Investing in coaching is key to developing future-ready leaders

8 Nov

Leadership can be lonely place – even for the most experienced and accomplished leader. A coach is a trusted advisor you can refer to when you need a sounding board to test ideas. Someone who is independent and impartial – who can help you identify new strategies and solutions. Great coaches are a key support for both the development and wellbeing of future-ready leaders.

In the current climate as leaders emerge from the pandemic experience, working with an accredited and experienced coach can provide them with an invaluable advantage.

The past few years have required leaders to step-up to increased expectations employees have of quality leadership. Employees expect that leaders will be authentic, empathetic and future ready. Additionally, leaders have had to adapt to hybrid working, support the wellbeing of their teams and do more with less with an undersupply of talent in the market and budget constraints. To say the very least, the work of leaders has become more complex, and they must be future-fit and ready to step into the challenges that now come as standard with contemporary leadership roles.

Working with a coach can be a game-changer. It can help you to elevate your approach to leadership and become the best leader you can be for yourself, your team members and your organisation.

A great coach is a valued and trusted partner

Coaching is a partnership, or relationship, that is built between the coach and client through a thought-provoking and structured communications process designed to support the professional and personal development of the client. A coach supports the client to identify professional, business and even personal goals, working together to develop a strategy/plan to achieve those goals.

Coaching is a valuable way to establish and maintain a positive workplace culture, that many of our clients are currently using as a strategy to reconnect their workforces as we emerge from the pandemic experience. You can find out more about building a coaching culture, in our most recently published: A Guide: Building a Coaching Culture.

About our coaches

Our coaches have deep expertise in the APS, not-for-profit and private sector. Many of our coaches have held senior leadership positions or have backgrounds in psychology that enable them to deeply understand human behaviour and support clients to adapt, modify and refine their approach to different issues.

We only work with accredited coaches, who have undertaken the required training to ensure they are able to provide a quality coaching experience and deliver outcomes. All our coaches are accredited in the Life Styles Inventory (LSI) and Group Styles Inventory (GSI) tools.

Partnering with accredited coaches from Humanify HR Consulting will provide you with the benefit of:

Knowing you are working with accredited and experienced coaches
Working with coaches who understand your operating environment
Ensuring that you are provided with a tailored coaching experience
Getting you closer to more confidently reaching your goals

Recommended coaching approach

At Humanify HR Consulting we take a flexible approach to coaching to ensure our programs are best designed to meet the needs of our clients. The coaching program that is recommended would involve a series of coaching sessions, on a minimum frequency of a monthly basis to build the coaching relationship and maintain momentum around any actions that result. The bookings of these sessions are flexible and at the discretion of the coach and client, at mutually acceptable times. They can be carried out in-person or via MS Teams. Our coaching clients complete a pre-coaching survey that helps us better understand the motivation and unique development needs of the individual client.

Humanify HR Consulting recommends engaging in coaching for a program of a minimum of 3 coaching sessions, as we find in our experience anything less does not provide maximum benefit to the client. We can engage in fewer sessions or on a one-off ad-hoc basis on request and subject to our availability. Our programs can be amended to suit the needs of the client, for example, by meeting more frequently or for a longer session duration as required. Many of our clients start with our coaching starter program (see more below).

Diagnostic tool

We recommend that all our coaching sessions start with the completion of a diagnostic tool, the Life Styles Inventory (LSI). This is generally completed before the first session in the program of coaching. The LSI is a powerful tool that assists clients to gain enhanced self-awareness of any limiting behaviours that may be holding them back from optimal work performance and life satisfaction.

Coaching starter program

• Part 1 (LSI and pre-coaching survey): The client completes the LSI 1 and LSI 2 (non-breakout report) and pre-coaching survey.

• Part 2 (First session and LSI debrief) – 2 hours: The client and coach meet for the first coaching session, that includes a complete debrief on the results of the LSI 1 and LSI 2 and pre-coaching survey.

• Part 3 (Second session) – 1 hour: The client and coach meet for a second coaching session, that follows up on items explored in the LSI and any follow-up actions.

• Part 4 (Third and final session) – 1 hour: The client and coach meet for the third and final coaching session, that focuses on setting a plan to take items workshopped during coaching to implement in the workplace.

Work with us

To find out more about how we can support you with our coaching services or to book a program to work with us please contact our team at hello@humanifyhr.com.au

We look forward to working with you to support you through our coaching services.