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Subjects:       Studies,  Management development,  Organizational learning,
Leadership,  Management theory
Classification Codes    9130,  2500,  6200
Author(s):      Suzy Wales
Document types: Feature
Publication title:      Journal of Change Management. London: Feb 2003. Vol.
3, Iss.  3;  pg. 275, 8 pgs
Source type:    Periodical
ISSN/ISBN:      14697017
ProQuest document ID:   295610961
Text Word Count 3226
Document URL:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=295610961&Fmt=4&clientId=52110&RQT=309&VN
ame=PQD

Abstract (Document Summary)
This paper describes a piece of academic research that explores the
experiences of a group of managers taking part in an externally-provided
coaching program. It describes the background to the program, outlines the
benefits identified by participants and offers a model arising from the
research. Data from individual managers on the perceived benefits of
coaching were gathered through semi-structured questionnaires. This provided
the basis for the creation of the Inner and Outer Model of Development that
describes how the internal qualities of self-awareness and confidence enable
and stimulate the five external competencies of management, assertiveness,
understanding difference, stress management and work/life balance. Acting as
the conduit and mediator between these two groups are communication skills.
The research concludes that coaching substantially increases the
effectiveness of the links between self-development, management development
and organisational effectiveness.

Full Text (3226   words)
Copyright Henry Stewart Conferences and Publications Ltd. Feb 2003
[Headnote]

Received (in revised form): 11 th July, 2002
 

[Headnote]

KEYWORDS: coaching, leadership, management, self-development, organisational
learning, communication, stress management
 

[Headnote]

ABSTRACT This paper describes a piece of academic research that explores the
experiences of a group of managers taking part in an externally-provided
coaching programme. It describes the background to the programme, outlines
the benefits identified by participants and offers a model arising from the
research. Data from individual managers on the perceived benefits of
coaching were gathered through semi-structured questionnaires. This provided
the basis for the creation of the `Inner and Outer Model of Development'
that describes how the internal qualities of self-awareness and confidence
enable and stimulate the five external competencies of management,
assertiveness, understanding difference, stress management and work/life
balance. Acting as the conduit and mediator between these two groups are
communication skills. The research concludes that coaching substantially
increases the effectiveness of the links between self-development,
management development and organisational effectiveness.
 

When is coaching the best choice for management development and what are the
developmental areas that it targets most effectively? Coaching is a practice
that has become widely adopted, variously applied and generally accepted in
the management community. It is a reasonable assumption, therefore, that it
meets some felt need and has some benefits and pragmatic justification.

Before investing in such a service, however, the client needs to feel
confident that it will produce the kind of changes that they are looking
for. Within an ever-increasing range of management development tools, why
choose coaching? What results does it achieve?

To understand the kind of development or change that might be achieved
through coaching a piece of qualitative research was carried out. It aimed
to examine the phenomenon of coaching and understand how it is experienced
by its recipients.

THE STUDY GROUP
The study took place in a major UK clearing bank that had recently been
restructured into five separate businesses. The Head of the Sales and
Marketing department invited the author to provide a coaching programme for
him and 15 of his managers.

His vision for this new company was to break away from the monolithic,
traditional bank structure, with a move from a `command and control'
hierarchy to one of consultation and empowerment. The brief was to provide
coaching and support to managers during this transition, encourage the
acquisition of a new paradigm of management skills, develop effective teams,
and assist the managers in developing behaviours and strategies to deal more
effectively with their boss.

Each manager received one hour's coaching every fortnight. This was used as
a development tool individually tailored to each individual's learning needs
and focused on their own goals and objectives. All the respondents had been
in the programme for over a year when the study took place.

THE RESEARCH
A phenomenological approach was taken as the author was predominantly
interested in exploring and recording individual people's different views
and experiences of mentoring.

A self-report questionnaire was devised and sent to each manager. The
questions were based on the six fundamental levels of learning and change
which impact on the individual or the system (Dilts, 1996). These address:
the environment or context within which the work takes place - the
opportunities and constraints; the individuals' behaviours; their beliefs
and values; their capabilities; their role and their vision and purpose.

The resulting data were analysed in two stages: first the material was
sorted for words, phrases or themes which had connections, importance or
meaning; then formed into groups from which the data could be quantified.
These were subsequently sorted into categories which emerged naturally out
of the process.

