The Big Conversation
Here at the-Coaching Blog-run by Gerard O’Donovan, our aim is to constantly bring value to those seeking to improve their lives. Therefore we have a policy of publishing articles and materials by guest authors whom we value and appreciate. Today’s guest author is David Finney.
Some businesses base their operations around ‘processes’ whereas others base them around ‘departments’. The risk with the departmental approach is that teams operate with physical or virtual walls around them and miss out on opportunities for mutual learning and collaboration. A good example of this is HR and Quality which — especially in larger corporations — tend to sit in opposite corners of the company and are rarely seen in the same meetings. What this article sets out to do is demonstrate just how much they have in common.
In HR there are Coaches and in Quality there are Auditors. Both parties employ a non-directive approach with the instinct and ability to effectively lead conversations with questions and trigger improvement across the organisation. Each has the privilege to be legitimately curious about the activities of other departments. Auditors check ‘quality’ (the extent to which client and other requirements are being met) and coaches tend to focus on ‘performance’ (individual contributions to the company’s overall ability to achieve customer satisfaction). As quality is directly affected by performance here lies a golden opportunity for them to meet for coffee a little more often than they have done in the past.
There are two key risks in auditing: i) rushing an auditee into producing half-baked corrective action plans and ii) helping the auditee with that action plan; this latter risk not only means they may take responsibility away from the area manager but they may also end up auditing their own work which breaks one of the rules of auditing. A good coach knows how to facilitate the exploration of options (before finalising action plans) and is adept at encouraging ownership of action plans produced from coaching sessions.
A key risk in coaching is propelling a coachee forward along an action plan based on a superficial assessment of the issues where only the surface has been scratched; this will inevitably lead to the same problem recurring in the future. A good auditor knows how to identify the root cause and prompt managers to produce effective corrective action plans that will prevent recurrence of the identified issues. In summary, each has the skills to mitigate each other’s risk. How much more powerful might it be if coaches could audit and auditors could coach?
In spite of their curious nature coaches and auditors both appreciate two important rules: 1) the need to maintain an appropriate culture of privacy when ‘issues’ occur and 2) the need to remain impartial. These are disciplines that would help to cement their partnership. There is a big risk they both share and that is the temptation to give advice, to fix the problems of others. Mitigating action? Tame the ego!
Managers are always on the lookout for ways to motivate their teams to perform at higher levels. Some use the excitement of the goal, some illustrate fear of the consequences, while others encourage individuals to take on special projects to ignite their inner passion. Businesses tend to hire coaches to address performance and auditors to address quality. Within the disciplines of coaching and auditing there is an intrinsic drive for improvement and feeling an inner sense of this becomes in itself a strong self-motivator. The potential marriage of these disciplines is massive.
Business Leaders know that they must do more than network with clients and deliver inspiring team talks; they must make a meaningful contribution to the effectiveness of their organisation in its quest to deliver a premium service to clients. One contribution could be to bring quality and performance together by getting these two corporate lynchpins to cross the divide, form a powerful new alliance and take part in the big conversation, the conversation where HR and Quality come together to effectively coach performance and reach new heights of quality.
Credit Source:
David Finney established The Energy of Conversation in 2008 and now trains professionals in performance coaching and quality auditing skills. www.TheEnergyofConversation.co.uk
