Organizational change is an eventuality that all businesses must face. One of the ways to do this successfully is to allow leaders to embrace their roles and empower their employees to thrive.
Coaching is an intervention that can aid stakeholder buy-in and help change leaders explain the organizational change to both managers and employees.
Some of the real benefits of coaching in change management include building employee readiness levels, building organizational readiness levels, and ensuring employees have the appropriate skills and competencies to face change.
Why Coaching Is Important
According to Prosci, “coaching can have the greatest impact on breaking down barriers,” thus, moving an organization through change.
Building a coaching culture and encouraging change management coaching and mentoring facilitate change by supporting employees and urging development.
One of the biggest benefits of coaching in change management is that it enables businesses to equip their employees with the skills they need to help the organization achieve its goals.
The majority of change initiatives are either unsuccessful or not sustainable. The primary reason for this is employee and manager resistance to change. Overcoming such resistance includes investing in coaching so employees can adjust to the change, improve communication, and build resilience.
Other benefits of coaching in change management include promoting the development of self-efficacy and allowing employees to complete tasks effectively.
The return on investment for change management coaching makes the practice well worth it. In fact, one report estimates that companies that invest in coaching see a sevenfold return on their investment.
While coaching is always important, it’s especially critical during organizational change. This is because it allows employees to change their actions and behaviours and develop skills that aid and promote sustainable organizational change.
Real Benefits of Coaching in Change Management
There are many real benefits of coaching in change management. Creating a coaching culture in your organization can result in the following advantages.
Coaching Transforms Leadership
Leaders must guide their employees through times of anxiety and uncertainty. Organizational change is one of these times.
Leaders can become better guides by tapping into the benefits of coaching in change management, which can help with increasing pressures and uncertainty. With coaching, leaders can learn new skills which they can then use to transform their teams. Additionally, leaders can learn to communicate more effectively and lead with empathy.
Coaching Improves Organizational Effectiveness
Companies that embrace coaching see massive improvements in many areas. Some of the primary benefits of coaching in change management include improvements in teamwork, relationships, retention, and job satisfaction.
Moreover, in times of organizational change, moving from a “command and control” style of leadership to a company that embraces a coaching culture allows organizations to adapt quickly. It also aids companies in sorting out different work priorities and supporting employees’ well-being.
Coaching Develops Change Management Capabilities
A change management plan is essential when dealing with a change initiative. Coaching is one of the ways companies can develop change management capabilities.
This is because coaching can help all members of the organization, including leaders, teams, and individuals. In addition to increasing engagement and promoting resilience, coaching reduces resistance and allows individuals to correct themselves in real time as they progress.
Among other benefits of coaching in change management, an increase in employee confidence is seen in their capabilities to plan and execute change.
Some of the coaching activities that are most helpful in achieving change management initiatives include the following:
- One-on-one coaching
- Team coaching
- Work group coaching (with professional coach practitioners)
Coaching Helps Clarify Information and Gather Feedback
One of the most important benefits of coaching in change management is that employees can stay in touch with their supervisors during unprecedented times. This is through both group meetings and one-on-one meetings.
Employees can ask for clarification and discuss the change initiative during these meetings. In addition to this, they can air out their concerns and receive answers to any questions they may have. As managers and leaders clarify and address these issues, they can also use them as feedback from affected employees.
Coaching Alleviates Stress and Minimizes Resistance
Uncertainty and stress are some of the reasons for resistance to organizational change. Since coaching provides opportunities to clarify these, it also addresses and minimizes resistance to change.
The real benefits of coaching in change management include not only reduced resistance, but also increased employee support and engagement.
Summary and Conclusion
According to Prosci’s “Best Practices in Change Management” report, employee and manager resistance are cited as the main obstacles to successful change initiative implementation.
Organizations must overcome employee resistance and promote stakeholder buy-in if they want their change initiatives to succeed. Considering the benefits of coaching in change management, businesses need to provide mentoring to change employee behaviour and provide them with valuable skills that benefit the organization as a whole.
Businesses that promote a coaching culture and invest in coaching their leaders, managers, and employees are sure to succeed in their change initiatives. This investment will pay dividends and lead to individual and organizational effectiveness.