13 Mar Coaching as a Leadership Style: The perceived Benefits of a Leader Adopting a Coach Approach Leadership Style.
Thesis for: MBA Advisor: Dr. Jan Austin
Dec , 2016,07:00am EST
Dr. Andriana Eliadis, Executive Education Facilitator at Cornell University, NY, USA and Director at CorporateExecutiveCoach.
Coaching as a Leadership Style: The Perceived Benefits of a Leader Adopting a Coach-
Approach Leadership Style
Capstone project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of
Business Administration in Organizational Behavior and Executive Coaching
University of Texas at Dallas
Jan Austin, PhD
December 2016
Coaching as a Leadership Style
DEDICATION
This Capstone project is dedicated initially to my parents, who taught me and “coached” me
in believing that everything is possible and empowered me in every step I made; also to my sister
Roula, who encouraged me to continue my graduate studies and never give up, to my brother Gianni
and Roula, who have been like second parents to me since I was born, and of course to my two
loving daughters, Kalliopi and Marianna, and my husband Christo, who have been patient and
supportive during my educational and academic endeavors. I love you all dearly.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I must thank from the bottom of my heart all my professors who contributed to my academic
development in UTD since March 2015. To Dr. Jan Austin, for her inspiration, patience, genuine
interest, and collaboration to conclude this capstone project; also to my entire cohort, 12B, who
supported me and collaborated so well during really demanding times. Last, to my personal assistant
Sofia, who has been a great support at work, and my financial assistant, Dimitri, who understands
me and takes on responsibilities and initiatives to help alleviate my work load and stress.
You have all inspired me and given me strength to continue.
I am grateful to have met and worked with you all!
A sincere thank you.
Andriana
Chapter 1: Introduction
The stimulus for conducting this study is twofold. Initially it came from the numerous
executives, managers, supervisors, and plain employees, whom I have met these past years through
my collaboration with their companies to conduct corporate training and coaching programs for
them, and from my formal coaching education at University at Texas at Dallas (UTD).
Coaching as a leadership style has been discussed a lot in the recent years in corporations, in
HR departments, and in executive training rooms. Since change is inescapable, leaders have been
trying to find more effective paths to lead and manage their people. My study is focused on the
perceived benefits a leader and his/her people can have if a coach-approach leadership style is
applied. I would like to start by tracking down where the word coach derives from and when it
originated:
The word coach derives from 15th-century Hungary, referring to the village of Kocs, where
fine transportation coaches were first constructed. The purpose of a coach was to transport
people from where they were to where they wanted to go. Similarly, executive coaches
facilitate the transportation of leaders to new levels of development and effectiveness.
(Underhill, McAnally, & Koriath, 2007, p. 7)
In today’s modernized, technological age, with intellectual awareness and international
stimuli all around us, leaders and their teams have the need to feel acknowledged, respected,
rewarded, and valuable within their corporate realms. According to Nohria, Groysberg, and Lee
(2008), in their article, “Employee Motivation: A Powerful Model,” there are four drives that
improve employee motivation. One important drive they discuss is the drive of a bond; they say, “to
engender a strong sense of camaraderie – is to create a culture that promotes teamwork
collaboration, openness, and friendship” (p. 82). Employees need to believe that there is a future for
them and that developmental opportunities exist.
Motivation and inspiration energize people, not by pushing them in the right direction as
control mechanisms do but by satisfying basic human needs for achievement, a sense of
belonging, recognition, self-esteem, a feeling of control over one’s life, and the ability to live
up to one’s ideals. Such feelings touch us deeply and elicit a powerful response. (Kotter, p.
93)
Therefore, when a person feels and believes all the aforementioned, then he/she is happier, more
energized, and more productive within his/her work environment. This outcome can benefit all
stakeholders, first of all the corporation itself, all the leaders entailed, the employees themselves, and
ultimately the clients of this firm. Therefore, this can drive productivity and profitability to rise.
Ultimately, the “perceived benefits” will come back to the same stakeholders from where the
positive corporate climate once began.
The challenge is, for leaders to see the benefits that a coaching leadership approach has and
utilize it to elicit and maximize their results. When employees are not happy within their work
environment, they are more likely to start the “job hunt” for better opportunities. “In general, people
leave their jobs because they don’t like their boss, don’t see opportunities for promotion or growth,
or are offered a better gig (and often higher pay); these reasons have held steady for years” (Harvard
Business Review, 2016, p. 20).
Chapter 2: Problem Description
The goal of this assignment is to discuss and analyze, via various literature and a case study,
the benefits leaders, their organizations, and their people, can have when a coach-approach
leadership style is adopted. When leaders can create “more effective ways to create and sustain
change” (Stober & Grant, 2006, p. 1) for their corporation, they can empower their people, create a
positive corporate culture, increase motivation, and at the same time improve their own leadership
strategies by focusing on the essential leadership issues. This can be attained, by giving ownership
and responsibilities, by delegating effectively, by training and developing others, and by trusting and
respecting their people. According to Cappelli, Singh, Singh, and Useem (2010), in the article,
“Leadership Lessons from India”:
To engage employees, these leaders create a sense of social mission that is central to
company culture, encourage openness by developing and personally modeling systems that
provide transparency, empower employees by enabling communication and pushing decision
making down through the ranks, and invest in training. (p. 1)
It is essential for leaders to recognize the importance of a “coach-like” culture and commit to
spreading it throughout their organization. Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries (2014), in his article,
“Coaching the Toxic Leader,” says, “Senior executives have the power to create an environment that
allows people to grow and give their best – or a toxic workplace where everyone is unhappy”
(p. 102). Thus, adopting a coach-approach leadership style must begin from the senior leaders of an
organization and work its way down to the last employee.
Coaching as a Leadership Style
Chapter 3: Literature Review
As aforementioned, one of the reasons my interest in this topic sparked was from my formal
coaching education at UTD while studying the book, Coaching as a Leadership Style, by Robert F.
