In an age where we all like to be treated like adults, where ‘generation z’ feel less comfortable with being told what to do, where endless budgets for external coaching are slashed, and the era of ‘command and control’ leadership is waning to say the least, the value of developing Professional Coaching capability within organisations is of vital importance.

So how can you create ‘internal coaches’, develop the ‘coaching leadership’ capability to a recognised Professional standard, or approach culture change programmes for your organisation in a way that feels aligned to your organisation’s ambitions and values, whilst also being cost effective and sustainable? Where do you begin? And how can you learn from organisations who have already implemented successful programmes with great impact and proven return on investment?

At Matthew Radley & Associates we are extremely proud of our partnership with the EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council): https://www.emccouncil.org. The EMCC have conferred the European Quality Award on all of our Executive Coaching Programmes, and have accredited our ‘Coaching with Confidence’ Training Programme to include the European Individual Accreditation Professional qualification at Level 5. This means that every delegate we take through the programme will be able to celebrate their achievement with an externally recognised award.

‘Coaching with Confidence’ https://www.matthewradley.co.uk/coaching-with-confidence consists of 5 Modules, each 1 day in duration and usually scheduled a month apart, providing a challenging programme spanning 16 weeks. It is designed around a set of ‘Coaching with Confidence Core Competencies’ and includes the latest thinking in Solution Focused Coaching, Positive Psychology and Neuroscience. It is supported by an integrated programme of practice & experimentation, reading and self-reflection and culminates in an assessment of coaching skills; this ensures the practical application of the skills developed. All delegates also receive annual membership to the EMCC giving them access to ongoing Continuous Professional Development, resources, accessibility to a professional peer network, and opportunities to progress further with their Professional Coaching qualifications. The programme is delivered by Post Graduate qualified coaches only.

“This programme has been skilfully designed, and the quality of staff deployed is excellent” (International Assessor on behalf of the EMCC)

Organisations tend to use our ‘Coaching with Confidence’ training programme in one of three ways:

1. To develop Professionally accredited internal coaches
2. To increase Coaching Leadership capability for Managers, Leaders and Executives
3. To act as a catalyst for organisation-wide culture change

Let’s take a look at each of these in turn……

1. To develop Professionally accredited internal coaches

The National Trust, Central England Co-operative, Specsavers, and Shell, along with numerous schools and Academies, have all selected our ‘Coaching with Confidence’ Training Programme to build their internal coaching capability. We have supported these organisations from an initial diagnostic, through to the robust selection of delegates, the training and formal accreditation experience, as well as ongoing Professional Supervision to ensure sustainability and quality standards of coach delivery are maintained. Each of these organisations has gone on to use their qualified and talented pools of coaches differently, with each confidently reporting the significant impact the programme has had. From online internal coach application processes, to supporting high-potential leaders of the future, to supporting wellbeing agendas, everyone has ensured that their investment has been utilised for the benefit of their workforce. So much to be celebrated here!

How confident are you with your current approach to developing and supervising your internal coaches?

2. To increase Coaching Leadership capability for Managers, Leaders and Executives

Wilko, Boots, London Energy, MatchesFashion, to name a few, are consciously developing the Coaching Leadership capability within their organisations, understanding the value gained from supporting leaders to engage with their workforce in an adult/adult, empowering, and insight-led manner. The comprehensive suite of tools in the ‘Coaching with Confidence’ Training Programme have been designed to support development of the following Coaching Leadership competencies:

• ‘Demonstrating self-awareness’
• ‘Building trust and rapport’
• ‘Focused listening’
• ‘Asking powerful coaching questions’
• ‘Championing others’
• ‘Giving and receiving effective feedback and challenge’
• ‘Setting goals and reviewing progress’, and
• ‘Commitment to learning and self-development’

Employee survey results are an effective way to monitor the shift in scores received by leaders undertaking this programme – and we have some very impressive results to share!

How competent are your leaders in these critical behaviours?

3. To act as a catalyst for organisation-wide culture change

A number of organisations have contracted with Matthew Radley & Associates to support their culture change ambitions using the ‘Coaching with Confidence’ Training Programme as the starting point. One in particular stands out as having truly embraced the opportunity, creating a culture change programme for all of its board, leaders, employees and associates. The organisation chose to take the whole board and its senior leaders on the journey, developing new skills and competencies to support their individual and collective leadership capability, and also selecting specific tools, models and approaches from the course materials to embed wider in the organisation, ensuring everyone was involved in creating the new ways of working. The outcome was fascinating to observe! A new ‘purpose’ was written, new ‘behaviours’ agreed, new approaches to employee/associate engagement created, new development tools designed, and a fundamental mindset shift from Parent-Child to Adult-Adult embedded. This took ‘return on investment’ to a whole other level!

How much would your organisation gain from developing a culture based on the ethos of coaching?

So, if you are interested in learning more about any of the clients listed above we are very happy to share their stories with you. Most of the clients have also agreed to share their learning with prospective new clients and are happy to talk to you about their experiences. Just let us know that you are interested and we’ll introduce you to one another. Enjoy connecting, sharing, developing your network, and broadening your understanding of how ‘Coaching with Confidence’ can support your organisation – there’s so much more to Professional Coaching…..