Firstly, thank you to all those who completed our survey recently. Here’s what you told us:
Over two thirds of you already attend networking events, both for professional and personal development. If you don’t attend these events, it’s generally due to lack of time, or the location being inconvenient.
Early evening events pip the post for the best time, followed by breakfast sessions; in terms of content you told us you prefer presentations from guest speakers and bite-sized training – shorter, more focused events work best for you, with plenty of interaction and time for networking. Many respondents comment that networking is actually quite difficult; ‘facilitated’ networking is often a good way to tackle this – we are working on this right now.
How about topics? Well, there was an even split between FM-specific topics and more general business subjects. The one thing that you tell us that you hate above all else is when a speaker, who in advance seems like they will deliver an informative presentation, proceeds to present their ‘sales pitch’.
Interestingly, most of you said you would be happy to pay to attend networking events – the amounts mentioned depended on length of time, venue and content. We’ll come back to you soon with our thoughts on this – we want to give you value for money, make networking events accessible, but still ensure that those who sign up to attend, do indeed come along. It’s frustrating for us all when we have to turn people away or put them on a waiting list, only to find those who did book a place, fail to turn up.
So, what next? We are looking at venues, speakers and trainers, with a view to launching a new series of networking events in 2011.
If you’d like to be considered as a speaker at one of these events, please get in touch with Liz Kentish The FM Coach coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk 01778 561326 / 07717 787077
Monday 27 September 2010
Thursday 23 September 2010
Coaching skills for managers
Coaching is good management practice. Some of us do it more, some do it less. Some do it well, some not so well. A recent study of Fortune 100 executives by Manchester Consulting Group found that coaching was effective for all participants and resulted in a return on investment averaging 5.7 times the initial investment.
The following benefits of coaching were cited:
• Improved Relationships 77%
• Improved Teamwork 67%
• Improved Job Satisfaction 61%
• Improved Productivity 53%
• Improved Quality 48%
• Improved Organizational Strength 48%
If your organisation (whether you are an FM provider, or have your own in-house FM team) is to survive and prosper in current climate of rapid change, you need to be more flexible, move faster and learn faster than before. Coaching can help achieve this, particularly if managers train to become coaches themselves or at least learn some basic coaching skills and understand the basic principles. Coaching is generally used for performance management, employee engagement, leadership development and change management.
An International Personnel Management Association survey found that productivity amongst public sector managers increased by 88 per cent when coaching was combined with training (compared to a 22 per cent increase with training alone).
How is coaching different from day to day management?
Often as managers, we feel we should have all the answers – not only do we need to tell our people what the outcome should be, but also how to go about it. Of course, we often have more experience than them; however if you want your people to grow in experience and knowledge, then you need to help them find solutions themselves. Coaching is about asking the right questions to draw out their existing knowledge, experience and skills, as well as their creativity in finding the way forward.
‘But I’m too busy’, I hear you cry!
Much of an FM team’s role is reactive; by coaching them you will allow your people to take a step back and find solutions for those recurring issues. Allow your teams to solve them, and you’ll have more time to focus on being innovative and providing an even better service.
Your role in coaching
The appeal of coaching is that it’s centred on the individual, at a time and place to suit them; you could have a five minute coaching conversation in the corridor with a member of staff, or an hour long formal session.
Here’s what happens:
You agree the focus for the coaching using questions like:
• What would be the best use of our time together this morning?
• What would you like to go away from this session with?
Then you can follow one of many coaching models to draw out their existing strengths, know-how and other resources. Some well-known and very effective models are GROW, Solutions Focus, ACHIEVE™ and OUTCOMES™.
Confidentiality is one of the prerequisites of coaching, and should be made clear from the start. Even if you are their line manager, this still applies – people need to know they can speak freely in a coaching situation. It’s often useful to ensure senior managers are clear about this too; if they are aware that you are coaching your people, they may want to know all about what’s happening and the results.
