Change Leadership and Coaching

Leaders' primary role is guiding their organisations through changes and transitions.? Working with a business coach has become necessary for them to navigate this.

Leaders’ most crucial role is preparing organisations for change and guiding them through it, rather than just making plans, solving problems, or organising people.? The most significant risk is to wait until circumstances force change.? Leaders need to embrace naturally occurring unpredictability and invite organisation-wide creativity.? They need to be disruptors who shape the future rather than trying to protect past efforts, and it requires spaces where mistakes are celebrated together with the success of achieving something original.?

Throughout history, humans have strived to bring order to the unpredictable world. They have developed techniques to control their environment and increase the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes. However, they have also realised that some results are beyond their control due to numerous factors. This is where the concept of "emergence" comes in, where complex phenomena arise from simple interactions, just like a giant tree growing from a tiny seed. Business leaders may feel apprehensive about this unpredictability. Still, by embracing it and focusing on preparing the groundwork, planting the seeds, and nurturing them, they can witness the miracle of emergence. ?It would be best to let fate do some of the work for you, but not before you’ve done everything possible to create the right conditions.

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The first statement made by Bill Gates in his book published in 1999, “Business @ the Speed of Thought”, reads “, Business is going to change more in the next ten years than it has in the last fifty.”? He continues:? “If the 80s were about quality and the 90s were about reengineering, the 2000s will be about velocity.”? The 2010s became the decade of disruption.

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During the more than two decades since Bill Gates wrote these statements, the global population exploded from 6 to 8 billion, the internet has changed the way we do just about everything, social media has taken over most people’s lives, cell phones have become a necessity for almost all of us, climate change has become a reality, social issues like #Black Lives Matter and #Me Too started pointing towards a societal self-governing future, Covid-19 arrived like a “black swan”, and wars broke out in ways that most probably will change our world forever.? We now have 5G, self-driving electric cars, wearable technology, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and blockchain – science fiction a decade ago.?

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Despite the recent historical facts, many business leaders still prioritise predictable strategies and rely on formulaic success theories.? McKinsey researched the 50 companies analysed in "In Search of Excellence" (1982) by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, "Built to Last" (1994) by Jim Collins, and "Good to Great" (2001) also by Jim Collins.? After publishing these books, many of those companies became average performers, underperformers or failures.? These books are undoubtedly well-written and founded on thorough historical research, making them valuable sources for learning about leadership. However, the McKinsey article highlights the risk of assuming that what has proved successful will continue to be so. Present-day greatness does not guarantee survival.

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For leaders to effectively deal with change, they need to understand change in all its complexity and be able to live with contradiction:? Innovate but avoid mistakes; Think long term but improve productivity now; ?Reduce cost while increasing morale; ?Downsize while improving teamwork; ?Empower staff, but be sure to follow corporate rules.? Leaders mostly play it safe with these contradictions; hence, the status quo prevails – until it’s too late.? During a lecture I attended at Oxford’s Sa?d Business School in 2010, Gareth Morgan taught that leaders need to recognise that dilemmas and contradictions are natural to any change process and that contradictions should be brought to the surface, reframed, and used as levers of change.

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Irwin Turbitt , a former Northern Ireland police chief who had to deal with the complexity of the infamous Drumcree march in the 90s, is another lecturer who impacted my thinking and practice of change leadership.?He promoted “clumsiness” as an approach to dealing with complex, adaptive change issues.? Leaders need to create a “holding environment”, requiring connected leadership and being able as leaders to be “on the balcony” and “on the dancefloor” simultaneously. They need the courage to “step into the mist without answers and feel their way through it”.? They must often relinquish some of their trusted tools and strengths before stepping into the mist.

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Increasingly, leaders face overwhelming and conflicting theories about leadership and how to lead due to a growing number of books on the subject and a vast amount of online information at their fingertips.? As I moved through the leadership ranks in the mining industry, I remember how tenaciously I searched for everything available about the topic.? My early readings were taken as gospel, but I soon realised that discernment and filtering are essential aspects of learning.

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Not everything is valid or well-informed; not everything has substance, and some things are only partially relevant.?, Gareth Morgan introduced a concept I now apply continuously in business and life – “Treat everything as metaphor”.? In today's information overflow environment, this is especially useful for deciding what is valid, not only from human contributions but now also from what is produced by artificial intelligence (AI).? Leaders’ thinking in terms of metaphor will cope with the paradox that no theory is right or wrong in an absolute sense, and that every theory illuminates and hides.

