Case Study: Sponsored Coaching Engagement
Who I worked with:
This was a 10 hour sponsored coaching engagement, spanning a period of 9 months. In this case study, the client was a Senior Executive for an Australian university, referred to here as ‘Edward’.
The challenge:
Edward’s institution undertakes annual performance appraisal of their leaders, which includes use of a 360-degree survey. Edward’s Human Resources (HR) Manager was concerned about some aspects of his recent 360 report and shared these concerns with Edward and his line leader. A leadership development plan was created for Edward and it was suggested that leadership coaching might be beneficial.
The process:
In terms of measuring progress, agreement was reached as to the observable new behaviours if the desired changes occurred.
They agreed to have regular progress check-ins during their monthly meetings. We also discussed if Edward collected direct feedback from his peers at the mid-point of the coaching engagement he could obtain meaningful feedback prior to the next 360 survey.
As the engagement progressed, each coaching session was bespoke and focussed on a specific topic. For example, one session was devoted to problematic relationships within Edward’s team, specifically with two direct reports. We contracted that the focus for this session was on preparing for difficult conversations that Edward needed to have. After the difficult conversations Edward shared his amazement on seeing changes in his staff’s behaviours.
In another coaching session the focus was influence and persuasion. Another was performance evaluations for staff. Edward took away actions from each coaching session.
The results:
By the mid-point of the engagement Edward arrived and said: “I’m having a paradigm shift!” He talked about having the courage to experiment with a more delegative style and seeing that trust was vital to his own (and the University’s) success. He also said he viewed his peers as partners now. I asked what evidence he had that this new behaviour was being seen by others and he was able to reference recognition by his line leader.
The final session included another triad meeting with Edward and his line leader to reflect on progress made toward the overall objective for coaching and the three specific focus areas – as agreed in the initial alignment meeting. Highlighting his changed attitudes, Edward talked about how coaching had helped him to clarify his focus and to stay on track. He mentioned how rewarding it was to address his 360 feedback in such an open and honest way.
Edward’s line leader provided specific examples of the behaviour change he had observed and commented positively on the shift in Edward’s leadership style. In seeking feedback from others, it was clear this was also being noticed by Edward’s peers.