Hicks (2014). The book analyses a study conducted primarily for healthcare industry executives, but
its theory is applicable in all business sectors. This book studies how leadership and coaching can
work together to create a better corporate environment where its executives can communicate
effectively and conduct their day-to-day business via better constructive, more open, more
motivating and empowering approaches. As the author states, “A case is made for coaching as a
means to help Elite Professionals make the transition to a team-based, task-interdependent work
environment, and for coaching as a skillset that will help operationalize the components of
transformation leadership” (p. xiii). He has included dialogues and conversations in order to
understand how a coaching conversation can alter the leadership style of an executive and what the
effects of that can be.
Another source of information is the book, Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart by
Mary Beth O’Neill (2007). In chapter 11 of the book the author describes how leaders can
effectively coach their employees. She discusses possible pitfalls and gives a great explanation of the
path leaders can take to coach their people. She says that bosses should take two distinct roles when
coaching employees: “Role 1: Articulate performance expectations, and ensure that the employee
commits to them. Role 2: Coach and develop the employee to accomplish those expectations” (p.
263). Mary Beth O’Neill argues in her book that when a boss uses coaching effectively, there are
many benefits created that will influence the entire organization. Specifically, she says that once
effective coaching is used, “it has ripple effect throughout the organization”
Coaching as a Leadership Style
(p. 281). This source will be used to show how a leader can use coaching to improve his people’s
performance and relationships within the team and the organization.
In the book, The Psychology of Executive Coaching, the author, Bruce Peltier (2010),
discusses bad and good leader traits. He analyses the habits that can jeopardize a leader’s position
and points out that “poor working relationships and inability to develop or adapt (including
inflexibility)” and “authoritarianism and excessive ambition, insensitivity, aloofness, lack of follow-
through, and inability to do strategic planning” were examined to be characteristics of leaders, in the
United States, “who had fallen by the corporate way-side” (p. 334). He also gives a list of positive
leader traits which all link to coaching as a leadership style.
Dianne R. Stober and Anthony M. Grant (2006), in the book, Evidence Based Coaching,
define coaching by defining its nature and discuss “effective ways to create and sustain change” (p.
1). They give several definitions of what coaching is and establish a core base of what is common to
the definitions they have cited. They say that the common themes:
include a collaborative and egalitarian rather than authoritarian relationship between coach
and coachee; a focus on constructing solutions and goal attainment process, rather than solely
analyzing problems; the assumption that clients do not have clinically significant mental
health problems; an emphasis on collaborative goal setting . . . and is typically directed at
fostering the ongoing self-directed learning and personal growth of the coachee. (p. 3)
Here the editors support the coaching style as an effective means of development and leading. There
are also case scenarios that explain how coaching can make a difference and help various
businessmen and/or businesswomen reach a desired and self-designed goal.
In his article, “What Leaders Really Do”, John P. Kotter (2001) explains what the job of
leaders actual is. He states that, “Leadership . . . is about coping with change” (p. 86). He discusses
Coaching as a Leadership Style
the difference between “motivating people versus controlling and problem solving” (p. 93), and
states that employees can be motivated by being supported by their leaders via coaching, feedback,
role modeling. Thus, coaching helps “people grow professionally and” enhances “their self-esteem”
(p. 93). He claims that successful motivation gives employees the energy to deal with problems and
obstacles and better cope “with the inevitable barriers to change” (p. 93). This concept supports my
topic by linking it to the definition of coaching and to its potential benefits.
Another article that supports a coach-like culture is the article, “Leadership Lessons from
India” (Cappelli et al. 2015). In this article, the authors explain the way leaders in India lead their
people and the success stories behind this leadership style. They say that in order:
to engage employees, these leaders create a sense of social mission that is central to company
culture, encourage openness by developing and personally modeling systems that provide
transparency, empower employees by enabling communication and pushing decision making
down through the ranks, and invest heavily in training. (p. 1)
This article validates the initial premise of this project and supports a coaching leadership style
method. This article discusses how this leadership style has been applied in the real business world
and its positive outcomes.
“Primal Leadership” (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2001) analyses an interesting route to
high-level leadership. They study leadership behavior via emotional intelligence and also see it from
a neuroscience perspective. The connection here with coaching is that, according to their findings,
for leaders to tap into their emotional intelligence, there is a five-step process, which “is designed to
rewire the brain toward more emotionally intelligent behaviors” (p. 37). This five-step process is
basically asking themselves five open-ended questions, which will bring awareness of oneself and,
therefore, self-knowledge.
Coaching as a Leadership Style
James Waldrop and Timothy Butler (1996), in their article, “The Executive as Coach”
explain the benefits that a coach approach can have on managers of organizations. They say that
“Good coaching is simply good management. It requires many of the same skills that are critical to
effective management . . . Similarly, the goal coaching is the goal of good management” (p. 110).
The authors of this article analyze which coaching techniques can be used by a manager to become
“more effective” in his/her “new role” (p. 116). They emphasize the importance of organizational
behavior and sate that, “Being an effective coach is one essential part of that key to success” (p.
117).
The article, “Driving Organizational Change with Internal Coaching Programs: Part One,” by
David Roch and Ruth Donde (2008), describes how companies benefit when internal coaches are
used in an organization to promote change management and acquire new skills. “Requiring leaders
to coach ensures their skills are embedded . . . with regular usage of coaching muscles, the opposite
happens – leaders find themselves suddenly applying their coaching skills in new and unexpected
ways” (p. 12). They state that by not giving people the answers and thus helping them to work out
any issues both they develop their people and at the same time leaders are less stressed and have
more time to use for other tasks.
