Introduction
In this month’s article we investigate the findings of a recent piece of research by Dr. Daryll Hull and Vivienne Read entitled, “Simply the Beast Workplaces in Australia”. This research highlights the factors that govern excellence in Australian businesses and reinforces the importance of coaching in driving a high performance culture.
Hull and Read have identified 15 significant factors that differentiate excellent workplaces from generally good workplaces around the country. Although further research is required in order to determine their relative importance, one key driver stands out as the most important: Quality working relationships. In their research Hull and Read discovered that this key driver is in turn heavily influenced by three variables:
- Workplace leadership
- Communicating clear values
- Having a say
In this article we take an in-depth look at the importance of quality working relationships and investigate how coaching can be employed to develop and support them.
Quality Working Relationships
Hull and Read found that what mattered most in the defining of good quality working relationships were the key dimensions of trust, respect, self-worth and recognition. The authors found that in excellent workplaces there was an overwhelming atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. They concluded that in order to produce quality work in Australia, high quality working relationships are key. This is especially critical within industries having high levels of uncertainty, demanding skill requirements and turbulent markets.
Coaching involves inspiring people to engage a compelling vision of excellence by increasing their sense of self-responsibility and promoting a sense of ownership for their performance. This is achieved by firstly making people aware of the factors that determine their performance and then assisting them to unlock their natural abilities in pursuit of excellence.
In this type of environment, people develop higher quality relationships based on a high degree of trust. This trust stems from an open dialogue regarding their performance combined with genuine and active support for their development. It is not surprising then that the first major study to quantify the business impact of executive coaching revealed the following relationship improvements:
- Working relationships with direct reports (reported by 77% of executives)
- Working relationships with immediate supervisors (71% of executives)
- Teamwork (67% of executives)
- Working relationships with peers (63% of executives)
Workplace Leadership
Hull and Read discovered that workplace leadership style – “how the immediate supervisor, team leader, manager or coordinator presented himself or herself” – exerts a significant impact in the defining of high quality work relationships within Australia. The authors found that “…staff highly valued those leaders who behaved as a captain/coach…”.
When the participants of the research were asked to define the “coach” style of leadership it is not surprising that their answers mirrored what the International Coach Federation has found to be the most significant factors of being a good coach:
- Providing support but not getting in the way
- Adapting one’s approach to suit the different needs of staff
- Helping out when there was a crisis
- Allowing trialling and learning during non-crisis periods
- Being available and physical accessibility
Recently, Leadership Management Australia conducted a study entitled, “Leadership Employment and Direction Survey”, which reached similar conclusions regarding the factors that define high quality and respected leadership style:
- Being entrusted with responsibility/independence
- Interesting and challenging work
- A good relationship
- Receiving feedback and good communication
- Good relationships with other staff
Thus it is clear that the Australian workforce views a “coach approach” to leadership as significant in creating a culture of excellence.
Communicating Clear Values
When researching the elements that define quality leadership, Hull and Read found that the quality of leadership is “directly related and dependant on the effective communication of clear and concise values”. In addition, the values themselves were a significant factor in the creation of quality of working relationships.
When a company’s core values are truly exhibited within its culture and clearly communicated throughout the organisation, a common perspective through which to view and solve problems is available. This enables all of an organisation’s people to have an insight into the best way to solve problems and make decisions. For example, if a manager is not available and their staff are required to make a decision, Hull and Read found that, “a shared understanding of the core values of the business provides the basis for making those decisions”. In addition, a corporate culture in which staff feel supported by their managers results in an increased sense of confidence among staff, which further solidifies commitments to excellence.
Hull and Read also discovered that without exception, all people interviewed and surveyed during their research felt that a core component of workplace excellence was the fact that their companys’ values were more than just words in a mission statement, rather the organizations, “really do practice what they preach”.
The Confidence to Have a Say
Clearly, excellent workplaces must have well qualified and competent workers and a culture where workers continually hone and improve their skills.
Hull and Read found that excellent workplaces were typified by cultures that encouraged and supported workers to seek out learning opportunities and to improve their skill sets. This in turn created individuals who were not only more knowledgeable but were experts regarding their work processes and were confident to comment on them.
In excellent workplaces, people do not offer their opinions solely to “hear the sound of their own voice”; rather they seek to add value to their work. As Hull and Read found, cultures where employees are free to have their say, “…allows individuals to have some autonomy in their own work processes”. This autonomy further reinforces one’s ownership for their performance and mirrors the fundamental goals of coaching.
Conclusion
As stated at the beginning of this discussion, coaching promotes a sense of ownership for performance and supports people to develop and achieve. Hull and Read’s most recent research provides powerful evidence to suggest that the benefits of coaching strongly correlate to the criteria that set Australia’s best workplaces apart from the norm.
If you would like more information regarding the potential benefits of coaching for your organisation please contact one of our consultants.
