Training is important. It provides knowledge, insight and inspiration for change. Behaviour change is the second part of the puzzle. It is hard, it requires focus, willpower, attention, effort, courage. While a lot depends on the individual, others can provide support on this journey. One framework for providing such a support is coaching. So far it hasn't been widely applied in connection to change and learning programs due to high costs at scale. The usual model is a coach having 10-15 clients and charging in the neighbourhood of 300+ EUR per hour, usually engaging face to face. We found a way to reinvent this model.
We developed and tested a framework where coaching is
(a) done only for 15-30 mins per week,
(b) is done via instant messaging software like Teams without any installations,
(c) allows us to simultaneously acquire data about what's going on "on the floor" which could aid the management and
(d) can potentially involve automated exercises.
This means a shift from 10-15 to 50 clients per coach with a subsequent drop of the price.
We collect the data because we realise that while the biggest key to behavior change is on an individual level, at the same time culture and systems play a big role, too. These are the things that the senior leadership has the most leverage to change, yet often they aren't aware of the biggest obstacles. We collect data about the results of the change programs, leadership and team dynamics, practices and habits (agility, communication, productivity), resources (time, support, energy), skill gaps and generally blind spots, challenges.
Coaching is a great way to collect data because of the trust that's being developed between the coach and the coachee, implications about the biggest challenges gathered through coaching, us being an external provider and not being involved in internal politics, and the fact that unlike questionnaires we can space out the inquiries.