Deliverable: Multifaceted training program
There are lots of coaching programs out there. But when you are serious about building a true coaching culture, the chances of it being sustained increase if your approach is grown on the inside from the seeds of your culture. That’s what a multinational company learned after it rolled out its quality conversations program.
With a history dating back 250 years, the company has experienced sustained success with a culture based on caring. With almost 50,000 employees, it was critical to senior executives that all people leaders reflect this value of caring in their conversations with direct reports. To that end, they rolled out a quality conversations program that defined the three types of discussions that all people leaders, regardless of level or region, need to be having with the individuals on their teams.
People leaders were still struggling
The program was well received in the organization, but post roll out surveys found that most people leaders were still struggling to put the quality conversations into action. How often should these conversations happen? How should we go about leading them? These were the questions that still vexed people. In sum, company people leaders knew the what, but not the when or the how.
After learning more about the goals and intentions of senior leaders, it was clear that the company was committed to building a sustainable coaching culture that reached all ends of the organization. This would require significant buy-in from top to bottom. An outside approach could help company leaders grow their coaching skills but would run the risk of not fitting the culture and/or feeling disconnected from the values that make the company great. Thinking for the long-term, it was decided that building a home grown approach gave us the best chance of widespread adoption and sustainment.
Building a home-grown approach would have its challenges. The model had to work in Europe, North America, Asia, and everywhere the business operated. Each region and operating unit would need to be comfortable with the approach and feel a strong sense of ownership in the final solution.
An inclusive approach
To make sure that all voices were represented, BCL worked with the company to identify a broad representative sample of stakeholders from across the organization. Those people were interviewed extensively to get their perspectives. Then, a coaching summit was held in Boston during which a coaching model was prototyped, refined, and finalized before being socialized more broadly. The end result was an approach to coaching that was specific, actionable, and aligned with the quality conversations concepts.
Our efforts then focused on rolling out the new coaching approach more broadly. We designed a skill building program to be piloted with about 700 representative people leaders after which, if successful, it would be expanded.
The program had two major components with some additional activities to bridge the two. First, the company’s people leaders participated in a foundational workshop. To reinforce the feeling that the approaches are a reflection of the culture, the experience was delivered by company leaders and representatives. A variety of senior leaders co-facilitated and there were videos, verbatims, and other activities that reflected the voice and perspective of the organization. Our role was to design the workshop and prepare all those involved to facilitate a high impact experience.
Learning circles for long-term sustainment
Once learners completed the foundational course, they were put into a learning circle with seven other participants. The circles were composed of people who did not regularly work together so that they could all broaden their perspectives on the company and ideally gain insights they may not have otherwise. Each circle was to meet once per month for four months. The circles were all led by a volunteer who used guided meeting materials prepared in advance by BCL. Each meeting focused on a specific topic, first trust building, then high-performance conversations, then growth conversations, then a wrap up.
Finally, in between meetings, people leaders were given action prompts, planning tools, and reflection workbooks to work through before the upcoming meeting. This homework then played a central role in the learning circle activities and discussions.
“I felt like, I wouldn’t get this if I watched a recording, and I wouldn’t get this if I read a book. The fact that my one colleague based in the South is talking to another colleague who’s in the Midwest, and they’re in fundamentally different functions, but they’re having a conversation to piggyback off of each other’s experiences. That is so high value, and I think it’s what sets this program apart and just into the stratosphere. It’s so well designed, because it was organically cultivated.” –Participant
A lasting impact
The program has been very well received. In the post program survey, learners asked for more training and suggested that the program continue. Many of the learning circles have elected to continue meeting on a monthly basis. In light of this success, the company will be rolling the program out to all people leaders in the organization and offering a more advanced version to those who participated in the pilot.
