Coaching Culture….the buzzword, the solution to every cultural problem that exists, or the band- aid approach to solve complex, not so linear and wicked problems. While researching on this subject throughout the last year, made me realize the realities of the profession as well as the challenges of progressive organisations, who despite having the intent are not able to fully realize the benefits of building a coaching culture.

The issue is deeper, it is not as simple as teaching a few key people coaching skills and resting the onus on them to become the brand ambassadors / torch bearers of an entire culture change. As we consider the need for greater agility in solving problems, coaching supports this through conversations that expand current thinking and challenge team members to explore what’s possible and what partnerships can be created. This systemic process is uniquely positioned to serve as a tool and process for facilitating genuine and effective dialogue at the organisational level. For any organisation to effectively create a strategy for org culture which is fundamentally resting on coaching, it is critical to arrive at an operational definition of a coaching culture.

So, let us first define what is a CULTURE OF COACHING? A coaching culture exists in an organisation when a coaching approach is a key aspect of how the leaders, managers, and staff engage and develop all their people and engage their stakeholders, in ways that create increased individual, team and organisational performance and shared value for all stakeholders. (Hawkins 2012). To simplify, in one of my conversations with a senior leader at Canon, she said, Coaching culture is not about how many certified coaches you have, albeit,

    “A coaching culture of an organisation can be witnessed at the intersection of conversations between it’s people”

 A good way to get started it to identify, where is the organisation in the journey of creating a coaching culture? David Clutterbuck and Megginson defined Coaching Culture Maturity as:

Nascent – where the organisation ‘shows little or no commitment to creating a coaching culture’. Coaching activity is occasional and uncoordinated.

Tactical – ‘recognised the value of establishing a coaching culture but there is little understanding of what it means’

Strategic – invested resources into educating staff about the value of coaching as well as training. Top management accepts the need to demonstrate good practice.

Embedded – ‘people at all levels are engaged in coaching’ – the organisation can tackle difficult issues and focus on improvement.

So, the question to ask ourselves is, “Where are we in the journey?”