A very interesting investigation is described in the article, “The New Science of Change” by
Christopher Koch, (2006). It proves via scientific and neuroscience methods how the human brain
functions when it faces change and when it is told what to do. Koch states, “The traditional
command-and-control style of management doesn’t lead to permanent changes in behavior. Ordering
people to change and then telling them how to do it fires the prefrontal cortex’s hair-trigger
connection to the amygdala” (p. 1). He comes to the conclusion that asking questions is the best
method managers can use to elicit change and bring solutions. This is a great article that
Coaching as a Leadership Style
scientifically proves that the coaching method of asking questions and being open to responses from
employees can bring optimum results.
Another great article, by Carol Wilson, (2004), “Coaching and Coach Training in the
Workplace,” discusses how companies have evolved from an authoritarian style “towards self-
directed learning . . . companies are moving away from consultancy towards coaching.” (p. 96). She
discusses how “Companies are falling over themselves to provide their senior and middle managers
with personal coaches, and to train them in coaching skills” (p. 96). When a person builds your
confidence, supports you, brings about a new perspective for you, and inspires you, that person
makes a difference in your life. These are “key elements in both coaching and in managing
successful teams in the workplace” (p. 96). Wilson, in this article, also discusses the management
style of the Virgin Records founder, Richard Branson, which as she says “embodied all the
principles currently recognized as effective coaching, although at the time the term in its current
sense had not been invented” (p. 96). The key elements were: ownership, acknowledgment, and
blame-free culture. As history proved, Branson’s management style was effective and benefited both
the employees and the company. “The staff loyalty to the brand was phenomenal, and sales
outstripped predictions year by year . . . Branson’s management style filtered down through the
company” (p. 97), providing an ideal example for all his people to follow. This is a key element that
must be considered when a company desires to adopt a coach-like leadership style; the senior
executives must “lead by example.”
Coaching as a Leadership Style
Chapter 4: Project Description
Methods
This capstone aims to observe how leaders and their corporations, in real-life business
situations, can benefit when applying coaching as a leadership style. Therefore, qualitative methods
are the most appropriate to uncover the perceived benefits of leaders adopting a coach-approach
leadership style. As Yin (2015), says in his book Qualitative Research from Start to Finish:
Qualitative research most of all involves studying the meaning of people’s lives, as
experienced under real-word conditions. People will be performing in their everyday roles or
will have expressed themselves through their own diaries, journals, writing, and photography
− entirely independent of any research inquiry. (p. 9)
As he says, “qualitative research has an array of specialized types or variants” (p. 8); the case-study
method is one of the 12 variants that Yin argues to be “frequently recognized” (p. 8). Thus, a case-
study method has been utilized for this capstone:
As a research method, the case study is used in many situations, to contribute to our
knowledge of individual, group, organizational, social, political, and related phenomena. Not
surprisingly, the case study has been a common research method in psychology, sociology,
political science, anthropology, social work, business, education, nursing, and community
planning. . . . Whatever the field of interest, the distinctive need for case study research arises
out of the desire to understand complex social phenomena. In brief, a case study allows
investigators to focus on a “case” and retain a holistic and real-world perspective—such as in
studying individual life cycles, small group behavior, organizational and managerial
Coaching as a Leadership Style
processes, neighborhood change, school performance, international relations, and the
maturation of industries. (Yin, 2014, p. 4)
Conducting a case study is the most suitable method to explore the aforementioned research
question, as the behavioral events of the sales executive examined in this case study cannot be
controlled by the researcher, and the study is basically examining “how” an executive can lead
effectively via coaching approaches (Yin, 2014). Yin says that:
Doing case study research would be the preferred method, compared to the others, in
situations when (1) the main research questions are “how” or “why” questions; (2) a
researcher has little or no control over behavioral events; and (3) the focus of study is a
contemporary (as opposed to entirely historical) phenomenon. (p. 2)
The case study in this capstone project is examined “in its real-world context” (p. 2) and backed up
with contemporary research and business leadership journals by distinguished scholars in this
business arena.
Skills of the Case-Study Researcher
Case studies have been thought to be “easy” and many social scientists believe that all they
need is to simply “tell it like it is.” “No beliefs could be farther from the truth. In actuality, the
demands of a case study on your intellect, ego, and emotions are far greater than those of any other
research method” (Yin, 2014). The reason for this is that, unlike a laboratory experiment, case study
“data collection procedures are not routinized” (p. 72). Consequently, besides the “technical aspects
of data collection,” there are “ethical dilemmas, such as dealing with sharing of private information
or coping with other possible field conflicts” that “only an alert researcher will be able to take
advantage of unexpected opportunities rather than being trapped by them—while still exercising
sufficient care to avoid potentially biased procedures” (p. 72). Unlike standardized testing, like
Coaching as a Leadership Style
GMATs, GREs, LSATs, or other tests like math or science tests that can assess levels, such as a
person’s knowledge and intellectual capabilities, there is no “test” to measure a person’s ability to
become a good case-study researcher. However, Yin (2014), distinguishes five attributes that a good
case-study researcher should have. They are the ability to:
(1) Ask good questions−and interpret the answers fairly.
(2) Be a good “listener” not trapped by existing ideologies or preconceptions.
(3) Stay adaptive, so that newly encountered situations can be seen as opportunities, not
threats.
(4) Have a firm grasp of the issues being studied, even when in an exploratory mode.
(5) Avoid biases by being sensitive to contrary evidence, also knowing how to conduct
research ethically. (p. 73)
Yin, argues that if any researcher lacks one or more of these attributes, the attributes can be
developed as long as one is “honest in assessing her or his capabilities in the first place” (p. 73).
Subsequently, every researcher must have the ability to acknowledge his/her biases and have the
ability to not judge or create false assumptions, which are rooted in his/her beliefs, but are not part of
the particular case-study phenomena.