After 35 years of learning and leading, I've concluded that leadership is all about change. No leadership would be necessary if no internal or external changes happened, which is only possible in a vacuum.? No business operates in a vacuum. The world around them continually shapes today’s organisations, and the same will be true for future organisations. It makes sense, then, that business leaders must pay attention to emerging trends in the environment, politics, economics and society if they want to build a robust, sustainable organisation.? Leadership that is capable of guiding an organisation through constant change is essential. Leaders must be proactive, embracing and driving change even when it may not be immediately visible to others.

Firstly, one must possess intrinsic leadership qualities to be a change leader.? Secondly, leaders must give direction and continuously refine strategy, which requires mastery of countless concepts.? Thirdly, it requires bringing others along and creating a performance culture.? Finally, they need the ability to execute - getting things done.? It is doubtful that any organisation has ever had a single leader with all the qualities required for effective leadership, but fortunately, leaders usually work in a team.? However, an organisation’s change navigation and trendsetting ability always reflect the leader’s beliefs.? Ronald R. Keough, former President of Coca-Cola, confirms this in his book “The Ten Commandments for Business Failure”:? “Businesses are the product and extension of? the personal characteristics of its leaders – the lengthened shadows of the men and women who run them.”

The complexity of continuously leading change requires a commitment to learning and humble enquiry from leaders.? Business coaching provides a partnering opportunity to help them expose the best they can offer to their complex tasks.?

How can Business Coaching help?

Leadership positions can often get very lonely, especially at executive levels.? The higher the rank, the more limited opportunities for mentoring and coaching are , while at the same time, demands on their time and attention increase.? External Business Coaching fills this gap.

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Business coaching differs from life coaching in that it aims to develop individuals within the context of their work life and the organisation they work for. Marc Kahn , the author of "Coaching on the Axis," explains that business coaches work at the intersection of individual and organisational needs.? Coaching involves the belief that the individual has the answers to the issues they deal with within them.? Business coaching is, therefore, about unlocking, eliciting, and facilitating wisdom and potency in individuals. It does this in such a way that it can also improve what individuals do in their work roles and their businesses as a whole.

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Executives face many challenges. They need to adapt to an ever-changing environment.? Coaching provides a place to rise above the urgent and focus on what’s most critical. They must balance demands from many stakeholders.? Coaching reinforces models of success to improve relationships across the organisation. They find it difficult to get unbiased feedback.? Coaching uncovers blind spots, improves self-awareness, and enhances leadership ability. They are asked to perform at a high level constantly.? Coaching addresses critical challenges. They must make critical decisions with a lot at stake. Coaching provides a fresh perspective to think critically about the most effective path forward.

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The client decides what topics to cover during business coaching sessions based on their specific requirements and goals. However, the agenda is continually shaped by in-depth coaching conversations and guided by thoughtfully considered coaching objectives.? The coaching process is tailored to the individual's specific needs to aid in their growth as a leader to achieve their goals.

The relationship between a corporate leader and coach is a safe and sacred space. ?Once trust is built, coaching clients can share their deepest doubts without fear of ridicule or humiliation. With the support of a business coach, the now unfettered corporate leader can explore novel ideas for growth.?The Business Coach acts as a thinking and accountability partner.?

It is essential to select the right coach.? If you don’t like and respect your coach, you won’t be receptive when the coach tells you something you don’t want to hear— which a good coach inevitably will. A coach should have the courage to tackle sensitive issues and be honest and direct about topics that might be difficult to discuss, including areas where the client’s actions might make a situation worse.? Senior leaders seldom get that kind of feedback anywhere else; without it, they remain ignorant of their blind spots.?

The client should look for a coach with strong listening skills, as the goal of coaching is to help the client come to their own conclusions about how to proceed. The coach needs to listen to what the client has to say and ask the questions that will lead the client to their own decisions.

Experience is another asset to look for in a coach, where the coach has learned from that experience, which is often “painfully gained”. ?But you don’t need an expert in your business. You’re the expert in your business.? You want a coach who brings a fresh perspective that isn’t beholden to conventional ideas or limited to your industry. This can open up avenues of opportunity and innovation that could be just what your business needs.

Coaching mandates vary but usually start with a frank discussion of your situation and needs. From there, you’ll work together to identify your goals and develop action plans to achieve them.? Your work with a coach generally involves regular meetings ranging from a few months to many years, depending on your goals.

A Harvard Business Review article shows that business owners and managers decide to work with a business coach for a wide range of reasons – 48% to facilitate a business transition, 26% to act as a sounding board, and 12% to address problems derailing the company.? The most important benefit of business coaching, however, is that you don’t have to approach the hugely complex change leadership task alone anymore.

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The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin’

And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a-changin’

From “The Times They Are a-Changin’” by Bob Dylan, 1964