Coaching - a key management tool

Coaching in the workplace can:

• delivery notable benefits in the work organisation
• help managers gain the most from their teams
• increase employee engagement
• develop high performing workplaces

80% of organisations use coaching as a development tool.

Weekly tip - how to create a learning culture

This is the 4th and last weekly tip on creating a learning culture, which draws together previous points and makes a few new ones:

• Ensure the organisation has goals which support learning 
• encourage staff to manage their own learning; this should be discussed at annual appraisals and other suitable opportunities.
• make sure every person has a personal development plan which is realistic and agreed 
• have pre- and post-discussions regarding learning events 
• be available as a coach and guide where needed to facilitate further development within the organisation - this is discussed in the next 'series' of weekly tips on coaching in the work place
• take a proactive interest in how the team functions as a team 

With these factors in place the organisation is in a stronger position to develop and sustain a positive learning culture. 


Future weekly tips are on how to develop coaching in the work place. 

Learning and development in organisations

Increasing in usage and rapidly moving to the fore-front is coaching and mentoring; besides using 'outside' professional business coaches, this is a positive way in which existing and experienced staff can be utilised, and gain renewed enthusiasm, by coaching other staff. 


The next 'series' of weekly blogs which will examine coaching in more depth.

Weekly tip - how to create a learning culture

The next stage is to align training with business performance, and there are several  points here:

• Line managers must have the authority and budget to undertake staff development

• All training programmes which are delivered need to be related to business plans and needs

• Line managers and training professionals should use the same business measurables; line managers should talk about the business outcomes of learning

• Key performance indicators or other performance indicators for managers need to cover their responsibility for ensuring their staff continue to learn and also develop their skills

• Reward systems reinforce managers’ responsibility for learning and help to 'snowball' a learning culture.

With these ingredients in place, the organisation is set towards creating a learning culture.

Day-to-day management

When managing people in busy and pressurised daily routines, many managers put a lot of energy and frustration into aspects which are not easily changed. Here, a wise word at work may be that often we cannot change situations, but we can change the way we react to them. 

Staff and colleagues at work can be very intuitive and any tension is infectious. Consequently a question which managers could ask themselves is, 'Does it really matter?' 

This is not to infer that quality standards should slip or deadlines should be missed, but sometimes a slightly more 'relaxed' approach may be beneficial.

Weekly tip - how to create a learning cultue

Now your organisation has people talking about learning and sharing experiences, you're ready to move forward to the next stage.


Organisational learning is not a new concept and whilst phrases such as 'continuous  reinvention' (Hammer) and 'only the paranoid survive' (Grove) and 'if it ain't broken, break it!' (Welch) are humorous comments, they actually indicate a thriving and continuous learning organisation.


The next stage is to put strategies in place to develop a learning culture.

People learn in different way - some enjoy reading a book or training guide; others prefer to be debating or discussing a new concept; others thrive on computer delivery, on-line, learning. 

As part of the process to engage staff in learning, it's useful to identify each person's preferred learning styles. Here there are several assessments available; Honey & Mumford is a 'tried and tested' model. Assessment of individuals' learning styles can be conducted either on-line or in hard (paper) exercises. 

Once an organisation has identified HOW people learn best, it's ready for the next stage of creating a learning culture. You're aiming for a inherent feeling of 'that's the way we do things here.'

This weekly blog outlines how to develop a learning culture.

Valuing Development

The benefits of coaching as a cost-effective development method for unlocking individuals' capabilities and driving real behavioural change have been highlighted. Coaching also helps to embed learning and knowledge in people's daily work. This is reflected by the increasing popularity in coaching courses from both organisations and individuals who wish to positively contribute to the development of others at work.