Successful organizations use coaching beyond the one-to-one and into the one-to-many. Implementing a coaching approach to changing and transforming and aligning organizations is very, very doable, and for successful companies, is their competitive edge.
It changes company culture.
Think of company culture as an informal set of behaviors and traditions that we no longer question but we all just use blindly. The coach approach is brilliant in unearthing these hidden behaviors and allowing the group to decide what is working and which behaviors are not working. And remember the food chain. It’s the behaviors we have that culminate in a set of actions, and it’s those actions that drive results. Change the behavior, you change the results. Coaching is all about organizational results.
It was safe being #4 in the market. Bonuses were still being paid. Then a new CEO arrived. Being fourth is no longer acceptable. A change of mindset across the entire organization was required.
Jason Hales, a long-term coaching client, was asked to speak candidly about his experience with Merv over the years. This is a transcription of that interview.
The Finance organization reorganized for global alignment. The coach approach got everyone in the finance organization to be very clear on the new mission. Every person understood and was able to articulate where their contribution fit.
Sofia is a veteran in the field of medical devices. She has spent a lot of time leading different verticals within a leading multinational corporation for the last 29 years. As part of the finance domain which reported to her, she oversaw a large successful change process within the unit. She has now been promoted to head a different vertical from the business.