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.
 
To learn more about Bruce’s work and how he can help you bring a coaching culture to your organization, reach out to him here.
 

In recent years, Coaching Out of the Box® has done some large projects in the healthcare sector that have been particularly invigorating and interesting. We chatted with CEO Alison Hendren about working in the healthcare sector, and why she feels it’s so important that those in this field have coaching skills. 

Can you describe some of the work Coaching Out of the Box® has done with larger healthcare organizations?
 
AH:  So far our Flagship 5/5/5 Coaching Skills Training Program™ has been delivered to over 3,000 people who work in the healthcare sector. Participants have included leaders, managers, clinicians, physicians, disability management workers, nurses and more.
 
We have also delivered a shortened version of the program that included doctors located in Nigeria using our Virtual Classrooms. One of the participants, Dr. Talemoh Wycliff Dah, Senior Clinical Advisor in Ipas, Nigeria says the program had instant impact. He says: "I started using the concepts immediately after the first session. These are skills all our Clinical Mentors will need and the concept needs to be passed to all of them. Coaching Out of the Box® can sharpen any coach's skill in any walk of life."

Why are coaching skills so important for those in a healthcare environment?

AH:  Healthcare is a fundamental need for everyone and we all will experience the health care environment at some point in our lives.  Nurses, doctors and other various clinicians benefit hugely from receiving coaching and being supported to maximize the strengths and talents of each other and their teams.
 
We need to make it easier for people to be able to do their best work under demanding conditions. Back in 1999 we were exhibitors attending a large Healthcare conference in New Orleans that was made up of Chief Nursing Officers and we were blown away by the passion, commitment and EXHAUSTION of these wonderful people.  What could support them, what could possibly alleviate some of those demands, we wondered? We knew having coaching skills and experiencing coaching could make a difference.   
 
Bit by bit in working with these folks, we saw the difference using coaching skills made in their daily interactions. We’ve repeatedly been told how valuable learning coaching skills was for them.  For example, Lani deHek of the B.C. Nurses Union says: "On a personal note, the skills learned through this program have stayed with me and I have been able to apply them to both my professional and personal life. The capacity to ask coach-like questions has resulted in better listening skills and developing more trust and understanding with those we work with.”  

We hear time and again how much the 5/5/5 Coaching Skills Training Program™ has made a real impact for those folks in the healthcare sector. Currently it is embedded in the Leadership Development Program at BC Health and also Saskatoon Health's Leadership Development Program. We are so excited about this work and the potential and possibilities that it unlocks. Our vision is that it will one day be part of the education and training for all clinicians, physicians, specialists and healthcare workers worldwide. 

Hear what Maura Davies, President and CEO of Saskatoon Health Region has to say about how her team felt about taking the /5/5 Coaching Skills Training Program™ 

What's in a manager? It turns out, a whole lot. A recent Gallup Study (2013 Q12 Gallup Study on Employee Engagement in the U.S.) found that of the approximately 100 million people in the U.S. who hold full time jobs: 

• 30 million (30%) are engaged / inspired
• 20 million (20%) are actively disengaged / quit and stayed
• 50 million (50%) are not engaged / apathetic

So what the heck is behind those very dismal statistics? Well, it turns out that:

• The 30 million (30%) who are engaged: "have great managers"
• The 20 million (20%) who are actively disengaged: "have managers from hell who roam the halls spreading discontent."
• The 50 million (50%) who are not engaged: "are not inspired by their work or their managers.

And it doesn't end there. The top 25% of the best managed teams had 50% fewer accidents and 41% fewer quality defects, in addition to incurring far less healthcare costs. The "managers from hell" are costing the U.S. an estimated $450 billion - $550 billion annually.

Wowza! Now imagine if your company could double the number of great managers and engaged employees? The Gallup study found that the 30 million engaged employees came up with most of the innovative ideas, new customers and have the most entrepreneurial energy. What an untapped powerhouse.