The author of this study has extended organizational experience with numerous executives in
the USA and Europe. She has acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business
Administration, a Masters Certification in Human Resources Management, and is presently perusing
a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Organizational Behavior and Executive Coaching;
also she has received professional coaching training and a professional coach certification (PCC)
from the International Coach Federation (ICF). She has been training and coaching executives in
various business fields for over 10 years. The assumptions that have been formed through her
Coaching as a Leadership Style
education and professional experiences in relation to how executives can lead effectively are the
pivoting points of this study. The author of this study shares the outlook of Austin (2013) in terms of
what some effective traits of leaders are and how they lead. Austin writes in her Ph.D. dissertation:
1. Effective leaders are aware of themselves and others, and they use this awareness to
improve their interactions
2. Effective leaders actively pursue their development as leaders—they are enthusiastic
about coaching and other means to improve
3. Leadership skills are not innate—they can be learned through the active pursuit of
various developmental experiences and sense-making as a result of experiencing
adversity. (p. 68)
Moreover, another basis of this study, as it examines the perceived benefits of a leader
adopting a coach-approach leadership style, is presented by Bungay (2016), who says:
So let’s look at why coaching others helps you. It lets you work less hard and have more
impact. When you build a coaching habit, you can more easily break out of three vicious
circles that plague our workplaces: creating overdependence, getting overwhelmed and
becoming disconnected. (Location Nos. 136–140)
Thus, the executives who have adopted a coach-approach leadership style are leaders who have all
the aforementioned leadership attributes in combination with the perceived benefits, as Bungay
states above.
Coaching as a Leadership Style
Chapter 5: Case Study Profile
This chapter will provide the case profile of the sales executive receiving corporate training
in management, leadership, business communication skills, and coaching. She is being coached on
how to adopt a coaching leadership style approach toward her team, director, CEO, and her
colleagues in general. The sales executive, who will be given the pseudonym Alicia Torres, to
protect her identity, has been trying to find better means of communication via coaching
methodology to improve her team’s effectiveness, communication, and ultimately, her company’s
profits. A weekly journal was kept by the trainee/coachee, and a copy was given to the corporate
trainer/coach. In addition, a 360-degree assessment was conducted, as agreed, for this leader by her
team and colleagues at the conclusion of her training to determine the progress of this executive. An
empirical investigation is being conducted via coaching and teaching methods to observe and
examine the results that such a method can produce.
Alicia is a sales manager of an international pharmaceutical company. She had been working
for the company for 15 years when, as the best sales person in her division, she was promoted to
sales manager. She has been a sales manager for 5 years now and supervises a team of four sales
representatives. Alicia reports to the sales director of the company, to whom we will give the
pseudonym JamesMiller. James manages all the sales divisions of the company and he reports
directly to the CEO of the medical sales division, to whom we will give the pseudonym, Martha
Stew. The human resources manager, whom we will call, Kelly Christa, oversees the general
movement of the employees as they are either promoted and/or change departments and/or divisions.
Also, Kelly oversees the training and development sector of her company.
Coaching as a Leadership Style
Although Alicia was an outstanding sales person, as a sales manager, she felt inadequate and
insecure. She had never worked as a manager before and never had the opportunity to become a
team leader or head of a team in the past. Consequently, Alicia requested support from her sales
director, CEO, and human resources manager, to hire an external executive coach to assist her in
improving her managerial skills, her team communication skills, her effectiveness as a sales manager
in general. She hoped through this process to achieve better team sales results and increase the
market share of her company’s products in the long run. As Alicia is a valuable executive to her
company, her request was approved and an executive coach was hired for her, on her company’s
budget. Therefore, about 6 months ago the author of this study was interviewed and hired as Alicia’s
executive trainer and coach.
Coaching as a Leadership Style
Chapter 6: Case Study Analysis
The coaching agreement with the company and Alicia was twofold. Initially, she needed to
learn basic managerial, leadership, communication, and coaching skills. At the same time, she was
being coached to see what works for her, what does not, and how and in what way(s) she can
develop and become an effective sales manager. The ultimate objective of this corporate training
program is a challenging one for Alicia, as she has to reach her full potential—100%–in the arena of
effective delegation and team management, and 90% of her potential in communication and
coaching skills. Therefore, it was agreed to design a training program consisting of two training
cycles. Each cycle is comprised of 16 business training sessions and 16 coaching sessions, then, at
the end of each business cycle, a 360-degree assessment is conducted. Alicia’s targets must be
reached by the end of her second training cycle, which will be concluded by the end of July 2017.
The first cycle began in June 2016 and was concluded at the end of October 2016, with a 360-degree
performance appraisal. The second cycle will commence in February 2017 to enable her to reach the
initial target set by both Alicia and her company. The meetings in the first cycle were conducted
both online and/or face-to-face, depending on Alicia’s and her coach’s availability, travels, and so
on. Two 90-minute weekly sessions were set up; one meeting per week was a business training
session and the second a coaching session. The curriculum taught was reviewed by and agreed upon
by all the parties involved—Alicia, James, Martha, and Kelly. The business-training curriculum
included theoretical and practical approaches of general management, team management, leadership,
coaching, emotional intelligence, business communication, and employee developmental skills.
Following is selected data from the compiled report submitted to her company:
Alicia Torres Business Training and Executive Coaching Report
This coaching report provides manager/coach with narrative about the Executive’s
managerial and/or coaching knowledge and effectiveness. It offers developmental feedback to help
the participant(s) professional development.
Sessions Objectives:
The focus of this training is business management skills and executive coaching with Alicia
Torres. Business and Coaching objectives for Alicia include enabling her to:
• Comprehend her managerial, administration style.
• Develop management and coaching skills for current and future assignments in XYZ
company
• Learn the fundamentals of emotional intelligence.
• Develop team management and team organizational skills.
• Develop specific managerial/coaching competencies in accordance with her
company’s and manager’s requirements and feedback.
• Broaden her repertoire of managerial styles in accordance with her company’s
culture, values, and policies.