A vast amount of data was in response to the questionnaires, and a number of
key benefits were identified which fell into three core groups: the
internal, the external and mediating. The identified benefits are
self-awareness, confidence, leadership and management, assertiveness,
understanding difference, stress management, work/life balance and
communication skills.

These core groups created a pattern: self-awareness and confidence are
internal processes essential to ongoing growth and development. They enable
and stimulate the five external categories of management, assertiveness,
understanding difference, stress management and work/life balance.

Developing an individual's internal qualities provides support for the
manifestation of their external competencies. Communication is the skill
that acts as the bridge and mediator between internal development and its
external implementation. The use of high-quality communication skills
facilitates the effective delivery and receipt of ideas, concepts, knowledge
and vision into the behaviours and management (Table 1.)

These groups are conceptualised into the `Internal and external model of
development' (Figure 1). This model creates a structure for, and provides a
way of making sense of, both the experience and benefits of coaching. It
also forms a useful framework for HR managers to assess the appropriateness
of a coaching intervention to address particular development needs.

THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT
It is vital for leaders and managers to develop an understanding of their
internal processes. It is only through knowing one's own internal
psychological processes that a person comes to understand and interact
effectively with the external social processes that surround them.
Internal qualities

Self-awareness
Self-awareness is fundamental to personal development; it enables
individuals to choose their responses to feelings and reframe their actions
to make them more congruent with what they are attempting to do.

Self-awareness alone, without its link into the wider social context, is
incomplete. Without it, managers will be insufficiently aware of why they
act in a particular way or why they respond to situations in certain ways. A
manager who is unaware of his internal processes may behave inappropriately
or act aggressively while intending to be assertive or authoritative. They
may be insensitive to, or intolerant of, other's emotions.

As a person's self-awareness grows, they improve their understanding of
their strengths, weaknesses, needs and internal drivers. They become more
aware of how their feelings affect them and how this might influence their
motivation and desire, their behaviour, their work, their impact on other
people and ultimately their success.

One respondent described how increased self-awareness had enabled him to
make choices in his behaviours:

By being more self-aware I understand how some of my beliefs and values can
influence my behaviour and responses, but I have a choice, and can utilise
my positive beliefs. This use of my positive beliefs provides a strong base
and gives me conviction in my discussions.'

- Self-awareness appears to consist of four elements: the ability to
understand one's past and learn from it; openness to one's own and other's
feelings; the ability to reflect on situations before moving to action; and
the ability to make appropriate choices.

- Past-present awareness: Becoming aware of the past and understanding its
influence on one's present attitudes, mindsets, behaviours and feelings
enables one to reframe them within the current context. For example, through
coaching, one manager began to understand how his father's lack of
appreciation of his achievements had left him with a feeling of `never being
good enough'. He was able to link these past experiences and feelings to his
current feelings and behaviours, and recognise ways in which he was
replaying old unhelpful patterns from his relationship with his father, with
his boss. He was able to use and transfer self-awareness of the past into
his social perception and achieve a marked improvement in his relationship
with his boss.

- Openness to feelings: Self-awareness facilitates the process of being more
aware about one's own feelings. Acknowledgement and acceptance of feelings
can help reframe one's actions and behaviours to make them more congruent
with what one is attempting to do. How often do mistakes and
misunderstandings occur because thoughts and feelings have not been
communicated well enough to others or have been misinterpreted?
Coaching can help individuals become clearer about the part their feelings
play in their interactions. It facilitates the raising to awareness of
inconsistencies between what one says and does, and what one thinks and
feels (Argyris, 1990). Respondents claimed that that coaching had helped
them to understand and be more honest about their own feelings and more
sensitive to other people's feelings. They felt they were able to be more
open and direct.

- Reflection: The ability to examine experiences, reflect on situations,
formulate hypotheses and develop new approaches enables individuals to
improve and develop their management style (Kolb, 1984). One respondent
described how the ability to reflect had helped him: 'I am more self aware
than I have ever been, I reflect on issues and consider different approaches
before acting. I focus on the most important areas and leave the rest for
other people to manage.'

- Choice: Another respondent described how increased self-awareness provided
him with choices around his behaviours and added conviction to his beliefs:
`By being more self-aware I understand how some of my beliefs and values can
influence my behaviour and responses, but I have a choice, and can utilise
my positive beliefs. This provides a strong base and gives me conviction in
my discussions.' Managers reported a deeper understanding of their problem
and concerns, an improved ability to deal with `emotional baggage' and more
rational, adult behaviour.