One pitfall that many people fall into when they start coaching is ‘giving advice’. In a coaching relationship, your role is to ask questions, seek clarity where needed, and otherwise to stay quiet and let them answer. In fact, effective listening is the key skill for great coaching.
How will I know if it’s working?
Many organisations demand a clear link between coaching and the bottom line, which can be tricky. Measuring the impact of coaching is simple if you are clear from the start exactly what the person being coached wants to achieve. Begin by agreeing coaching objectives, key behaviours they would want to be demonstrating as a result of the coaching, and why they are relevant to your organisation’s and/or client’s goals. Calculate the likely impact of coaching, taking into consideration other organisational variables such as resource levels, client SLAs and any training and development programmes.
The cumulative effects of coaching take time to filter through your organisation, so you should review the impact on a regular basis. Other measures you can use include 360° assessments and staff surveys, both before and after the coaching, focusing particularly on behaviours. If using 360° processes, make sure you involve your end users too, as these are often the people who will most readily notice a difference in behaviours.
What skills do I need?
Although you can pick up a book on coaching skills and get stuck in, it’s worth undertaking some training to learn not just the skills you’ll need, but also how it feels to be coached, and to see the fast results that can be achieved.
It’s worth networking with others within your organisation who are using coaching skills, as well as some of the coaching circles and networks you’ll find outside. As a coach we never stop learning – nor should we, otherwise we risk slipping back into ‘management mode’.
Although I always have high expectations for my coaching clients, they still amaze me with their resourcefulness and commitment.
Want to know more? Join our ‘FM Coaching Programme’ later this year, where you will learn to be an effective coach, and also have the opportunity to be coached by an expert.
Liz Kentish The FM Coach, 01778 561326 www.lizkentishcoaching.co.uk Follow me on Twitter
A version of this article appeared in FMX magazine Sept 2010
The following benefits of coaching were cited:
• Improved Relationships 77%
• Improved Teamwork 67%
• Improved Job Satisfaction 61%
• Improved Productivity 53%
• Improved Quality 48%
• Improved Organizational Strength 48%
If your organisation (whether you are an FM provider, or have your own in-house FM team) is to survive and prosper in current climate of rapid change, you need to be more flexible, move faster and learn faster than before. Coaching can help achieve this, particularly if managers train to become coaches themselves or at least learn some basic coaching skills and understand the basic principles. Coaching is generally used for performance management, employee engagement, leadership development and change management.
An International Personnel Management Association survey found that productivity amongst public sector managers increased by 88 per cent when coaching was combined with training (compared to a 22 per cent increase with training alone).
How is coaching different from day to day management?
Often as managers, we feel we should have all the answers – not only do we need to tell our people what the outcome should be, but also how to go about it. Of course, we often have more experience than them; however if you want your people to grow in experience and knowledge, then you need to help them find solutions themselves. Coaching is about asking the right questions to draw out their existing knowledge, experience and skills, as well as their creativity in finding the way forward.
‘But I’m too busy’, I hear you cry!
Much of an FM team’s role is reactive; by coaching them you will allow your people to take a step back and find solutions for those recurring issues. Allow your teams to solve them, and you’ll have more time to focus on being innovative and providing an even better service.
Your role in coaching
The appeal of coaching is that it’s centred on the individual, at a time and place to suit them; you could have a five minute coaching conversation in the corridor with a member of staff, or an hour long formal session.
Here’s what happens:
You agree the focus for the coaching using questions like:
• What would be the best use of our time together this morning?
• What would you like to go away from this session with?
Then you can follow one of many coaching models to draw out their existing strengths, know-how and other resources. Some well-known and very effective models are GROW, Solutions Focus, ACHIEVE™ and OUTCOMES™.