Cycle A Business Topics Covered:
Management skills
• How good are your management skills?
• Team management skills
• How good are your people skills?
• Management roles
• Common management misconceptions
• Fundamentals of team emotional intelligence
Improving team effectiveness
• Building an effective team
• How does your team work together?
• Improving team effectiveness by analysing daily activity
• Team briefings
• Staying in touch with your team
• Matching tasks to interpersonal skills
• Learning what your people think
• Why rules are there. Helping people understand and enforce rules
• Building confidence in other people
Executive Coaching—Progress to Date
During the training, Alicia held weekly one-on-one business and coaching sessions for the
purpose of discussing and learning effective methods of managing and coaching her team, which
consists of four members.
The coaching objectives that have been targeted thus far have been to:
• Improve her team communication, management, and organization skills.
• Formulate and communicate the roles of each member of her team.
• Use effective delegation to improve projects, task effectiveness and team support.
• Broaden her repertoire of managerial styles, particularly a coaching style that
encourages the long-term development of direct reports
Feedback on Coaching Style
Milestones and feedback:
• Self-evaluation and personal development targets.
• The vision of her team’s role within this company.
• Team communication development and team bonding techniques
During her coaching sessions Alicia worked on her personal management skills and
completed tasks related to team development and communication. She successfully fulfilled her
tasks, which enabled her to commence a more effective communicating pattern with her sales team.
She was able to start recognizing her own roles, the roles of the members of her team, and the
responsibilities those roles entailed. This, permitted her to become a better task delegator and to
initiate managing her team and its projects in a more efficient manner. Alicia has demonstrated
motivation and willingness to try out new skills and behaviors. This was an enlightening and
promising prospect for her, as change starts to take place from within. Clemmer (1999), in his book,
Growing the Distance, says that “Albert Einstein once observed that we can’t solve a problem with
the same type of thinking that created it” (Location No. 1087). In other words, a leader cannot
influence his/her peers to change by using “the same behaviour that contributed to their current
behaviour” (Location No. 1087). Therefore, Alicia, from her training and coaching sessions, has
understood the need to change her behavior and see things differently, so as to be able to positively
influence her team’s effectiveness.
Further on, introduction to the fundamentals of emotional intelligence enabled her to
recognize her weaknesses and begin to design an action plan for her personal improvement. As Kite
and Kay (2012) say in their book, Understanding Emotional Intelligence:
Whether it’s getting on with others, reacting to situations at home or at work or simply
reflecting on life’s purpose, our emotions play a critical part in defining who we are, what we
want to achieve and our effectiveness in managing our routes to success . . . The sign of
intelligent people is their ability to control emotions by the application of reason. Maya
Mannes. (p. 40)
They continue by saying that:
Self-awareness is a requisite of personal competence. Self-awareness can be split into three
parts: emotional self-awareness, accurate self-assessment, and self-confidence. Emotional
self-awareness is acknowledging what you feel about situations and how they affect you.
Accurate self-assessment requires an examination of your own strengths and weaknesses.
Self-confidence is being sure of your own self-worth and what you are capable of achieving.
In order to be able to manage yourself, your emotions and your actions you need to know
yourself.” (pp. 40–41)
When Alicia was introduced to Emotional Intelligence (EQ) literature, and conducting coaching
sessions, she was able to comprehend her own EQ and be more open and prone to listening to her
people and her colleagues in order to increase her engagement with them and improve her team’s
communication quality.
If you are emotionally intelligent, you will be fully aware that all others may not be so. This
means that you must manage their perceptions. This involves a degree of positive
manipulation, an understanding of the psychology of effective communication and a
judicious choice of what you show and say to your audience. (Kite & Kay, 2012, p. 224)
Receiving feedback from her manager(s) and peers and direct reports from her professional
environment was an important facet of her development. Alicia, like many others, has been having
trouble with receiving “negative” or developmental feedback. Alicia discussed this issue in one of
her coaching sessions. She realized that when others gave her negative feedback, she felt
intimidated, resistant to the feedback, perceiving that she was being critiqued, judged, that they were
ungrateful toward her. She ultimately felt anger and disengagement. Clemmer, (1999) says:
Like beauty – or service, quality, honesty, or integrity – leadership is in the eye of the
beholder. I judge myself by my intentions. Others judge me by my actions. My intentions and
the actions that others see may be miles apart. Unless I know that, I am unlikely to change
my actions or try to get others to see me differently. I can become trapped in their reality and
get very frustrated when they don’t respond to me as I’d like. (Location No.1043)
This is what happened to Alicia; it hurt her to receive negative feedback and that had
negative effects on her overall performance as a manager. Once she realized that, she began to see
feedback from a different perspective and tried to listen to it, accept it, and learn from it. This was a
major step for her to see where she thought she was and what she was doing right and/or wrong, and
how others saw her and her actions.
Milestones and feedback include: the quality of her managerial/coaching ability, her personal
professional development, and business communication performance will be improved even more
when she begins the second training cycle of her corporate training program. Being exposed to
sophisticated professional material, studying case studies and relating them to her real business
settings, and formulating her knowledge and bringing it into application in her pragmatic
professional challenges, will help accelerate her progress.
Recommendations
To achieve effective managerial and coaching skills, protracted, unhindered, persistent
exposure to and application of the material and discussions with the coach are required. However,
the managerial system of an organization matters significantly. “Problems of organizational
behaviour and performance stem from a poorly designed and ineffectively managed system” (Beer,
Finnstrom, & Schrader, p. 55). Therefore, it is not enough to train and coach an employee,
“Changing that system to both support and demand new behaviours will enable learning and
improve effectiveness and performance” (p. 55). This process requires the determination of the
candidate as well. After all, it is challenging to subject oneself to a demanding organizational
environment, which consists of everlasting change, complexity, and human behavior that appears
incomprehensible at times. “So . . . The primary target for change and development is the
organization-followed by training for individuals” (p. 55).
