Good
question, maybe we can find part of the answer in Ferguson's quote:
“The difference between transformation by accident and
transformation by a system is like the difference between lightning
and a lamp. Both give illumination, but one is dangerous and unreliable,
while the other is relatively safe, directed and available.”
Ferguson
Like
the effects from a bolt of lightning, development
left to chance is unreliable.
What good leaders really need is to turn good intentions into action.
Yet, many leaders admit that coaching is frequently a low priority
in their organisations and give many different excuses:
•
Managers around here don’t take the time for coaching...
• Coaching takes second place...
• There is too much emphasis on results to spend much time
on development...
• We talk a lot about coaching, but there isn't any real
commitment...
However, coaching shouldn't be limited to any specific areas of
the company because the following realities make coaching an imperative
for every leader in your organisation:
Change
is inevitable. Even the most successful organisations
must keep on their toes. They must continuously
improve or risk falling from glory. IBM was Fortune
magazine’s most admired corporation for four years before
plummeting into the bottom half of the ratings,
so don't count on today’s excellence because
this is no guarantee for tomorrow’s success.
People must learn and adapt quickly. Your people’s
skills will become obsolete—in the same way technologies
become outdated—if you rely
solely on today’s capabilities to lead your organisation
into the future. You can't just hire talented people,
teach them to do their jobs, and then leave them alone. Changing
demands requires a workforce
that can learn new skills and adapt quickly. Experience and time
alone are slow and inefficient teachers.
Employees
want to grow. Lifelong employment in the same job is
becoming a career path found only in history books. Some experts
estimate that the career of the average university graduate today
will include at least eight jobs in four different industries.
Many job changes will be voluntary, because of the growing
desire to find personal growth and satisfaction
in work. People who feel underutilized will leave.
Unfortunately for companies, the people who depart are almost
surely the best recruits. To prevent talented,
motivated people from being recruited by a competitor with better
opportunities, you need to invest in their continuous growth and
satisfaction.
People
are the real source of competitive advantage. Versatile
people—those who learn better and faster than the competition—sustain
the edge in the marketplace. People
are your most important assets and coaching is
the investment vehicle for long-term payback.
With coaching people become competent, self-directed,
flexible and identify to the company's goals.
One
problem you may be thinking in is whether or not
the coach is really good at what they are coaching. But is this
really a problem? Who plays better tennis Federrer or his coach?
I haven't had much experience with coaching, but I suspect that
a good coach has to be able to bring out the best
in each of us and motivate us to reach our true potential. Coaches
aren't consultants. The big difference between
a consultant and a coach is that a coach develops the employee so
that he performs at their best where as a consultant
provides solutions to problems.
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