5 Ways L&D and People Professionals use Coaching to enable Strategic Organisational Success

The CIPD, the largest awarding body for People Professionals globally, has evidenced how successful organisations leverage their human capital, using L&D professionals to create long-term, strategic change that is beneficial to all: the organisation and the individual.?Similarly, the ICF has shown how people practitioners who utilise coaching skills as part of their work enable organisations that are happier, healthier and more productive.?

In this article, as a Coaching Psychologist and L&D Practitioner, our founder, Joseph Grech FCIPD explores a number of ways how you can harness the transformative impact of coaching to your organisation.

1. Coaching Supports Employees Work Better and Feel Happier

…and we want employees to be healthy and happy at work (and this isn’t a free lunch or a fruit basket!) What makes people happy at work is having autonomy in their tasks (more on that later on in this post), having their contributions recognised and making a difference to the organisation.

L&D professionals support people in this way by helping them align to broader organisational and team goals through coaching programmes. Using coaching skills, L&D practitioners address specific individual requirements, development needs and aspirations. They help contribute to the manager or leader’s success. This in turn enhances the overall effectiveness of L&D initiatives, making them a driving force behind the achievement of a company’s strategic goals.

?2. Coaching supports employees become more autonomous, empowers self-discovery and problem solving

A fundamental aspect of coaching and what great L&D professionals do is support an individual explore and learn behaviours that would enable long-term change. Rather than being seen as constantly providing answers and giving solutions, the world of L&D has changed, whereby we don’t focus on ‘training’ staff members but instead in enabling them to become their own learners and instructors. Coaching enables employees seek out opportunities, to be more self-directed in their learning, and autonomous.

In addition, L&D professionals integrate coaching skills into leadership & management programmes they design to in turn support managers do the same (it’s a ripple effect!) – they can in turn enhance individual growth and install a sense of ownership and accountability within their teams, fostering a proactive workforce.

3. Coaching supports your Managers to be able to talk about Wellbeing courageously

Over the years we have run many workshops about how to have performance conversations. At Become we have trained L&D professionals on how to facilitate, design Leadership programmes and ways to give feedback… which is great! However what we have also noticed following the pandemic is the focus on organisations to develop their managers to not only talk ‘performance’ but also ‘wellbeing’.?

This is where coaching skills became invaluable, because a manager who has been trained in some fundamental coaching skills will be able to provide a safer space for individuals to discuss personal challenges more honestly. L&D professionals in turn can provide coaching as a platform for employees to manage and navigate stress, promoting overall well-being within the organisation.?

?4. L&D, through coaching, allows people communicate better with each other and creates a culture of continuous feedback

Effective communication is key for organisational success. L&D professionals through coaching can enhance the communication proficiency of their employees and leaders. This ensures that information is covered accurately and this contributes to a transparent, collaborative organisational culture.?

Linked in with this, coaching support individuals to understand the importance of feedback, not just on things that aren’t going well or during a once-yearly performance appraisal. Through coaching, L&D professionals can support leaders and managers identify and focus on specific behaviours that contribute to open conversations. Your managers became more courageous and comfortable in having ongoing feedback conversations and this process helps to cultivate a Growth Mindset, as per the next point.?

5. Coaching cultivates a Growth Mindset, enabling your employees to view Performance through a different lens

By incorporating coaching principles and modelling coaching behaviours L&D practitioners encourage employees to view challenges as opportunities for learning and development. This mindset shift helps employees become more resilient and present with what is currently happening. It supports individuals recognise that the nature of today’s work requires adaptability, helping to align the organisation with the changing business landscape.

Imagine your employee having a mindset where they notice more actively what is happening, they are able to set their own goals and then seek out the support that they need as they progress through their learning. This is the type of learning culture that coaching can enable through the help of L&D and people professionals.

In conclusion coaching skills are a core part of any L&D professional’s toolkit. A learning professional who is equipped in how to have coaching conversations builds connections, empowers self discovery in others and contributes to organisational success. At Become we run a number of programmes, including our ICF Levels 1 and 2 that are geared towards developing coaching skills in individuals. Furthermore, our founder, Joseph Grech is a Chartered Fellow with the CIPD and teaches on a number of CIPD Modules up to Level 7.