Comprehending, being proactive, developing abilities, balancing work life with personal life,
is cumbersome: It requires constant consultation, patience, and intellectual ability. Likewise, trying
to manage people, may at many times hinder communication and the progression of projects and
tasks which can bring stress and frustration. “One powerful way to connect with your team members
is to get up and [sic] from your desk and talk to them, to work with them, to ask questions, and to
help when needed. This practice is called Management By Wandering Around, or MBWA” (Mind
Tools, 1996–2016). As with all challenges, managing and coaching people requires managerial self-
knowledge, determination, and commitment. No matter how much work is done in the coaching
sessions, if there is no self-motivated exposure to the tasks entailed, progress will inevitably stall.
The most important aspect of our work as corporate trainers and coaches is to offer the
bedrock of knowledge, plant the seed of motivation, and then keep “watering” this seed until it
blooms. That is why our sessions combine the intellectual with the instinctive: Managing and
coaching people, after all, is an intuitive thing, and should be treated as such.
Continuing coaching efforts will focus on development of other leadership competencies
such as:
• Continuation of improving peer group teamwork
• Delegating responsibility clearly
• Negotiating effectively
• Active Listening
• Behavioral change
• Briefings and meetings
The coaching can proceed after the 360-degree performance review is conducted and by reassessing
her target focus aligned with the company’s strategy and vision.
360-Degree Assessment
As aforementioned, a 360-degree performance appraisal was conducted at the end of the first
training cycle to determine if and how her business training and coaching had affected her leadership
and managerial style. The 360-degree performance evaluation form given to her colleagues can be
seen in Appendix III. Selected data from the 360-degree performance evaluation forms have been
summarized and provided in the subsequent section.
First, we must examine the benefits of 360-degree assessments. “It is becoming widely
recognized that 360-degree feedback offers several advantages over single-source assessment”
(Fleenor, 1997, p. 52). Since 360-degree assessments include feedback from a wider audience, e.g.,
colleagues, direct reports, upper level management, and so on, the perspectives vary and the result
gives a more realistic view of a person’s performance. An important benefit of multi-rater feedback
is that individuals are able to gain insight into how a particular audience evaluates their behavior and
perceives their competencies. Also, the use of this type of instrument can decrease some of the
biases and subjectivity that a single individual’s performance appraisal can generate. Fleenor and
Prince say: “Although it is true that all raters may be affected by biases, the use of more than one
perspective permits the ratings to be averaged across a number of respondents, which may provide a
truer evaluation of the focal manager’s performance” (p. 53). An additional advantage to a 360-
degree assessment is the insertion of self-assessment. Fleenor and Prince share “discrepancies
between self and others’ ratings can provide important insights about managerial and leadership
effectiveness” (p. 54). Gaining an understanding of the differences between the self-observation and
the view of the other organizational members is a vital step in identifying areas for leadership
development. Further, this data can help an individual in developing a more accurate self-
assessment, a trait of Self-Awareness – which is one of Goleman’s (2000) fundamental capabilities
of Emotional Intelligence. The feedback gathered from this assessment will prove pivotal in the
development of Alicia’s leadership and management skills and in combination with her corporate
development and coaching it will escalate her performance and improve the effectiveness of her
team.
Selected Data from Alicia Torres’ 360° Performance and Feedback Review – October 2016
Comments from direct managers and/or directors higher in the organization hierarchy:
Person A: She is passionate with her job. Will come out of her way to assist a client and/or a
colleague. She is a perfectionist and cares about the details. She is a great sales person and clients
like her a lot. She has improved her team communication skills since she began her corporate
training-coaching program. Listens more carefully and asks more clarifying questions. However, she
is too sensitive and gets very much influenced when something happens in the company. She often
thinks that everybody is talking about her or criticizing her. Sometimes I feel like she wants to be
pampered.
Person B: Alicia is very knowledgeable about her work. She has helped me in many ways
since I came to the company. Sometimes it’s hard to work with her because she ”assumes things,”
but lately she has been asking more questions before she comes to her own conclusions. Her team
meetings have improved also; they were monotonous (she would talk all the time), now she involves
her team members more into the discussions, asks more about their experiences and ideas; she
brainstorms more and tries to help her team come up with creative solutions. She has also been
trying to empower her reps more by assigning projects to them rather than her doing all the work
(she always thought she did everything better than everybody else).
Person C: Alicia has been very happy since she started her corporate training and coaching
sessions. She seems more promising and prosperous. She has all these new ideas and I think that she
believes in herself more now. She sometimes is too apologetic, though, and is very anxious of what
everybody else thinks of her. Maybe she needs to work a bit more on her people skills and start
coaching again.
Comments from direct reports lower in the organization hierarchy:
Person D: Alicia has changed a bit since she started her coaching program. She asks more
questions, she considers our ideas and gives us more responsibilities than before. I know she cares
about the company and us but sometimes I feel like she is my mother.
Person E: Our meetings have improved from being boring to a bit more interesting. I like
that she gave me a project that she always undertook, so I hope that means she trusts me more. In
general, she looks happier and it reflects when we go out to meet clients. She is such a good
saleswoman. I try to copy her style. I think we need to work more on our team bonding, but she has
been trying to engage us more.
Person F: She tries to listen to us and actually takes our ideas seriously. I thought she was
only interested in the numbers we bring to the company. She is trying to connect with us more than
before, but we have to get used to this new Alicia. It may work, I am not sure yet. I like our
brainstorming meetings because I get the chance to speak more than before and it makes me feel
more acknowledged. I can see a difference in the way she approaches us and it is for sure better now
than before.
Person G: Alicia is dynamic. She always was. She is devoted to our company and I respect
that. I know that she was promoted to sales manager because she was a star sales person. I am not
sure she has managerial knowledge but it seems to me that she is willing to learn and tries hard to
help us. I like working with her I am sure she will enhance her skills.
