- 26/11/2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
5.1 Success factors of coaching
The interviews and questionnaires conducted in terms of the current study have revealed the fact that the impact of coaching depends on the environment in which coaching sessions take place and condition in which employees work. What is meant here is the fact that conflicts at the workplace and poor organisational culture were defined by specialists, including managers and coaches, as well as employees as major risk factors that influence the poor outcome of coaching. In contrast, favourable conditions at the workplace and the friendly ambiance within the organisation can increase the positive impact of coaching on the improvement of the individual performance of employees. Specialists (Reeves & Bednar, 1994) argue that coaching should take into consideration specificities of the organisational culture and structure to be successful because different organisations may have different problems and different needs. In such a situation, it is hardly possible to speak about the universal coaching model, which can be applicable in any organisation and which can bring a tremendous success, regardless of the context in which this model is applied. At the same time, as it has been already mentioned above, there are a lot of coaching models which can be used by modern organisation in terms of coaching. In such a situation, it is important to define factors that may influence the effectiveness and success of coaching. In this respect, specialists (Hawkins & Smith, 2006) distinguish several key factors that may determine the success of coaching in regard to the improvement of the individual performance of employees. Some specialists (Hawkins & Smith, 2006) define the following top five success factors:
First, the strength of the senior leadership team (Hawkins and Smith, 2006). In fact, the leadership is traditionally very important for the effectiveness of coaching because a coach should have not only the formal authority but he or she also needs to be a true leader, a person whose leader employees are ready to follow. The strength of the senior leadership team facilitates consistently the work of a coach with clients because the latter feel confident in the power of the coach and his or her ability to help them.
The second factor is the organisation’s ability to attract and retain quality people (Five Secrets of High Performing Organisations, 2010). At this point, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that quality people often perform the role of models for the majority of the personnel in organisations. At the same time, quality people are more successful in coaching because they perceive easily the message sent by a coach to them. Therefore, they get training easily, they acquire new knowledge, develop new skills and extend their professional experience easily that naturally leads to a consistent improvement of their individual performance (Neal & Tromley, 1995).
The third factor is the organisation’s ability to adopt a disciplined approach to the business including working “on” the business to create plans and align the employees to execute the business plans (Five Secrets of High Performing Organisations, 2010). In fact, coaches are more successful when an organisation has a clear business plan and strategy and employees are aware of this strategy. In such a situation, employees understand that coaching is important for them and they need to follow the lead of a coach to reach strategic and business goals of their organisation. They feel responsible because they understand the importance of the business plan and strategy for their career. In fact, the successful implementation of the business plan and strategy imply the improvement of their position in the organisation. Therefore, employees develop a positive attitude to coaching that facilitates coaching and leads to the improvement of the individual performance of employees.
The fourth factor refers to technologies (Five Secrets of High Performing Organisations, 2010). In actuality, high performing companies made strategic use of technology. Coaches should use the full benefit of technologies to reach goals of coaching. What is meant here is the fact that coaches can reach positive outcomes of their work if they used advanced technologies that facilitates coaching and perception of the message conveyed by a coach to individuals. For instance, the use of modern means of telecommunication facilitates coaching and increases its effectiveness. Moreover, the use of technologies in the course of coaching teaches employees to use technologies in their regular work. In this regard, specialists (Hawkins & Smith, 2006) argue that the use of technologies can improve consistently the individual performance of employees.
Finally, it is necessary to take into consideration such factor as external relationships of organisations. To put it more precisely, high performing companies developed relationships with trusted outside providers such as attorneys, finance and accounting professionals, and insurance professionals (Five Secrets of High Performing Organisations, 2010). The external relationships are very important for the successful work of a coach because the coach should use not only internal forces within the organisation but also external ones to help employees to tackle their problems, which prevent them from the consistent improvement of their individual performance. For instance, the existence of some external threats to the organisation can make employees feel uncertain about their future in the organisation. Therefore, their performance can deteriorate, whereas a coach can change the attitude of employees to their work and improve their individual performance by means of the coaching session.
Furthermore, the case study conducted in terms of the current research has revealed the fact that coaching can be effective and lead to the improvement of the individual performance. Moreover, under certain conditions, such as the enrolment of the overwhelming majority of the personnel in coaching, coaching can lead to the consistent improvement of not only the individual performance but also of the organisational performance at large. The case study proved that the organisation using coaching can increase the effectiveness of the performance of its employees. On the other hand, it is still important to create favourable conditions for the effective implementation of knowledge, skills and experience acquired by employees in the course of coaching.
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