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Women & Leadership Australia eNewsletterFebruary 2010 |
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Coaching advice that will make you shineDespite your best efforts, it can be hard reigniting a career that’s fallen flat, write Gina McCredie (Principal Consultant) and Paul Clifford (Senior Consultant) of the National Leadership Institute.
Time pressures have never been a stranger to women. When adages expose an underlying truth, it’s hard to ignore the saying that indeed, a woman’s work is never done. It’s a truth that has become, if anything, more explicit in recent decades. Global forces, both historical and economic, have equally compounded those pressures. In the workplace, coaching has proved its weight as a tool in helping women manage both their own and others’ expectations. The 1990s was a decade when the business world decided to raise the bar and expect more out of its constituencies. Economic rationalism became the catchcry as senior executives demanded greater productivity from fewer resources. Greater expectation was placed on the employee to work harder and smarter. For many this was a daunting proposition. At the same time the marketing industry was becoming more sophisticated and relentless. Over the past 20 years it has exerted its pressure on women through a number of channels and with some key themes. Two stand out: ‘you can have it all’ and ‘you deserve it’. These messages acutely tapped in to women’s psyche. Whilst the ‘you deserve it’ message may be a positive one (putting aside the motives of the marketing executives who used it to sell products women didn’t need) the ‘you can have it all’ created pressure to achieve what many would consider unrealistic. Women felt the pressure to make a significant contribution at work whilst maintaining their role as the pivotal carer of their children and somehow still have time to be involved in a host of other activities. These pressures were added to the ongoing struggle of women to be recognised as leaders in organisations. The question became ‘How could women respond to greater expectations, realise their full potential and break through the barriers that prevented many from attaining deserved leadership roles’. Coaching became a vehicle of choice. Workplace coaching has not been the exclusive domain of women. However, women have used it as a means of reigniting a career that, for reasons seemingly unknown, had reached a stalemate despite their best efforts. Workplace coaches are seen as a great opportunity to work with someone who can focus wholly and solely on ‘my career’ and ‘my professional development’. When used well it can be a catalyst for significant breakthroughs. Worthwhile workplace coaching focuses on the achievement of specific career based goals. It is a journey where the coach and the coachee have an active role in looking objectively at data related to the issue or issues at hand and determining strategies to achieve the defined goals. Coaching has a purpose, goals and timelines. It’s not counselling or mentoring. It’s a process that demands participation and decision-making from both parties, action by the coachee and time for disciplined evaluation of outcomes. It works when the coachee is motivated and when there is a connection between the parties. Women can use workplace coaches to provide an objective analysis of their careers, identifying evidence the coachee may have ignored. The coach can help transform unrealistic coachee expectations into realistic yet aspirational goals and identify ways the coachee can push through obstacles that seemed impenetrable. Coaches provide a sounding board that facilitates the blossoming of ideas and a safe forum to trial strategies, enhancing the coachee’s chances of successful implementation. They focus the coachee on a goal and a timeline when ordinarily the coachee may have tackled their issues in an unstructured, uncoordinated and undisciplined way. Significantly, coaches can assist women in developing strategies to eliminate roadblocks to promotion and career progression. This could involve developing strategies to develop better networks, receive recognition of achievements and dismantle barriers to flexible workplace practices. Coaching is ultimately effective when the coachee’s performance in the workplace is, as a result of coaching, significantly better than if the coachee tackled their issues alone. For women seeking an honest examination of their career and the establishment of realistic yet aspirational goals as a way of realising their full potential and working smarter in a highly pressurised twenty first century, coaching can be an invaluable catalyst for success.
The National Leadership Institute’s consulting services includes both individual and team coaching. For more information, contact Gina McCredie or Paul Clifford at the National Leadership Institute:
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