Many of the respondents commented on how their self awareness had lead to a
greater acceptance of themselves.
Confidence

HR managers are frequently presented with the problem of how to increase a
person's confidence. The traditional method has been to send them on an
'Assertiveness' course but these courses rarely produce a sustained increase
in confidence. Participants learn new ways of communicating which may
improve confidence in the short-term but, unless the external behavioural
change is accompanied by changes in the internal processes, it is unlikely
to be maintained.

All the managers in this study, however, commented on the increase in their
own self-confidence and/or self-esteem. Comments such as `My manager has
noticed my developing confidence, heightened belief and stronger impact at
meetings and more interest in my colleagues' suggest that coaching not only
increases confidence in oneself but also increase a person's interest in
others. This was supported by another manager who said that he had a greater
desire to help colleagues, and another who said he was kinder.

`I'm considering the "direction" of my life, both in terms of career/work,
personal and family issues. Coaching has given me opportunity and courage to
consider what is truly important to me now and look ahead, 10, 20, 30 years,
with the choice to make changes now that will affect my future contentment.'
Increased self-confidence also enables managers to bring more of themselves
into the workplace. `I'm much surer of what I stand for and how this "fits"
for both me and organisation.' Managers reported feeling stronger and more
rounded, being more able to link their beliefs and values into their work
and to make 'tough' decisions.

External competencies
Leadership and management
The roles of leadership and management are key to driving and managing
successful change initiatives. Enabling change in others must start with
understanding and managing change in oneself This factor is frequently
overlooked or not even recognised or understood. Effective coaching
addresses external change and development concurrently with internal change
and development. Coaching develops the external aspects of leadership and
management, while encouraging the internal support qualities of
self-awareness and confidence.

The managers described changes made across three areas: individual presence
and purpose, relationship with the team, and achievement of the goals and
tasks they set for themselves and others.

- Individual: Managers report that they developed a wider perspective and
organisational overview and improved their leadership skills; they command
greater respect and are valued more by others. Respondents said that
identifying their personal vision had lead to greater clarity and motivation
in their role.

- Team: Three-quarters of respondents stated that coaching had improved
their understanding of team dynamics and team development. They said they
were more open and honest with those around them. They ran more effective
meetings and had a greater awareness of 'process' and 'content'. They were
more open to other's points of view, felt a greater desire to help
colleagues and were more able to adapt their approach to others to get
positive results.

- Task: The primary focus of management is often seen as the speedy and
effective completion of the task. Many coaches, however, understand that
concentrating the focus on developing an individual's clarity of purpose and
sense of `self improves their ability to lead; work with uncertainty and
paradox; interact effectively with those around them and achieve the goal or
task.

Managers reported improved motivation, objective setting and leadership
skills, increased business performance, greater acceptance of self and a
greater ability to understand systems and analyse situations.

Coaching is currently used as a management development tool in a number of
different situations. It might form an intervention in its own right to
support individual or organisational change. It might be the process chosen
to improve meetings or Board interactions. It can also be highly effective
following a training programme or management competencies assessment,
providing the confidential support needed to develop new competencies and
enhance existing ones.

Assertiveness
'Assertiveness' is used in this context as meaning the ability to understand
and describe one's needs, skilfully express one's opinions and stand up for
one's beliefs. Additionally, it is the ability to challenge situations that
are incongruent with one's own beliefs and values and conversely to accept
challenge and the expression of different opinions from others.

Assertiveness is supported by the internal qualities of self-awareness and
confidence; as these two internal processes develop so does the ability to
be assertive and challenge appropriately. The effective use of assertiveness
as an external competency is also synergistically interdependent with
`understanding difference'.

Following coaching, managers reported feeling that they had a firmer base
from which to address situations: 'I am more able to challenge my boss when
I disagree or I feel uncomfortable with business practices', `I'm not afraid
to speak out' and 'I handle conflict/confrontation better'.

During the coaching programme, some of the respondents had been required to
carry out difficult performance reviews, challenge underperformers and, in
some cases, issue official warnings. Feedback showed that managers felt more
confident to approach difficult situations and achieve mutually satisfactory
outcomes.

