Coaching more important than ever
In the UK’s current lockdown situation, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that at some point the restrictions will be eased and we will return to a form of normal. Many people are apprehensive of what all aspects of our lives will look like on the other side of this. From how we work, to how we socialise. It’s essential to remember that the UK’s businesses and staff are still out there – it’s just that business is far from usual.
Coaching for the future
At this crucial moment in time, executive coaching is more important than ever. Managers are having to deal with managing a team, in a situation which they have never had to deal with before. Thankfully, the standard and availability of technology has made home working a lot more feasible than it would have been 15 or even 10 years ago. Many staff work on laptops now as a matter of course. So the location of their ‘desk’ – be it in a company office or the dining room table – does not impede their ability for perform efficiently. This flexibility is key to the success of remote working and some are adapting better than others.
Leading by example
But whether staff are still working onsite – some in factories and warehouses, for example – or from home, the pressures and behavioural issues are still increased. Executive coaching provides essential reflective space and much needed clarity of thinking in times of uncertainty and upheaval. And there has never been a time of uncertainty quite like this one. Managers need the opportunity that executive coaching provides. To deal with their own challenges, before they are able to help their team deal with theirs.
New routines
Teams working remotely are facing different issues. Isolation can be a big part of that. In an office environment certain things happen naturally. You make yourself or your colleagues a cuppa, you say hello to your team, you chat about things that are not work-related. These trivial things are part of your normal working day. In this remote working set-up, we need to remember, “Leaders now need to be more intentional about saying good morning”. These routines need retaining, they need to be in place to provide staff with confidence that they’re not forgotten about, with contact providing reassurance. Remember, booked-in 1-2-1s with the team have a massive impact. It should be obvious to tell how your team is faring in isolation, when they have to interact with someone outside their home environment.
Engagement and development
Coaching and the coaching process is essential in helping to provide a thought process for problem solving. It’s also a reflective space with structure. Managers engaging with coaches are encouraged to self-analyse. To identify strengths, weaknesses, challenges and ambitions. At this time, different sectors face different challenges, different roles face different challenges. Coaching can provide new perspectives, an external point of view, that allows a fuller picture to be drawn outside the client’s own experiences. The lockdown period is a testing time and makes some issues more acute. Leaders and managers need to be more attuned to things spoken and unspoken, and the business decisions that their companies are facing. By working with a coach, they are able to formulate how their own businesses will develop – both in the short and long-term – and the shape work and the working environment will take, as the year progresses.
These difficult times also offer leaders some opportunities to develop themselves and their teams. Whether this is through furlough or time saved from the daily commute whilst working at home. There may never have been a more urgent time to begin an executive coaching programme focused on future business performance. Or reengaging the workforce with a very clear return on investment.
