will it be clear that coaching, as an essential element of performance management, has pervaded the entire company. (Entire company: this might be one or more organizational units where coaching works excellently, independently of other areas).
We believe in this latter method – one that we also use in our own organization. In what follows, we would like to introduce you to its key elements and to the steps that you need to take to apply it successfully.
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DEVELOR STAFF
Martin Kunc
Partner, Senior Consultant & Trainer My approach to life and training is: Knowing is not enough; we must apply it. Willingness is not enough; we must do it. This is what we believe in Develor. And what do we do? Success stories for our clients.
Éva Kelemen
Trainer Finding a common language in our personal relationships and at work is the most important thing in life. It is essential to have a common language in the strictest sense of the word itself and on emotional level as well. This is what I have set as my goal, and I believe I serve a significant cause.