Confidentiality is one of the prerequisites of coaching, and should be made clear from the start. Even if you are their line manager, this still applies – people need to know they can speak freely in a coaching situation. It’s often useful to ensure senior managers are clear about this too; if they are aware that you are coaching your people, they may want to know all about what’s happening and the results.
One pitfall that many people fall into when they start coaching is ‘giving advice’. In a coaching relationship, your role is to ask questions, seek clarity where needed, and otherwise to stay quiet and let them answer. In fact, effective listening is the key skill for great coaching.
How will I know if it’s working?
Many organisations demand a clear link between coaching and the bottom line, which can be tricky. Measuring the impact of coaching is simple if you are clear from the start exactly what the person being coached wants to achieve. Begin by agreeing coaching objectives, key behaviours they would want to be demonstrating as a result of the coaching, and why they are relevant to your organisation’s and/or client’s goals. Calculate the likely impact of coaching, taking into consideration other organisational variables such as resource levels, client SLAs and any training and development programmes.
The cumulative effects of coaching take time to filter through your organisation, so you should review the impact on a regular basis. Other measures you can use include 360° assessments and staff surveys, both before and after the coaching, focusing particularly on behaviours. If using 360° processes, make sure you involve your end users too, as these are often the people who will most readily notice a difference in behaviours.
What skills do I need?
Although you can pick up a book on coaching skills and get stuck in, it’s worth undertaking some training to learn not just the skills you’ll need, but also how it feels to be coached, and to see the fast results that can be achieved.
It’s worth networking with others within your organisation who are using coaching skills, as well as some of the coaching circles and networks you’ll find outside. As a coach we never stop learning – nor should we, otherwise we risk slipping back into ‘management mode’.
Although I always have high expectations for my coaching clients, they still amaze me with their resourcefulness and commitment.
Want to know more? Join our ‘FM Coaching Programme’ later this year, where you will learn to be an effective coach, and also have the opportunity to be coached by an expert.
Liz Kentish The FM Coach, 01778 561326 www.lizkentishcoaching.co.uk Follow me on Twitter
A version of this article appeared in FMX magazine Sept 2010
Thursday 2 September 2010
Can’t see the wood for the trees?
I went motor racing last weekend – not something I do very often I must say! I was fortunate to spend time with a team coach, and I asked him how he trains top drivers, and what their main obstacles are.
This is what he told me...
When you first learn to drive on a track at speed, the key thing is to be focused 100% on where you want to go. One of the main issues new drivers have is that they focus on what they don’t want.
So, for example, they might be saying to themselves,
‘I mustn’t hit the barrier’, and guess what happens more often that not? Yes, exactly. They hit the barrier.
I find this happens a lot in business too. We get so preoccupied by what we don’t want, that we almost make it come true by our self-talk. In coaching it’s similar; sometimes it’s easier to think about what we don’t want, rather than what we do want.
Take a leaf out of the great racing drivers’ book; a great question to ask yourself if you’re focusing on the barriers, is ‘what do I want instead?’
As the late Ayrton Senna himself said,
'And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.'
So, what do you want instead of what you have right now?
Liz Kentish The FM Coach 01778 561326 / 07717 787077 coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk
This is what he told me...
When you first learn to drive on a track at speed, the key thing is to be focused 100% on where you want to go. One of the main issues new drivers have is that they focus on what they don’t want.
So, for example, they might be saying to themselves,
‘I mustn’t hit the barrier’, and guess what happens more often that not? Yes, exactly. They hit the barrier.
I find this happens a lot in business too. We get so preoccupied by what we don’t want, that we almost make it come true by our self-talk. In coaching it’s similar; sometimes it’s easier to think about what we don’t want, rather than what we do want.
Take a leaf out of the great racing drivers’ book; a great question to ask yourself if you’re focusing on the barriers, is ‘what do I want instead?’
As the late Ayrton Senna himself said,
'And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.'
So, what do you want instead of what you have right now?
Liz Kentish The FM Coach 01778 561326 / 07717 787077 coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk
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