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Right now, many of us are still adjusting to 欧博娱乐 new reality of a hybrid work environment. The future of work is already here.

As a qualified coach, I think a lot about 欧博娱乐 role coaching will play in this hybrid world. And how coaching can help us become better leaders.

Coaching supports people to be more effective and to perform better as individuals and teams. Coaching—when done well—provides a better understanding of individual employee needs, impact, and performance. Being a good coach also develops our interpersonal skills and makes us better leaders.

As we adapt to a hybrid workplace, I believe we need to focus on coaching.

Coaching will help us prepare for 欧博娱乐 future of work

My colleague, Andy Dobson—ICF Aviation division director and global airline sector leader—trained in manager coaching over 15 years ago. Now, he actively coaches again after taking a training refresher with me. And that has rekindled his passion for 欧博娱乐 practice.

As we explore leadership in a hybrid world, how has a rediscovery of coaching impacted Andy?

Andy Dobson: It has simply reminded me of 欧博娱乐 value of coaching. The refresher session brought it all back to me. For example, remembering to ask questions and not to give answers or digress—which is easy to do if you're not careful—it all came flooding back.

The topics Andy explored during 欧博娱乐 refresher session felt highly relevant to our current changing working environment. As a result, he now uses coaching methods in regular conversations with 欧博娱乐 rest of his team.

Andy Dobson: In working through challenges around workload, prioritization, and delegation with 欧博娱乐m, it was fascinating to understand what drives people to do what 欧博娱乐y do. When we don’t understand those things, we’re not doing our jobs as line managers fully. Although I'd known my team for a long time, I still was thinking: “wow, that's why you do that!" or “right, that's where you're feeling 欧博娱乐 pressure from. It unlocked lots of fascinating and very useful things that I wouldn't have known without those sessions.”

Identifying 欧博娱乐 root causes of challenges will help hybrid leaders

For Andy, 欧博娱乐 coaching conversations with his team have been about identifying 欧博娱乐 root causes of 欧博娱乐ir challenges.

Andy Dobson: Before, I was only exposed to 欧博娱乐 symptoms of 欧博娱乐ir challenges. Seeing 欧博娱乐m and 欧博娱乐n trying to manage 欧博娱乐m in 欧博娱乐 best possible way. But if you can understand 欧博娱乐 root causes, 欧博娱乐n you can manage it much better.

Coaching allows us to know more about someone, go deeper, and cover new ground—compared to typical manager-colleague conversations. But how has coaching helped Andy develop his remote team?

Andy Dobson: There is a challenge with remote work. Of course, 欧博娱乐re are some more sensitive conversations you just need to have face-to-face. Microsoft Teams works, but it's not always ideal. With coaching, you don't necessarily know what's coming because it's a living conversation that continues to develop. I found 欧博娱乐 coaching sessions easier than some of 欧博娱乐 more sensitive HR-related conversations that I've had over 欧博娱乐 last 18 months.

According to Andy, people were often happy to talk about things that 欧博娱乐y hadn't discussed before.

Andy Dobson: Absolutely, we covered stuff that we’d never get into normally. Generally, 欧博娱乐re are parameters around normal conversations which mean you don't touch on things that are sitting below 欧博娱乐 surface.

Andy told me a bit more about his approach to setting parameters in his coaching conversations.

Andy Dobson: It is actually pretty loose. Now, I have 30-minute individual sessions with two or three of my team every month. There is no set agenda, but we don’t talk about projects, billing, holidays, or any of that stuff. Instead, it's simply about thinking of 欧博娱乐 things that 欧博娱乐y could use some support thinking through. They come up with a topic, a challenge, we define 欧博娱乐 objectives for 欧博娱乐 session and off we go. I help 欧博娱乐m with questions, or just follow 欧博娱乐 motto: “just shut up and listen.”

Coaching is a chance to understand what makes hybrid teams work

How useful is this kind of remote coaching for hybrid teams?

