The People Leader's Superpower: Inspiring a Coaching Culture

Sometime after the worst of the pandemic and before President Biden signed a bill proclaiming its conclusion, many companies began urging their employees to return to the office. The topic sparked lively debate as proponents sung the virtues of working together in an office while many employees pushed back, preferring the flexibility and commute-free experience of remote work.

During that time, I had many conversations with my own organizational leaders about our official position on the matter. I argued we couldn't underestimate how profoundly the pandemic altered workplace expectations. If advocating a return, even if only a day or two per week, the in-office experience had to be worthwhile. In short, people had to learn - something, anything. No more rows of employees tapping away quietly, listening to music via their air pods – a rallying cry for real collaboration as a reason to be in an office demanded a better experience. If you’re going to ask people to disrupt their routines, they’d better leave at the end of the day thinking, “wow, I am so glad I came in today. I learned something new.”

So, how do you do it?

Free lunch? A nice benefit, but probably the least you can do.

Team happy hour? A hard pass for many with lengthy commutes and family needs.

So, what then?

During the past few weeks, I’ve written several articles centered on the essential ingredients for strong people leadership. I’ve highlighted the importance of role clarity, transparency, human connections, and empathy as the building blocks of creating high-performing teams and exceptional culture. This final piece will focus on the importance of coaching and an environment that encourages continuous learning.

Of course, fostering this kind of culture isn't limited to in-office environments. The same principles apply whether teams are fully remote, hybrid, or fully on-site. Creating enriching learning experiences transcends physical workspaces. Continued education in any workplace environment is a big reason why people stay with a company.

As a people leader, you have a tremendous amount of responsibility for the career progression and professional development of your team members. It’s important – both for your people and for the overall health of the business. In fact, a Harvard University piece on the importance of professional development in the workplace cites several studies illustrating that prioritizing learning and development can lead to higher retention rates and a stronger talent pool for open roles. Further, fostering a learning environment helps keep your people informed and on top of trends as they appear – critical in many industries. Here are a few guidelines for creating an atmosphere that encourages continued development and learning.

Encourage Two-Way Learning

Coaching isn't exclusive to senior leaders. Rather, each team member brings their own unique knowledge, skills, and perspectives to the table and as such, this presents incredible learning opportunities for all. Your role may sometimes be less about coaching and more about advocating for others to take a swing.

In a previous role, one of our mid-level team members had an idea for a monthly learning series that would present the rest of our practice group with a range of educational topics. The beauty of this series was that it wasn’t a leadership-led initiative. Rather, suggestions came from all: one session was hosted by someone early in their career, who talked through the anatomy of a successful media pitch; another was from a more senior-level team member who shared insights from a recent business development venture; a third featured a mid-level staffer talking through her experience and best practices for working with a client at the annual RSA conference.

These sessions, both fun and informal, provided our team members with little learning moments, and in some cases, presentation practice for the session catalyst who often hadn’t been given many chances to hold court in the past. They broke up the day and left everyone feeling both well-informed and supported.

Create Impromptu Learning Opportunities

Creating a culture that encourages continued education in the workplace doesn’t always have to be a massive undertaking. In fact, it can manifest in discreet ways. In a previous role, I’d start each week with a short email to my team – much of the content focused on my various weekend adventures in parenting or running. However, I’d always make space for some sort of informative element. An article on the fast-moving developments in AI, commentary on the ethical considerations for such technology, and so on.

These little moments of pass-along knowledge often led to in-depth follow-up discussions among people wishing to learn more, debate, or probe further. It didn’t require months of planning, a complicated agenda, or hours locked away in a conference room. Rather, it was “quick service” learning that created an environment where my people felt that they had permission to be curious – to ask questions, to conduct their own further investigation, to learn.

It's easy to push workplace learning to the side when facilitating such things seems overwhelming. However, it doesn’t always have to be that complicated. As my almost-teen daughter tells me, “It’s not that deep.”

Invest in Growth and Development

Of course, sometimes, you will need to make a more significant investment in the growth and development of your people – of time, of energy, and of capital. Investing in new tools, relevant training, and resources is key to creating a culture of coaching.

Provide your team with access to the latest industry publications, online courses, or workshops that align with their professional development goals. Encourage them to attend conferences or networking events where they can learn from thought leaders and connect with peers in their field. And yes, build out those more formal, time-intensive training sessions on important matters to help catalyze the professional development of your people. These may be related to skills needed as they ascend the corporate ladder – manager training, conflict resolution, etc. – or specific to the responsibilities of their job.

Promote Experimentation

Have you ever worked in an environment so rigid that your colleagues were afraid to make a mistake? Did innovation and creativity thrive in that environment? Likely not. As a people leader, you set the tone for how your team members respond to challenges and yes, failure. In work as in life, we learn more from our setbacks than from perfection and as such, it’s important to allow people the space to try new things and learn from mistakes.

It’s often easiest to clean up a mess and move on – rewrite a piece of content, redesign a presentation, take over a project, whatever the case may be. However, people leaders need to put in the time to teach in the open, not fix in a vacuum. No one learns, no one improves, when they have no idea why the final product looks so vastly different from what they had first submitted.

Make Coaching a Routine

Lastly, remember that coaching is not a one-time event. Rather, it's an ongoing process that requires patience, persistence, and real interest on the part of the people leader to help their team members grow and develop. Coaching should be a fixture on your to-do list, but you can also advocate for others to embrace that same spirit and reserve a bit of their own energy for lifting others up and learning from one another as well.

Remember, your company can’t be successful without its employees – truly, people are your most valuable asset. Unlock their full potential, and everyone wins.

Have you worked in an environment that valued continued learning and on-the-job training? Share your experiences in the comments below!

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