Engage an Executive Coach During Times of Change
During major change, leaders experience change too. Some leaders struggle to adopt change, much less lead their team members through change. One of the best things that organizations can do during seasons of major change (aside from having an excellent change management consultant 😊) is to provide professional coaching to leaders. Executive coaches help leaders set objectives, produce measurable results, and implement visible changes to achieve success over a defined period. We met with Julie Harrison, an executive coach, to understand the dos and don’ts of offering coaching during seasons of major change.
In late 2022, Julie noticed a trend of organizations offering change management coaching as a part of the overall OCM offering. Coaching influential leaders can reap benefits, but she learned that there are effective and ineffective ways to go about it.
The dos of coaching leaders through change:
Use a targeted approach. Organizations should select a targeted group of leaders that will benefit most from the professional coaching. Julie shared that the coaching experience works best when companies choose a handful of leaders that will be most influential during the major change.
Explain the benefits of coaching. The company should explain that the coaching experience is being gifted to them as high performers in the company. Those being coached should feel recognized as individuals that will successfully lead people through major change. Understanding the benefits of the coaching opportunity will help people get excited and more likely to be vested in the coaching relationship.
Offer executive coaching for a beneficial duration. While the traditional duration of executive coaching is closer to six months, a full year of coaching may be needed for highly impactful and widespread change.
Encourage people to commit to the coaching. Six months to a year of coaching can feel taxing, however, the organization should encourage people to commit to the coaching relationship. Coaches help leaders drive change, overcome roadblocks, and empower leaders to best support their people—but to do this, they must commit to the coaching process.
The don’ts of coaching leaders through change:
Don’t offer coaching as a consolation prize. Julie shared an example of a company that unexpectedly reduced its workforce what felt like overnight. As part of the communication to employees, it announced “You're getting a coach to help you through this.” Employees were stunned by the unexpected news of the major change and then were given a coach as an attempt to show that the organization cares. Yikes. As a coach, Julie felt that she had an uphill battle with this project because people felt suspicious from the start. As a result, only 50% of the individuals met with her, some just a couple of times, and eventually said “I'm too busy” or “I'm not interested.” The other 50% did engage throughout the six-month coaching period but only10% of those people fully took advantage of the coaching engagement. Companies should convey what coaching is and why it’s a good thing, not offer coaching as a consolation prize.
Steer clear of vague goals. While offering coaching to employees is a great way to demonstrate support, if the company hasn’t clearly defined the purpose and goals of the coaching relationship, employees are likely to put their guards up. Given that trust is a major component of a successful coaching relationship, companies can avoid distrust by establishing clear goals for the coaching relationship.
Like any change management initiative, companies should take a targeted and customized approach to coach leaders through change. To do this, organizations must explain what coaching is and why it’s being offered, offer coaching for an ideal timeframe, and encourage people to commit to the coaching relationship. To avoid coaching catastrophes, organizations should avoid offering coaching as a consolation prize and steer clear of vague goals for the coaching relationship. Coaching is a substantial investment; organizations must consider how to get the best return on investment by knowing the dos and don’ts of offering coaching.
Contact ChangeStaffing to learn more about offering executive coaching during major change!
Thank you to Julie Harrison for her thought leadership and for collaborating with us on this blog.
Written by Kylette Harrison