Successful leaders are the driving force behind charities. They set the vision, inspire teams and manage the organisation through its challenges. It is essential, therefore, that we develop their skills and provide the support needed for each person to thrive, making their difference sustainably.
As a One of Many™ certified leadership coach and trainer, I know the powerful impact coaching can have for people to manage overwhelm, change, confidence, relationships and returning to work. It was for this reason that while I was Director of Fundraising and Communication at the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) I started a conversation internally with senior leaders, about how coaching could help support the implementation of MHFs new organisational and people strategy.
These conversations led to piloting a one-to-one coaching programme with 92% of participants saying they would recommend coaching to a colleague.
Read on to find out why the programme was launched, how assessed its effectiveness and shares some keys to good leadership.
As part of our 2018 Staff Survey, the following statements received the lowest satisfaction scores:
- I believe there are opportunities for career development within MHF;
- I believe that continuous learning and improvement is an important part of MHF culture;
- Change is managed effectively in MHF;
I knew from my own experience as a senior leader, as well as a coach, that it is hard to manage others effectively if you can’t manage yourself. Effective leaders must be able to regulate their time, attention and emotions, while remaining aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Exceptional leaders are adept at handling stress while balancing their personal and professional lives.
Based on the needs of the organisation the MHF leadership team agreed that this was a great time to pilot a coaching programme within the organisation, to support our staff through change and to provide a space for powerful conversations about development, wellbeing and other leadership challenges.
Coaching provides a dedicated space for participants to explore challenges in a safe and supported way. We offered a pilot cohort of 21 people six 1-hour one-to-one sessions, focussing on an area identified by each participant. The sessions ran over a 3-month period.
To understand if the pilot programme had achieved projected outcomes, and to inform an MHF decision on whether to roll the programme out across the organisation, an in-house question-based evaluation was undertaken with participants of the pilot programme. The findings showed:
- All respondents felt that their objectives/intentions set at the start of the coaching were met ‘reasonably well’ to ‘extremely well’ by the coaching programme;
- 92% of the respondents said that they would recommend the coaching programme to a colleague;
The evaluation also included helpful feedback on how the programme could be improved. This primarily focussed on the pre-coaching information and engagement process.
The evaluation included written feedback from participants. One participant commented that:
“Working with a coach has had a really positive impact on my personal and professional life. I learned how to tap into skills and techniques I didn’t have the confidence to access before. I feel far more able to ask for what I need in situations, including saying no if I need to, and recognising and valuing my worth and contribution“
MHF leadership saw the value in the programme: MHF CEO, Mark Rowland had this to say – ‘2020 was a year of change for MHF with the launch of a new five-year strategy, shifting to work from home and pivoting programmes online due to Covid-19, I was keen to introduce this coaching programme to help our people deal with these challenges with confidence and demonstrated how we valued them. I am excited that we are now rolling this out across the charity.’
In providing the space of coaching for leaders and managers, MHF was sending a clear signal about its commitment to its people’s development and wellbeing, aligning strongly with the organisational value of ‘Walking our talk’. The programme was communicated both internally through staff email, meetings and the intranet, as well as externally, through our website and social media channels to support MHF as a good place to work
Keys to good leadership
When considering how to ensure energy and effectiveness as a leader here are some of the building blocks I have observed and believe are keys to good leadership – this is not an exhaustive list but a start, as you develop your own leadership style and approach:
- Hold a clear vision – successful leaders are the driving force behind charities they hold the vision, champion the strategy, inspire teams and manage the organisation through its challenges. Rallying your team to work hard to drive your strategy and vision starts with clarity on their own measurable goals, and how these contribute to the overall organisational strategy.
- Self-awareness – developing ability to regulate your time, attention, and emotions. Focusing on balancing your personal and professional lives through development of good support network (more on this later) and space to reflect which is something coaching can really help create.
- Bridging rituals – finding small ‘rituals’ to smoothly transition between the different energy flows of work and home, that form part of how we balance our lives. This could be a quick shake of the hands before you enter home to flick away the day, or taking time to make a lovely cup of fresh coffee (or tea) when you first arrive in the office.
- Personal needs – self-care is not selfish; you can’t serve from an empty vessel. Prioritise activities that energise you, both at work and at home, and actively manage your personal wellbeing resources to avoid dipping into reserves. Ensure you get enough of your basic needs of food, water, sleep, and exercise are a good, but often neglected place to start.
- Boundaries – taking care of your needs also means being comfortable with saying no, setting and maintaining boundaries. Ask yourself these three questions and reflect on what actions you may need to take right now: Where might you need to set some boundaries, so don’t dip into reserves? Do you feel comfortable creating the space you need to rest and replenish? and How could you give yourself more time, and who would you need to talk to make that happen?
- Support network – who can support you in your role and develop your career. Write a list of people in your life who (if you asked them) could provide practical help, advice, mentoring, hold you accountable, sponsor to help you progress, be your work buddy or provide emotional support. Are there areas where you do not have someone to talk to? Take time to focus on finding some support in these areas.
- Delegate effectively – as a leader, delegating is important because you can’t—and shouldn’t—do everything yourself. Delegating empowers your team, builds trust, and assists with professional development. Here is a simple process for delegating effectively – make sure have full attention of person; be clear on what you require; clear on why need this task completed; give or ask for deadline; check fully understood; iron out concerns and most importantly schedule a follow-up.
If you would like to talk to me about how investing in yourself through coaching can support good leadership its [email protected] or book a Discovery Call (it pops in 45 minutes so have time together and time for you to reflect on next steps).