“Diversify. Centralise. Specialise. Automate. Get human-centric. Change. Manage change. Keep up company morale!”
Over the past ten years alone, business leaders and managers at all levels have been expected to change with each prevailing trend: from implementing a 180° change in organisational strategy to adjusting their leadership or management approach to fit in with the latest research. Turning trends have impacted entire company cultures to change (let’s get everyone sharing onboard the Intranet bus)…and change again (online communities can be harmful to productivity and workplace relationships).
I should know – as one who has experienced many corporate changes on a regular basis, I’ve had my share of following new directions at the drop of a whim.
Maybe this is why I am so aware that the role of leadership and team coaching is more than just using the same set of standard principles with a bit of individual adjusting when a situation calls for it.
Coaches have a huge responsibility. Part of my job is to prepare my clients mentally and emotionally to be able to manage high-frequency change and disruption. For leaders to withstand and perform in a mercurial environment, they need to be able to reduce complexity and separate signal from noise. However, this requires the coach to know and understand the multi-layered contexts behind a client’s motivations, both external and internal.
In fact, for the best results, a good coach needs to be ahead of the trend, in order to best prepare our clients with flexibility, resilience, and healthy leader cognition. The 4th Industrial Revolution (known as Industry 4.0) is urging the need to change, the desire for speed, and the demand for augmented experiences.
As a result, Coaching as an industry must also transform in readiness to guide organisations through the impact of imminent digital and technological shifts, ranging from the introduction of new roles, the elimination of outdated positions, the increased scope of responsibility in critical roles, and the removal of management layers.
According to Deloitte’s 2019 Global Human Capital Trends Report, the number one work trend that professionals will be assigning value to over the next decade is “Learning to Learn, Unlearn and Relearn”. And if this is where organisations are heading, the coaching sector must be in front to prepare the way.
Ren Wiebe, M.ED., Associate Certified Coach of the International Coach Federation in Toronto said it beautifully, “During times of increased complexity, coaches can add value by helping leaders find their North Star (e.g., developing their personal values) and not lose sight of it amidst a turbulent environment”.
The one certainty we can bet on is change.
As the year nears its end, I am again taking stock of my personal values in doing what I do. And as always, I am grateful for the reasons that brought me here; that I have been able to flourish amidst so many changes in my life and career; and importantly, that I have the opportunity to help others do the same.
Yours in celebrating change.
Adele
I am excited to share that I am not only offering in person coaching sessions but also Skype, Facetime or Zoom session all over the world!