Coaching for Management

Impact

Enables middle and first line managers to learn and practice managerial skills, to develop their managerial style and to nurture leadership capabilities.

Programme of 3-6 sessions over 3-6 months.

 

Approach and philosophy

POD coaches offer a series of tailored individual sessions, covering the fundamental management tools and concepts for managers who are promoted for their technical ability and arrive in middle to senior management positions without any management training. Many are unable to commit to two or three days for a management development programme yet they need management training. This coaching service is designed to be adaptable, to fit the client’s timetable and style of learning. The program can be conducted face-to-face, over the telephone or by videoconference.

The management framework of techniques and concepts is a rich set of resources to be drawn upon by the coach to assist the manager with current critical incidents s/he brings to the coaching sessions. So each session consists of a blend of theory together with ‘action learning’ – exploring how the client can and will put this particular management tool to work in his/her job immediately. Psychometric questionnaires are used as appropriate for assisting the achievement of the coaching objectives.

Sessions can be anything from two hours to a day. They can also include the coach shadowing the client during a particular aspect of their job such as a client meeting or a team meeting which brings real time experience into the coaching as a learning case study.

 

Comments from clients

To begin with I was terrified! I have never had any management training and I have always felt I was no good at it.
I now feel OK. I may not be the world’s best but I know what I am meant to do, what I do well and what I need to do more of. For example, I was giving feedback last week about a clumsy meeting with a client. I consciously asked her (my staff member) what she thought of her own performance, before telling her. I was amazed when she said almost exactly what I was going to say which made it really easy to have a constructive conversation about what we all needed to learn going forwards. It was a small change but made me feel good and that I am making progress. Most importantly, I am sure it will lead to a happier and more productive team.

– MD after eight management training coaching sessions

Case Study

A successful trader set up his own company and within three months had six people reporting to him. He had spent his career to that point as a successful individual determined to outperform all his colleagues. He discovered that this was so habitual that he began to manipulate and undermine his team, wishing to continue to be the star of the business, rather than manage and develop their performance.

After a difficult and confrontational session with a member of his team, he embarked on a tailored coaching for management POD programme with measurable objectives, and a feedback mechanism built in from the team. He is now bringing his competence as a manager up to the level of his competence as a trader and as such the business is prospering. Following a team offsite and the acknowledgement that productivity is rising he offered individuals in his team the same coaching for management programme.