In the 20th century workplace, coaches were dispatched to aid mid-level managers with high potential, who may have had some “issues” with staff and co-workers, but were too valuable to the organization to lose. Last century’s coaches set goals, provided learning modules, and monitored progress. But that coaching model is neither acceptable nor applicable in the 21st century workplace.
“Where do you see coaches? They’re on the sidelines for each and every game for the entire game,” said Eileen Cooke, VP of enterprise learning, development, and performance for CVS Health. “They also aren’t there to coach one individual. They are there for every member of the team.”
Rachel Lipson, co-founder and director of the Project on Workforce at Harvard University’s Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, echoed that sentiment. “During the pandemic we all heard about record quit rates, and the so-called Great Resignation. [Conscious coaching] is an opportunity to move beyond ‘churn and burn’ and instead make the investment in junior- level employees by being clear regarding promotion opportunities and providing education subsidies,” Lipson said. Cooke and Lipson participated in a panel discussion with several other expert speakers at From Day One’s Boston conference earlier this year.
For decades, a holistic approach to recognize employee talents and bolster shortcomings has already been part of many enlightened organizations’ HR and people-management functions. But the Covid-19 pandemic spotlighted the fact that employees have families, the makeup of those families is often multi-generational, and caregiving responsibilities–for both the elderly and the young–fall predominantly on women. A Washington Post story from July 2020, at the height of the pandemic, reported that one in four women quit their jobs during the pandemic because of school closures and inadequate or unaffordable child care options.
“Doesn’t it seem that we’ve been talking about inclusion forever?” asked Erin Hicks, senior director of HR for Applied Materials, a semiconductor and display-equipment company. She asserted that the concept of work-life balance must continue to expand to incorporate the realities of these structural barriers, which are baked into our economy. “Do you have flexible work hours? Do you have a commitment to pay equity? We must look beyond skills and education and hold leaders accountable to having family-friendly policies which reflect all kinds of families,” Hicks said, “because I guarantee you the younger workforce is looking for and demanding it.”
“The primary message of holistic coaching is trust,” said Alyssa Johnson, VP of account management at Blueboard, an employee-recognition platform. Managers build trust when they recognize and embrace the whole individual, which then benefits the whole organization. “It’s important for us to pay more attention to developing that personal connection, which then allows us to coach our team members more effectively in the areas where they can make a broader impact on their team and the rest of the organization,” Johnson said.
Ben Colvin, a partner and leadership coach at Coaching Works NYC, stressed two other aspects of the conscious coaching process. “Too often the [direct-line] manager isn’t involved. However, coaching conversation must go further than goals and action plans. The conversations must continue before, during, and after," said Colvin.
Twenty-first century coaching programs must continue to morph, develop, and apply at all levels of the organization, in a variety of workplace contexts, and within ecosystems where employees come from a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds.
“I challenge us, as people who have the really important job of taking care of the precious people within our organizations," said Cooke, “to think about coaching as something for everyone within our organizations. But not coach in the same way for every individual in the organization.”
Angie Chatman is a freelance writer who covers business, technology, education and social justice. She earned her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
