Tailored training and development is on the rise in the UK, with training provider City & Guilds reporting in 2022 that 65% of large organisations now favour tailor-made in-house training over off-the-shelf programmes to support bespoke skills development. The same report also included the sobering finding that 99% of the employers surveyed had experienced ‘failure’ in their in-house training programmes over the previous five years, indicating the stakes involved with tailoring development to a specific workforce segment.
Businesses recognise the way that a well-structured approach to leadership and management coaching can deliver both personal growth for individual leaders and long-term organisational benefits, but what steps can you take to count yourself among the ‘successful 1%?’
‘Emerging managers’, meaning individuals who are newly promoted to a leadership role or who have the recognised potential to develop into a leadership position in the future, often struggle to navigate the transition from individual contributor to team leader. The first few months to two years after a promotion are a critical time in which many new managers become demoralised and staff attrition risk is highest.
Successfully navigating the shift requires coaching that focuses on building the foundational skills that the individual needs to thrive in their new position, such as delegating effectively, communicating with their senior and junior colleagues, and efficient time management. At this level, bespoke management training can address confidence building and decisive decision-making, among other issues.
A constructive tactic here is small group coaching. New leaders can benefit from a sense of shared experience with other people in the same position as them, especially if they were promoted at the same time, learning collaboratively while engaging in a range of practical exercises. Alongside this, regular one-on-one coaching sessions can also help new managers reflect on their progress and develop their capabilities, with clear guidance tailored to their roles and needs. Coaching programmes targeted at early success can build a strong foundation for sustainable long-term growth.
Most leaders in an organisation are so-called ‘middle managers’, people who manage individual teams or departments, but who are dependent for executive authority and strategic decision-making on their senior colleagues. Mid-level leadership sits at a delicate crossroads, requiring a mix of strategic and operational insights to develop their skills. These individuals often juggle competing demands from the teams and junior managers they supervise, as well as the demands of senior leadership, and peers from other departments. In order to drive initiatives and align with company objectives (and to prevent burnout), coaching interventions should focus on refining communication skills such as conflict resolution, as well as strategic critical thinking and advanced project management.
A leadership development strategy for mid-level managers should incorporate scenario-based coaching to address real-world challenges. One way of doing this is to build realistic role-playing exercises into training, in which participants mediate interdepartmental conflicts or manage a simulated project to improve decision-making under pressure. Peer to peer mentoring also works well for building networks within the organisation and encouraging knowledge exchange among your mid-level team.
It is essential at this stage to align your coaching strategy with your organisational goals, fully integrating company values and priorities into every exercise to allow your mid-level leaders to contribute directly to wider business objectives.
Senior executives face a variety of multifaceted strategic challenges that extend from the interpersonal to the operational. Being a successful director requires developing visionary thinking, robust self-awareness and confidence, and the ability to manage a variety of stakeholder interests in order to drive transformational change. This doesn’t always happen on its own, even among ‘natural’ business leaders. As a result, executive level coaching should be highly personalised, recognising the complexity of each director’s individual responsibilities, preferences, and SWAT profile.
Leadership and management coaching can help senior executives develop their decision-making and resilience building skills. To facilitate this, some organisations integrate executive coaching with psychometric assessments and personalised development programmes. These tools, alongside real-world work experience and knowledge of the executive as a person, can provide valuable insight into leadership styles, strengths, and potential areas for development. Working alongside a seasoned coach, your executives can explore innovative and creative solutions to strategic issues that align with their context and ambitions.
With a carefully crafted bespoke management training and coaching strategy in place, your organisation can accelerate leadership performance at every level, and develop a culture of growth and resilience. To start equipping your leaders for today’s challenges in the workplace, please contact GRA today by calling 0118 933 2222, or by clicking here.
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