Over the last four years, Coaching Out of the Box® has worked with a non-profit organization called LINGOS (Learning in NGOs) that is committed to bringing leadership, project management and coaching skills to people who work for NGOs. As a partner of LINGOS, we deliver a two part coaching skills program for participants.

Marc Bowles, who delivers many of these programs for Coaching Out of the Box® says: "Delivering this program has been so exciting. I love sharing the coach approach with others, and even waking up at 5:30 am to prepare for the delivery time in different time zones! Recently we evaluated the number of participants, countries and NGOs who have participated, which brought about a flurry of emotions. From that initial WOW to an amazing feeling of being humbled by the numbers, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to have conversations with such a global audience. To date we've helped 33 NGOs and 112 participants in 34 countries, from Madagascar, Sri Lanka, South America, Central America, Asia, and Europe to North America. 

To be sharing and facilitating coaching with global leaders opens the door to creating positive change. They show up with real challenges, real emotions and in a short time with this work they leave with applicable tools that can immediately make a difference. The shift from feeling isolated to supported is tangible. We also have a lot of fun on these calls - it's not all serious. The work in LINGOs feels right, we're supporting NGOs in the incredibly valuable work they do internationally. 

One participant, Dr. Talemoh Wycliff Dah, Senior Clinical Advisor in Ipas, Nigeria, says: "Coaching Out of the Box® can sharpen any coach's skill in any walk of life. I started using the concepts immediately after the first session. These are skills all our Clinical Mentors will need and the concept needs to be passed to all of them."

The toughest client I have ever coached was my dad. My dad was 86 and had just lost the love of his life. Mymom died few weeks shy of my parents 60th anniversary – dad was devastated. Other than me he didn’t have much local family support.  I spent a lot of time with him trying to coach him into taking new actions, get support for his grief and really just listening to him quite a bit. I didn’t know what possibilities lay before him, but I thought he could at least manage his loss and find a small amount of happiness. Little did I know how limited that belief was and how much more was possible!

After a year of coaching I broached the subject of dad possibly dating he said “Yeah I know I should be doing something I just feel I’m not ready.” I asked him if he ever thought there would be a good time and he shook his head no. I then made a big request of him. I asked him if he’d be willing to just do it anyway. He hadn’t had friendship and companionship in a long time and I could see he knew he needed that kick in the pants. He agreed to go on a first date and she stood him up a half an hour before they were supposed to leave (she’d lost her spouse too and realized she wasn’t ready). So again I coaxed him to try. I could tell he was yearning for that closeness, banter and friendship he had with my mother. I had a flash that maybe he should call an old family friend who I knew he’d always gotten along with. “Why don’t you call Jenine?” I asked one day. He was full of excuses, but I kept at him and finally he did. To make a long story short, their first date was fabulous and they stayed up all night talking. Fast forward to two weeks ago and they just got married surrounded by friends and family from around the world after a phenomenal two weeks of partying. Dad and Jenine are deliriously happy, madly in love and have been to Paris, Ireland and are going to Italy in a few weeks. They make new friends wherever they go and are creating a new life filled with joy.

 
I have learned so much watching my dad and Jenine be open to the possibilities of life and love. Whereas I didn’t see huge possibility because of age and level of grief—HE did. He has taught me that joy, happiness and contentment are possible at any time and at any stage; that anything can happen, and good things can happen very quickly. I’m now even more conscious in my coaching not to limit possibilities, and I’ve taken a message for my own growth. I’m over 50 and had this background belief that as you age life is a gradual downhill slide. That good things will happen but from here on in it’s about managing loss. That underlying limited belief bled into my coaching and I am so grateful it’s been exposed for what it is—false! I challenge you to get to know what your own limiting beliefs may be and really examine how they impact your life and coaching. Dad and Jenine are a perfect example that anything is possible with an open heart and with hope. They are hopelessly in love and their wedding was filled with a tingling energy—everyone was touched by the sense of new beginnings, new possibilities and fresh exciting new chapters, at any age.