Comments from various colleagues and peers in the organization:
Person H: As a colleague Alicia has been polite and helpful. She has gone out of her way
many times to help others and me. Sometimes I think she says too many “yeses” to people and then
is drained and tired. Then she complains about it . . .
Person I: Alicia works in another division than me. However, we have collaborated in some
cases where our departments had joint projects. She was always willing to help and seems to be
devoted to our company. I think she is too good to others sometimes. In general, I have no problems
with her.
Person J: She complains to me sometimes that she doesn’t feel respected and acknowledged
for her efforts by her director and her CEO. It seems like she wants to gain their attention and is not
sure how. She is friendly with others and me though and is an ethical person. Change is not her best
friend and in general wants to feel secure before she goes on to something new. She seems ambitious
and I think she wants to go up the ladder.
Self-evaluation: I am a perfectionist with high standards, I am helpful with others and try to
listen more than before and delegate tasks effectively to my team. I sometimes overwork myself to
please everybody. I have passion for what I do and want to improve my business skills even more. I
believe that I have a great team and want to get out the best of them. It does seem overwhelming
sometimes. I hope I can do it.
Chapter 7: Findings
“We must be the change we wish to see in this world.”
(Clemmer, Location No. 1071)
Once the initial training cycle (cycle A) was completed and the 360-degree assessment
concluded, the literature of this study along with the weekly journals, and the 360-degree evaluation
results were studied and observed to report the findings of this research project. The primary
finding(s) was completely different from what the company, the trainee/coachee, and even the
trainer/coach had in mind when this case study commenced.
To begin with, it was observed, that although Alicia was an excellent trainee, was supported
via coaching, and was able to initiate some changes in her management and leadership style, there
were still many traits from her “old self” left to work on. She was able to change the way she once
managed her team by incorporating coaching-like approaches, like active listening, empowering her
people, asking powerful questions, giving and receiving genuine feedback, delegating effectively,
and so on. However, she continued to feel that she was criticized and not appreciated by her higher-
level executives. She still wanted to attract their attention by overworking herself in order to prove
what she was worth. She is still very sensitive to what others think of her and say about her, which
influences her ability to function efficiently, to think clearly without biases, and it lessens her
performance overall. So, although she is helpful with her people and colleagues and has gained
significant theoretical business knowledge from her initial state, via coaching, it was observed that
more needed to take place to change her leadership behavior. Thus, she was asked the following
question: “What is the major obstacle that prevents you from engaging a full, coach-like, leadership
approach behavior now that you have gained valuable business training, significant coaching
knowledge, and on-the-job live practice, of some of your new coach-like skills, and you saw that
whatever you have changed brought you success?” The answer to this question, after Alicia reflected
and thought about it a bit was: “That’s a good question! Now that I have been exposed to so much
theoretical business management, leadership, and coaching skills training, and I have seen how all
this has influenced me to improve, and without a doubt, I do believe that this is the most effective
leadership style of all that I have been exposed to in my career so far; however, it seems to be a bit
more challenging to me perhaps, maybe, because I feel that I am personally not receiving this kind
of leadership style from my peers above me. I feel as they are leading me via other
managerial/leadership styles, like a more authoritarian style or maybe as we learnt, via transactional
leadership style. I don’t feel they are there for me.”
This was the “aha” moment for Alicia. She now knew what she could do and not do. She
now knew that she needed the “same support” she was learning during her corporate training and
coaching sessions to be applied to her as well. She said that: “If I could be led under the same or
similar conditions, I feel my performance would boost so high and that it would help me, help my
team members, leverage the company’s sales results.”
According to Robbins, Judge, and Vohra (2012), Transformational leaders versus
Transactional leaders:
Inspire followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the organization and have an
extraordinary effect on their followers . . . They pay attention to the concerns and needs of
individual followers; they change followers’ awareness of issues by helping them look at old
problems in new ways; and they excite and inspire followers to put out extra effort to achieve
group goals. (p. 409)
This is exactly what Dr. Hicks (2014) argues:
Without the ability to coach, it will be impossible to demonstrate one of the core components
of transformational leadership: Individualized Consideration . . . One way in which
transformational leaders personalize their relationships is to know people as individuals; their
desires, needs, and concerns. In the process, they pay attention to each person’s needs for
achievement and growth. New learning opportunities are created to help followers reach
successively higher levels of development. Through informal conversations, which
encourages two-way communication, and by listening effectively, transformational leaders
become familiar with how people are doing and when help is needed with problem situations.
As a result, they are seen as accessible and approachable for coaching and mentoring. For the
transformational leader, showing Individualized Consideration through helping conversations
is not a passive process, but one that is proactively practiced. (p. 21)
Therefore, although we have observed through this research project that coaching, as a leadership
style, is an effective approach of leading, empowering, developing people and leveraging their
potential, for it to be realistic and prosperous, it must be applied by senior management first. Wilson
(2004), discusses how he has:
Often noticed how you can tell what the CEO is like by talking to the receptionist, no matter
how many lines of management exist in between. If the receptionist is rude to you, chances
are there is a bully at the top. Every boss is a role model, consciously or otherwise, and some
of their attitudes will inevitably be reflected by the staff.” (p. 97)
He continues to say that, “everyone can change their management style” (p. 97), toward a coaching
culture approach, as long as they are provided with the necessary tools to do so; he argues that
besides learning and understanding the principles, the techniques need to be practiced “in real work
situations in order to become fluent.” Plenty of practice is needed “with the safety net of an
instructor by one’s side” (p. 97).
