The recognition of coaching as a competency that delivers bottom line business value is a current and exciting reality. One of the natural iterations of this growth can be found in the increasing amount of work being done in the area of tying coaching to corporate culture. High performing organizations know that, in order to remain competitive and/or relevant in a sustainable way, they MUST pay deliberate attention to their respective culture. Building a “culture by design” rather than accepting a “culture by default” is what high performing organizations are all about. The emergence of creating coaching cultures, albeit a relatively new concept, is growing in popularity at a breakneck pace. The reason – it makes a real difference to engagement, communication effectiveness and ultimately to the bottom line.
When we consider building a culture by design, we are really speaking of the way the organization is “being” – it is the how we do things, more so than what we do. One of the common pitfalls organizations make is believing that lots of coaching activity will equal a coaching culture. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is the approach that leads to the “flavor of the month” mentality that many of us have experienced. Coaching activity on its own is all about the “what”. In order to engage the “being” element required to create a culture, we must engage emotion, motivation, and purpose. To do so goes well beyond simply providing skill training.
The first, in this authors opinion, on this journey is to assess the readiness of the organization to embark on this large scale change management initiative. Readiness includes an examination of the current culture, the leadership, the capacity, the systems, etc… It requires a holistic look at the organization in order to determine which elements are aligned for the change and which ones need some work. This is the basis from which organizations must start. Organizations would never consider implementing a new management information system without considerable investment, up front, as to their readiness – it is the due diligence required to maximize the likelihood of success. It should be no less important when considering the resources to be expended on changing a culture.
Want to learn more about changing the culture where you currently work? Join Bruce McLeod, our Chief Culture Officer and Alison Hendren, CEO and Founder of Coaching Out of the Box® for “Changing Corporate Culture: Are You Ready?” a FREE 1-hour teleconference on Wednesday, December 16th @ 11am Pacific time/2pm Eastern time. We will be covering the 5 key components that will guarantee your success. For more information or to reserve your seat click here.
