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Understanding collegial coaching
Central to the theme of collegial coaching is that anyone within the organisation can coach anyone. This is contrary to traditional forms of coaching where the coach is usually someone professionally certified, senior and probably external to the organisation. My interaction with professional executive coaches and clients alike tells me that there is a growing trend for senior executives to be coached. But to be coached by just about anyone from your organisation? Maybe not as common.
On top of the benefits of traditional coaching, collegial coaching allows for more self-awareness among team members, and it shortens feedback cycles. More importantly, it builds relationships and trust, and strengthen the culture we had built using Emergenetics – one that is inclusive and harnesses diversity. Also, collegial coaching cultivates a greater sense of ownership, by encouraging accountability towards the team results.
How did it start?
Just last year, Deputy CEO Colin, and myself were introduced the ‘Heart of Coaching’ course. After attending the 2-day course, we found the concept of collegial coaching very refreshing and in line with our core values and organisational philosophy, and decided to implement it within our company.
As with any new initiative, Colin and I knew that we needed to give it leadership emphasis for it to work within the organisation. Firstly, we needed to equip everyone with the basic skillset of collegial coaching. So, we arranged for quarterly training sessions to be conducted by Ng Choon Seng, who is not only an Emergenetics Associate, but also a Certified Professional Facilitator with the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) and an experienced trainer in this area.
Next, we knew it would take time and effort to form a coaching habit and to integrate this into our existing culture – even though ours is already one that is open to learning. To achieve this, we formed coaching pairs to practise the coaching skills acquired on a regular basis. The management also intentionally invited junior members of the team to be our coaches, to demonstrate our commitment towards creating an open coaching culture within the team.