Understanding difference
The capacity to allow, accept and work with differing ideas and opinions is
fundamental to cognitive development (Piaget, 1936). As well as encouraging
mental flexibility and creativity, understanding different views, different
styles and different ethnicities engenders a more supportive environment.
The understanding of difference, paradox and ambiguity is an imperative for
today's managers.

Respondents reported 'a wider appreciation of other's contributions' and la
greater desire to help colleagues'.

Stress management
The ever increasing pace of business today requires managers to adapt to
diverse and demanding roles and negotiate the pressures of increasingly
complex work environments. This can lead to stress and anxiety. The coaching
relationship provides a safe and supportive environment within which to
express and explore fears and anxieties, to identify coping skills and
strategies and test out new behaviours. Additionally, some coaches encourage
practical discussions around identifying and understanding causes of stress,
time management, lifestyle, healthy eating and exercise, stress-reducing
relaxation and meditation techniques.

Many of the managers in the study were newly appointed into their roles;
those that had been in post some time were facing a new boss, new peers and
a new way of working. This required not just new technical and interpersonal
skills, but also new identities.

When the coaching programme started, many of the people were experiencing
high levels of stress. Following coaching, however, managers described
themselves as 'a lot calmer' with `more tolerance', `no longer getting as
angry with people and events as previously' and `feeling more capable of
understanding and dealing with the pressures the job/personal life put on
me.

Work/life balance
The balance between work and home has become an area of increasing
importance to managers. The stress created by the long hours many managers
work is compounded by feeling guilty about neglecting the needs of the
family and friends in their lives. Managers can end up resenting work itself
because they have so little time for themselves or quality time with their
families.

Managers in this study described having taken more ownership of decisions
affecting both themselves and close relations, and being able to make
decisions that they had previously found difficult. They became more
proactive in the management of the various roles in their lives.
This research showed that change and development made in one field are
consistent and complementary with those achieved in another field. It
confirmed the transferability of change and learning from one part of an
individual's life to another. This points to an `added value' in coaching.

If a person's work life is improved through coaching, then he is likely to
feel more confident generally and better able to deal effectively with
issues both at work and at home. This highlights the importance of working
with the 'whole' person during coaching sessions.

Communication skills - Mediating between internal and external
Effective communication is a vital component in all human interactions; it
is also the channel for interactions between inner and outer development.
For example, it provides the conduit for internal awareness to be
externalised into social competence and for external experiences and
developments to be translated back into internal confidence and
self-awareness.

The development of internal qualities and external competencies are
interdependent. As internal qualities such as self-confidence and
self-awareness grow and develop, so external competencies are strengthened,
enhanced and supported in their manifestation. Conversely, external
developments such as behavioural change reinforce internal development and
build confidence. These inner/outer changes and interactions are supported
and facilitated by effective communication processes. Communication
therefore, provides both the channel and the language for describing
internal and external experiences, and the means of translating human
experiences into learning and development.

All managers in the programme described significant improvements in their
communication skills.

CONCLUSION
1 Coaching is an invaluable tool for developing managers across a wide range
of needs.
2 Coaching provides a space for profound personal development; it enables
managers to understand how to translate personal insights into improved
effectiveness and ultimately organisational development.
3 Coaching can be used to support other organisational or training
initiatives (translating learned skills into competencies), or as
stand-alone development.
4 It makes managers feel valued and improves staff retention.
5 The quality of the relationship is crucial to the outcome, providing the
container, stimulus and support for the changes that result from coaching.
[Reference]

REFERENCES
 

[Reference]

Argyris, C. (1990) Overcoming Organisational Defences, Allyn & Bacon,
Needham Heights.

Dilts, R. (1996) Visionary Leadership Skills, Meta, California.

Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experiences as the source of Learning
and Development, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.

Piaget, J. (1936) Origins of Intelligence in Children, International
Universities Press, New York.
 

[Author Affiliation]

Suzy Wales
 

[Author Affiliation]

is an executive coach, mentor, change agent and facilitator who has been
working in the field of organisational change, coaching and mentoring since
1990. She has designed, developed, delivered and managed coaching and
mentoring programmes within national and international organisations. She
has given seminars, presented and written on the subject. Suzy is a director
of the Clifton Group.
 

[Author Affiliation]

Suzy Wales Clifton Group, Riverside House, Feltham Avenue, East Molesey,
Surrey KT8 9BJ, UK

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