19
Coaching
Main feature
CASE STUDY:
“Potential coaches went through an
coaching culture, the sergeant will reply
intense interview process. Line managers
with a question, ‘What do you think
had to sign to release the individuals. We
we should cover?’, and the individual
needed buy-in from senior management
will think about it and then give their
The Metropolitan too; we didn’t want coaching to
answer, possibly even covering areas
Police
degenerate into cosy chats. So we decided
that the sergeant might not have initially
to have a programme that coached for
considered. I call them solution-focused
With responsibility for coaching, both private goals and professional goals. pre-supposition questions – a question can
mentoring and action learning at the motivate someone, or it can kill a spirit.
Metropolitan Police Leadership Academy, “Professionals goals are discussed with If you’re involved and feel engaged, and
Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Keddy line managers prior to a coaching session you’ve got a clear purpose then you will
has been establishing coaching in the but line managers do not coach their own probably go one step further.”
Metropolitan Police for over three years. direct-line reports – they may use coaching
The programme is now on the third skills to run teams but we match the coach The main challenge for Jackie was to
cohort of coaches, and in the process to the coachee from a different borough ensure that it was pitched right, to get
of producing a one-day module on or unit so they don’t know each other. manager buy-in: “We had to show people
coaching skills to some 550 members We find that works better as it could be it was a developmental opportunity.
of the force. Initially she worked on the manager that needs to be discussed Coaching used to have a stigma attached
a coaching pilot, which was hugely during the coaching. It’s quite a unique to it, so I felt it could have been seen as
successful but required vast amounts of programme really and I think that’s why it a remedial tool,” says Jackie. The way in
time and patience. The programme has works so well. which coaching is pitched could make
been rolled out, and now has some 70 or break its introduction, but within the
coaches and 100 coachees. “In our culture it’s about command and Met it seems to have worked out well:
control, however with coaching you can
“Now you’ll see people in Scotland Yard
“It may be small compared to numbers still coach and be directive. There are announcing proudly that they’re off to
in the organisation (60,000),” says several strands to the Leadership Academy their coaching session.”
Jackie, “but it proves that you really do and coaching is a touch-stone that
need to start small to go big. We began underpins leadership. It’s not a bolt-on – it Jackie believes that for the Met
with a pilot of 12 coaches, which we underpins all the leadership programmes. “coaching will never fail because our
ran with three boroughs, so we trained Coaching is literally conversing – people want it,” however she admits
those 12 coaches with 36 coachees. The communication to get a job done. We establishing the process has “been like
pilot was evaluated robustly, comparing have lots of different programmes running going up a mountain on a pair of roller
it to another unit and looking at targets like ‘First 100 days’; when someone is
skates at times!”
and performance rates, so that my senior promoted they get an email invitation to
managers could make a well-informed be coached for the initial period, which
For more details on using questions in
decision as to whether coaching would helps them feel supported and motivated.
coaching, see the box (page 21) on the
fit our organisation. Often in those first 100 days in any new
Power of Questions by Scott Bradbury’s
role it’s the sink or swim feeling – and
Director, Hugh Murray.
“We designed a programme using a they’ve literally jumped at the chance to
hybrid approach, taking what really do the programme!”
worked and then tweaking it to fit
the needs of our managers and leaders. Jackie understands that key to
I don’t think you can use a sheep-dip coaching is the process of
approach for launching a coaching questioning: “Leaders
programme. We held focus groups here used to be the ones
with those involved to work out what who had all the right
was working. answers. Now a true
transformational leader
“There were already pockets of can ask the right questions
excellence in the Met – we had a to inspire individuals to find
number of coaches out there so we the solution themselves. Previously,
made sure that they were utilised a police officer might have asked his
and given training to bring them in line sergeant, ‘What shall I cover at the press
with the Academy of Leadership’s briefing today?’, and his boss might have
coaching. reeled off a list of issues, but in today’s
Learning Magazine
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