Vox-Pop is from the Latin vox populi and refers to popular sentiment or opinion on a subject – in other words, the voice of the people.
In this series of Blog Posts I explore the sentiments and opinions of leadership participants in my Coaching Master Class (CMC) programme. What do they think about the main coaching topics we explore together in this programme?
I look at STAR Coaching Case Study reported by a Leaders of Leaders participating in a UK programme in 2018. By this time my CMC programme had evolved to version 3 and I was using a much more comprehensive STAR template for coaching case study feedback. I look at how the Leader used the GROW Coaching Model and the Coaching Tools taught in the CMC Workshop, and the outcomes they achieved with coaching.
The Coaching Master Class program runs over a 12-18 week period. We kick off with a full day workshop for Leaders of Leaders and Functional Leaders who work in the same team and report in to the same boss. I then complete a series of follow up coach-the-coach sessions according to the ARCH Model (Activity, Results, Capability & Handover). There is more on this in my 2016 article ‘Coaching the Coach – Who, Why, When & What?’
The notes I take during these coach-the-coach session give me valuable insights into how programme participants are taking on board and applying the learning from the workshop.
Here is a Coaching Case Study as reported by a participant in a programme I ran for a division of Maersk in the UK 2018. It is formatted according to the STAR model – what was the Situation or Task, what Action did you take, what Result did you achieve including your own personal learning?
Leader of Leaders Case Study
Situation/Task
What was the Situation / Task?
We have a new company control environment process and policy. The UK business have not been scoring well in the past and have been struggling to consistently implement the required controls to the standards required. As a management team we have decided that UK need to achieve the required score by Quarter 1.
Action
Goal. How did you engage the individual in the Goal for the coaching relating to business priorities?
I decided to approach this both on a Team and Individual level. It was important to me to address specifically with a few members of the team, who have not fully bought into this new process in the past. Also it was important for me to arrange coaching sessions on a team level. This would ensure we will perform as a team and not depend on a few individual’s performance only.
How did you clarify current performance and set the scene?
I first needed to get everybody aligned on current performance and the need for immediate improvements, despite the fact that the current score is better than last year. We spend some sessions aligning on this. I specifically used the Coaches Toolkit of Purposeful Questions and Challenging Perception to enhance the understanding of the need to do this (WHY) and to take them off ‘Pity Island’ (‘It’s so difficult…’, ‘We can never meet that deadline…’)
Reality. How did you encourage the Coachees to assess the current situation?
We have 55 controls in total each owned by a specific member of the team. We agreed that each team member would submit a step-by-step plan on how to be compliant for the control by Q1 and what was needed from others, the team and/or myself to get it done.
Options & Way-forward. What Options were considered, how were they evaluated? How did you and the Coachees agree on the Way-forward?
We agreed to have weekly team meeting (coaching session) from February and until May (after Q1 assessment). We would then self-assess progress to target and what is still needed from individuals, the team or other.
Tools. How did you apply the core coaches’ toolkit: purposeful questions, levels of listening, challenging perceptions & feedback in coaching?
I chair all the meetings and use our self-assessment tool (for each control) to prepare for the sessions to ensure these are conducted using the GROW model (as much as possible) as well as the toolkit.
Result
How would you evaluate and describe the success in this case – yours as the Coach, the Coachees’ and for the business?
Firstly then we are on track to overall score in line with global target for Q1 which is 3.6 (out of 4).
We have created an atmosphere of being proud of what we do and not allowing not performing to target.
Everybody in the team is being measured on the total score of these controls as part of their/our personal Key Objectives (used for performance appraisal).
Explain how and why a coaching approach to this situation/task was successful.
If we had not embarked on this journey the results would not have come as fast as they did.
There is a shared understanding of WHY, WHAT, HOW and WHEN.
Meetings are very efficient and effective – credit to the GROW principles and Toolkit.
Further Reading
Explore the Coaches Toolkit on this Blog for more information on the Tools and Techniques mentioned above.
Search ‘Leadership Interview’ on this Blog for more insights from leaders on how they applying coaching in their day to day work.
Read more about my Coaching Master Class program.
