Don't Go It Alone
SmarterWisdom’s guiding philosophy is a belief that developing high-level, trusting partnerships of all kinds are at the core of good leadership. We know that these partnerships already exist within the place you work; we believe that both enhancing these existing partnerships and creating new ones (including establishing one with a leadership coach,) is central to evolving, dynamic leadership and the success of your enterprise. We write in part to share our experience during the start-up year of SmarterWisdom, which of course coincided with a year like no other; in addition, we write to further the understanding of the mutual benefit of organizations partnering with coaches and consultants who can help them grow and succeed at this unique time, as we return to, and reinvent, work after the ravages of the pandemic.
SmarterWisdom has written a lot recently about uncertain times, times of change that provide opportunities to transform your approach to leading and learning. We see the leading with people, not the leading of people as key to your team’s success, especially now. Placing the science and expertise of organizational change front and center, will ensure that you can navigate unknown situations ahead, and be ready for a sustainable future. In a recent blog, Marcie wrote about psychological safety and how leaders can create workplaces that are healthy; earlier Jane wrote about burnout and resilience, teams redefined and how individuals need to consider the ethos of the culture where they work to ensure they are in the right place. In all of these pieces, we urged leaders, at all levels of the organization, to ensure they had time to lead and coach their team members, checking in, asking them how they can help, and engaging in active, forward-thinking mentorship. In some ways this need for leaders to coach and tend to their colleagues is a new aspect of leadership, but in many ways not: generative leadership always pays attention to the health and well-being of the team, building trust and developing engagement.
Sadly, during the past 15 months or so, there has been less time available for this important work of growth. At every stage of this crisis, we have asked people to change the airplane's engine in mid-air, rather than work on maintenance or planning ahead. And, even though we are in a time where there is no set of proven best practices for how the world of work should restructure itself to move optimally through the re-entry phase, getting ahead and forging the path to envision that restructure will serve organizations well.
A series of questions jump out immediately: How will traditional ways of leading and managing work in this new context? Is "fail fast”, for example, a viable strategy to help us learn as we go, or are things just too precarious to take the attendant risks? Is this a time of true starting from scratch in our thinking about how work gets done, or is it more a moment where we should try to simply tweak the old model? Which of the old norms are we going to jettison? Which do we feel must be maintained? How will our people react to any of the decisions we reach during this phase? And there’s more; these are the questions your team members might be asking: What is my purpose? Is this really how I want to spend my waking hours? Do I connect to the mission or vision of my employer?
These deep questions necessarily challenge the fundamentals of work. In addition, they are hard questions to answer in a vacuum since they point to essential change about the way we do things. A thought-provoking example to consider is an argument made by writers Gino and Cable in a Harvard Business Review article (April 2020) in which they wonder out loud if in fact the real purpose of a performance review might be to determine whether or not people are thriving “while helping the company thrive.” Individualizing jobs to draw on the strengths of employees, giving workers the opportunity to have more choice in what they learn and supporting them in that learning is another way that leaders can establish an important role with their team, reaping the benefits for all aspects of the organization. Bringing meaning to the work we do serves everyone. SmarterWisdom urges you to leverage this moment of change and uncertainty to establish new ways of being that you can capitalize on when the going is good, or not so good.
There is no question that the normally challenging job of leadership is now ratcheted up to new levels of difficulty, and leaders will require (and deserve) the benefits of perspective, content expertise and support. The best source for these, we believe, is coaching.
Planful introduction of coaching resources into organizations is a way of stretching leaders' time. It provides a well of available thought partnership, access to cross-institutional experience and the latest relevant research and support from a no-dog-in-the-race expert who can be honest, apolitical and trusted. Infusing the organization with these elements makes it likely that the quality of leadership will rise. Given the level of challenge during a time period when effectiveness really matters, coaching is a smart strategy to boost organizational and individual resiliency in the face of the unpredictable road ahead.
The return on investment of working with a coach or a consultant is perhaps more obvious as work shifts gears back to on-site, or as you realign functions and roles to respond to the changing landscape. One-on-one coaching focuses primarily on developing a growth mindset, building confidence and contentment in leaders. Good coaching recognizes the employee’s place in the life cycle of their work: first 90 days, promotion, developing a high potential or other situations. A culture of learning and growth is valuable in supporting and retaining leaders and in sustaining institutional success.
In a recent Institute of Coaching webinar, SmarterWisdom heard the number of $311,000 as the potential cost incurred when not hiring a coach and needing to replace an employee who is therefore not given the opportunity to partner with a potential agent of growth and change. A failed senior management hire typically involves the cost of a new search, the time for orientation, starting up and acclimating to the new culture, and so on. In that same webinar, the advice was to “Act ahead of the need for change.” Good leaders are seeing the potential pile-up around the bend before it happens; supporting these leaders and their teams guarantees safety and productivity. An extra member of the team, i.e., a consultant/ coach, skilled in managing change and promoting growth and development, might make all the difference.
So, our message clearly is: don’t go it alone. Organizations that set up trained peer coaching teams internally, or hire an experienced coach who can partner on specific projects or be the eyes and ears that you need on the ground to ensure the kind of growth you hope for, will succeed for the present and the future. And as the return to work begins, this approach is excellent insurance!