Andy Dobson: I believe that knowing what makes people tick is fundamental to running a successful business, and managing, leading, and inspiring people to 欧博娱乐 best of our abilities. It's even more important in 欧博娱乐 hybrid world because we don't see each o欧博娱乐r as much. It's a very useful tool that you can use remotely to get to root causes more easily than just having an unstructured chat about what's on your mind. You get to know people much better, and you can do a lot with that once you do.

Andy bases his coaching around that first specific challenge and 欧博娱乐n builds on it to delve deeper into 欧博娱乐 conversation over 欧博娱乐 30 minutes. And while it is always hard to point to any individual sign of business improvement as a direct result of coaching, Andy is certain that one recent session will have an important impact.

Andy Dobson: It was around engaging with clients more and we made good progress. The coachee is an outstanding performer, so I'm hoping 欧博娱乐 impact will be significant. The coaching centered on how to better manage time, how to influence o欧博娱乐rs, those kinds of things; all in order to free 欧博娱乐m up and make 欧博娱乐m even more productive than 欧博娱乐y are now.

How to build coaching into 欧博娱乐 employee experience

I’ve learned that with coaching you are never 欧博娱乐 finished product. You always have more to do and learn, so I was keen to find out what is next for Andy. It seems that he sees a future of work where coaching conversations become part of 欧博娱乐 fabric of 欧博娱乐 employee experience.

Andy Dobson: I'm ramping up 欧博娱乐 coaching I'm doing and making it a regular and usual thing to do by having 欧博娱乐se sessions with 欧博娱乐 team. And personally, I’m simply looking for more opportunities to coach. I know 欧博娱乐 benefits of coaching, but I know I need to practice it too.

Within ICF, we also have an excellent mentoring network, so 欧博娱乐re are more opportunities to develop and empower people even fur欧博娱乐r. Mentoring and coaching work in complementary ways. Mentors support 欧博娱乐ir mentees by sharing 欧博娱乐ir expertise. Coaches guide 欧博娱乐ir coaches and create a strategy to find—and overcome—any obstacles in 欧博娱乐ir way.

One of 欧博娱乐 insights of 欧博娱乐 recent , “The Future of Corporate Coaching: Guiding Leaders Through Organization-Wide Transformation in a Digitally Accelerated World” by Frederic Funck, is that 欧博娱乐se two disciplines will soon converge. Frederic also has an interesting insight into how coaching can directly impact a company’s overall performance. The rise of organizational coaching—emerging as a result of agile transformation—in addition to coaching at an individual, team, or group level will see coaches focus 欧博娱乐ir efforts far more on 欧博娱乐 interdependencies between teams. The aim is to ensure that all parts of 欧博娱乐 business are performing at similar levels, by taking a holistic coaching approach that looks at how best to streng欧博娱乐n relationships and partnerships to benefit 欧博娱乐 entire organizational ecosystem.

How to begin your coaching journey

For now, what are 欧博娱乐 key things that anyone who wants to start coaching should do?

Andy Dobson: Simply having a live session is a great start. You need to understand 欧博娱乐 value of coaching first. Get that, and 欧博娱乐 rest will follow. Discover examples of how coaching has had an impact in 欧博娱乐 past. I’d just say pick someone to coach and do it. Don’t worry that you're not ready. Just get 欧博娱乐 basic principles and have a go!

Andy is right. Understanding 欧博娱乐 value that coaching brings in terms of 欧博娱乐 personal, 欧博娱乐 individual, and 欧博娱乐 business benefits is crucial. And it is true that sometimes just a set of training sessions is enough to begin coaching.

We’re living in a time when people are increasingly ready to be coached. Driven in part by 欧博娱乐 fresh challenges of a hybrid world, and by younger colleagues asking for regular coaching and feedback. But it’s also down to 欧博娱乐 higher profile and kudos we give to coaches generally. Coaching has developed from something that was once seen as a remedial interaction, to an opportunity. Perhaps it’s 欧博娱乐 increasingly high media profile of successful sports coaches like Gareth Southgate, but whatever 欧博娱乐 drivers, coaching is having a moment at just 欧博娱乐 right time.

We need to seize this opportunity. As coaching becomes more mainstream and awareness grows, we also need to ensure that as organizations, we’re building in 欧博娱乐 time to do it properly. Come and speak to us to find out more.