Moreover, according to Beer, Finnstrom, and Derek (2016):
Senior executives and their HR teams continue to pour money into training programs, year
after year, in an effort to trigger organizational change. But what they actually need is a new
way of thinking about learning and development. Context sets the stage for success of failure,
so it’s important to attend to organizational design and managerial processes first and then
support them with individual development tools such as coaching and classroom or online
education. (p. 52)
They continue by saying that there has been research conducted with such problems as early as the
1950s:
They found that one program succeeded in changing frontline supervisors’ attitudes about
how they should manage, but a follow-up study revealed that most supervisors had then
regressed to their pre-training views. The only exceptions were those whose bosses practiced
and believed in the new leadership style the program was designed to teach. (p. 52–53)
In conclusion, as we have seen from the various literature review and case study, coaching
can have many promising aspects to help improve leadership approaches and corporate culture.
However, for these tactics to be grounded and made part of the organizational corporate culture they
must be built within the companies’ foundations, starting from the top executive layers. The senior
leaders need to begin adopting the coaching approach leadership style, practice it actively, and lead
by example. As Clemmer, said, “Leaders don’t seek to change others, but to change themselves.
They become models of change for others” (Loc. 1071). The message of this quote can have a
dyadic approach to coaching as a leadership style in correlation to Alicia’s case study. Initially, as
discussed, it can suggest that Martha (CEO), and James (sales director) comprehend their personal
leadership styles, define them, assess them for their effectiveness, and amend them where and when
necessary to reflect the executive positions they currently hold in relation to their company’s
international leadership and management value pathway, (see appendix II). Secondly, it can create a
great opportunity for Alicia to learn and adopt some additional leadership competencies, which have
principles from coaching as a leadership style, and can help her comprehend how to “lead from the
middle of an organization,” and as Maxwell (2005), states, to become a “360-Degree Leader.” In his
book, “The 360° Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization,” he argues
that individuals do not need to reach the top of an organization to lead; they can lead effectively
from the middle levels of a corporation.Alicia, seems frustrated; she even considered leaving the
organization when she realized that she was led by ineffective leaders. Nonetheless, Alicia can
increase her chances of making a difference in her company and maybe even influence her leaders
above her by utilizing her new leaderships skills, acquired form her corporate training, by
employing Maxwell’s nine principles of leading−up. Maxwell claims:
Influencing your leader isn’t something you can make happen in a day. In fact, since you
have no control over the people above you on the organizational chart, they may refuse to be
influenced by you or anyone under their authority. So there’s a possibility that you may never
be able to lead up with them. But you can greatly increase the odds of success if you practice
the principles . . . Your underlying strategy should be to support your leader, add value to the
organization, and distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack by doing your work with
excellence. If you do these things consistently, then in time the leader above you may learn to
trust you, rely on you, and look to you for advice. With each step, your influence will
increase, and you will have more and more opportunities to lead up. (p. 83)
According to Maxwell, the nine principles 360−degree leaders need to lead up, are:
1. Lead yourself exceptionally well.
2. Lighten your leader’s load.
3. Be willing to do what others won’t.
4. Do more than manage−lead!
5. Invest in relational chemistry.
6. Be prepared every time you take your leader’s time.
7. Know when to push and when to back off.
8. Become a go-to player.
9. Be better tomorrow than you are today. (p.157)
The international corporate realm has witnessed many cases like Alicia’s, Manfred F. R. Kets de
Vries (2016), in his article, “Managing Yourself: Do You Hate Your Boss?” says that Stacy, who
worked at a top tech company, loved her job,
Until her boss left for another firm. The new manager, Peter, seemed to dislike pretty much
everyone on the team he had inherited . . . He was aloof, prone to micromanaging, and apt to
write off any project that wasn’t his brainchild.” (p. 98)
Stacy was not able to escape the situation with Peter, which made her feel “stressed, depressed, and
increasingly unable to do good work. She worried that the only way out was to leave the company
she loved” (p. 98). Thus, Stacy and Alicia both viewed their situations as an anathema, which
unfortunately, is not uncommon. Kets de Vries (2016), states that a recent study conducted by
Gallup, “State of the Global Workplace,” found that “half of all employees in the United States have
quit jobs at some point in their careers in order to get away from their bosses” (p. 98). Kets de Vries
gives several opinions on how this predicament can be confronted. In one of his views he says that
the preliminary approach is practicing empathy and considering “the external pressures your
manager is under . . . Most bad bosses are not inherently bad people; they’re good people with
weaknesses that can be exacerbated by the pressure to lead and deliver results” (p. 99). He believes
that empathy can create a significant shift “in difficult boss-subordinate relationships, and not just as
a top-down phenomenon” (p. 99). He discusses the importance “of emotional intelligence to manage
up,” and argues that, “Neuroscience also suggests that it’s an effective strategy, since mirror neurons
in the human brain naturally prompt people to reciprocate behaviors” (p. 99). Hence, he concludes
by saying that if employees work on understanding and empathizing with their managers, it is likely
that they will begin mimicking their empathizing behavior. This behavioral modification can have
tremendous beneficial effects on all organizational stuff.
Consequently, for coaching as a leadership style to be implemented successfully, it must be
embodied within the roots of the corporation itself and spread its seeds from its “head” to its “toes”;
and as Maxwell discusses, from the middle of the organization to the top. Moreover, extending
Maxwell’s premise, change might also occur from the “toes” of the organization to its “head”, not
just from the middle. This way, the results can be concrete, supported, sustained, and applied as part
of its organizational strategy, culture, and leadership value pathway by all its organizational
members.
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on Education.
Appendix I. Medical Division Organizational Chart
Appendix II: Overall Managerial and Leadership Ideology of the Organization
The company has a common international leadership and management value pathway. This
company trains its executives and managers to lead with the following values and mindset. Some of
its main values and attributes of leading include:
• Committed to a promising future
• Being open to new learnings and help others learn
• Bring results
• Empower and develop others
• Accountability
• Self assessment
• Respect & honesty
• Commitment to goals
• Leading as a coach
• Listening generously
• Action and feedback
• Move forward
• Overcoming barriers
• Engaging others
