Promoting a Coaching Culture
 

Did you know that Coaching Out of the Box^® has a Chief Culture Officer on staff? We caught up with Bruce McLeod to ask him about his role and why it’s such a unique and important part of the work Coaching Out of the Box^® is doing today.

Hi Bruce! Thanks for chatting with us. For those who don’t know, what is a Chief Culture Officer? What do they do?

BM: At Coaching Out of the Box^® we are passionate about creating long term sustainable change in our coaching work—we’re not interested in doing work that does not make a long term difference. My role is to see that the work we do is deeply integrated into an organization’s culture when we leave. As part of the initial discussions with a client, I assess the organization’s current culture to determine how coaching might best be introduced and supported in their unique environment.

I work with clients to help them understand the important factors to support the cultural change coaching brings and what systems impacts and changes they might want to consider to increase success. I promote the idea that coaching is a competency that if learned well, and introduced into the culture appropriately, will make SIGNIFICANT impact on the business AND that the impact can be measured with our Coaching Quotient™ Process (CQ).

Why did Coaching Out of the Box^® feel that yours was an important role to have on staff?

BM: In the delivery of our flagship program to over 10,000 people around the world, we have seen many, many instances where a coaching culture really took root, and we have also had some situations where it didn't. In looking at what made the difference, it was very apparent that the organization’s culture and supporting systems were the key. Introducing coaching in a place where the organization is building a Culture by Design versus a place where there is a “Culture by Default”, made a real difference. I was brought on in part because of my understanding of organizational culture and the work I have done supporting the building of cultures for local, national and multinational companies. We’re proud that we are able to have "different conversations" with clients than most coaching training companies.

That’s right—you worked for several years as the Global VP of Human Resources for a multinational company. In your opinion, what qualities would make someone a good Chief Culture Officer?

BM: Experience in the world of organizational culture. A strong coach approach to working with clients – it’s all about asking and not telling. Good looking. Ha! Just kidding.

For you personally, what's the best part of the job?
BM: There's nothing better than seeing companies fully integrate coaching into their larger system framework in such a way that lives are changed, businesses grow, employee engagement soars and people find and excel in their passions.