Why it’s time to democratise leadership development
For decades now, thought leadership worldwide has recognised the ever increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) facing individuals. 2020 was perhaps the most stark example of this to date.
Because of its effectiveness, coaching has frequently been utilised to support leaders in navigating the novel challenges they face, and it certainly is an invaluable component in a leadership development programme. However, if we’re to successfully adapt to our increasingly VUCA world, coaching cannot be restricted to the C-suite. In these rapidly shifting times, we need a leadership development strategy that is equally dynamic and capable of transforming not just one leader, but whole organisations. It’s time to democratise leadership development.
In the past, many organisations have been reluctant to invest in coaching for anyone other than the most senior tiers or those deemed to have the highest potential. That’s understandable, since the way coaching’s traditionally been delivered has been inefficient and required a significant investment of time and money. But ultimately this has restricted the widespread use of this impactful intervention.
Let’s take a step back and ask: why has coaching historically been restricted to the top teams?
Firstly, there’s the prevailing attitude that only executives actually need it or will provide a return on investment (ROI). However, realistically, with the rise in unprecedented management and organisational challenges, it’s not enough to invest in leadership at the top and neglect everyone else.
To adapt, we need to be growing the talent in every corner and every level of the organisation. Research has consistently shown that this multilevel approach to coaching leads to positive ripple effects across organisations. [1] Democratised coaching interventions continuously “nudge the system” of the broader organisation. Facilitating growth on an individual level leads to wider organisational transformation.
It is the organisations adopting company-wide development programmes that best equip their leaders for the complexities of today.
Which brings us to a second prevalent belief that’s limited who gets access to coaching and that is, “yes, we’d love to coach everyone but we simply can’t manage the logistics!”
It’s true that the roll-out of traditional coaching programmes, where one coach is hired at a time, to coach one person at a time, for a limited time, often involve a lot of upfront time and resources.
There are internal approval processes and budget sign-offs, coach searches, proposal reviews, “chemistry check” meetings to find a coach who clicks with the coachee, physical logistics, administrative logistics…. and you repeat this exhausting process each time someone needs a coach!
It’s time to innovate this old model so that leadership development keeps pace with our changing world.
That’s why we developed our democratised coaching programme: an open access model that enables people at any level in the organisation to opt in and use it as a springboard for their growth.
Delivered as a monthly subscription service, it's far more efficient, requiring only one approval process for anyone in the organisation to participate. Other advantages such as online scheduling, and empowering individuals to choose their preferred coach from a curated group of certified, developmental coaching experts, further improve upon the old model. As a result, our client case studies indicate organisations using this democratised model experience a more than 70 percent reduction in their programme overhead costs. [2]
But it’s not just about efficiency.
Our research has also shown marked organisational and employee benefits from democratised programmes, ranging from increased employee engagement (even when organisations were going through restructures), decreased performance management issues, increased agility and heightened employee performance.
So through democratised coaching, organisations can have the traditional benefits of coaching in a way that not only shapes the top team, but transforms the organisation as a whole.
This dynamic new model recognises that if change is constant, then our leadership development needs to be, too.
It’s a fresh approach suited to our ever more complex future.
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