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Case studies

• A Coach-Mentoring Programme for Professional Musicians at the Firebird Trust
  
• Business Development Coaching at Ernst & Young
  
• A Womans Coaching Programme at the Greater London Authority
  

A Coach-Mentoring Programme for Professional Musicians at the Firebird Trust

Background

The Firebird Trust is a developmental music organisation which was founded in 1984 and has charitable status. Much of its current activity is focused, not on formal performance, but on work in the community. Professional musicians, across a wide spectrum of styles, work with communities, schools or groups in prison in a collaborative way on an ongoing basis. There is an increasing demand for such services in the community, but a shortage of musicians with the necessary facilitation/workshop skills. At present some 20 freelance musicians are linked with Firebird and earn at least part of their living in this way.

In 2003 the Firebird Trust received a Regional Arts Lottery Programme grant to set up a continuing professional programme for musicians who live in the East Midlands. The aim was to assist musicians with high quality technical proficiency and to develop the necessary workshop and facilitation skills. It is a pilot scheme that is being monitored and evaluated and, subject to funding, may be expanded in the future.

Supporting individual personal development

A number of coach mentors were recruited through public advertisement. Their role is to operate as enablers and facilitators of learning rather than instructors or imparters of knowledge. A two-hour one-to-one session between coach and musician is held every month; the format is principally face-to-face, backed up by telephone or email depending on the learner's preferences. These sessions provide an opportunity for the musicians to reflect on their practice, explore new ideas, and develop not only their skills in workshop facilitation but also their skills in learning. Above all, as Sibyl Burgess, the Trust's Director puts it 'it's a chance for artists to have some individual attention'. Many of the musicians work from home and are isolated from peer group support; some are undergoing career changes and for them the workshop is a new way of working.

A quarterly meeting of all coaches and participating musicians is held to give all involved an opportunity to share experiences and generate ideas. Formal training opportunities are available should participating musicians request them. However, the nature of the learning needs means that a structured programme based on individual coach mentoring is the most appropriate way of supporting individual personal development.

Business Development Coaching at Ernst & Young

Background

Ernst & Young is one of the world's big four accountancy firms. It has over 100,000 staff worldwide and 7,200 staff in the UK - of whom 430 are partners. They deliver a variety of audit, tax and risk management services to a range of large and small, public and private sector organisations including many FTSE 100 companies.

The firm operates in an increasingly competitive environment and there is a need to develop business relationships by extending the services delivered to existing clients and to win business with new clients. Significant changes in the policy environment are driving this requirement for effective business development. In the 10 years since the introduction of a programme for business development, several changes in approach have been made, and in order to meet the still changing demands of the business, more will be made in the future.

Simply being a company's auditor will no longer generate additional business. The introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley Legislation in the United States and some hard questions arising from corporate failure, for example Enron, means that there is a wariness about using the same organisation for formal auditing and business advice. New business development skills and awareness are required from all staff who have client contact.

Culture and identity

Peter Matthews, the Ernst & Young Partner who leads the Business Development effort, characterises the underlying challenge in the following way 'Most importantly it's about identity and beliefs - particularly the individual's opinions of themselves'. In his view many of the skills that are needed in business development are the same that are required for a technical role (audit, tax and risk management). What is at issue is to recognise that they are important skills, should be developed, and should be deployed effectively. For this reason the solution does not rest solely with training.

Fortunately the business development efforts are recognised as a priority by the leadership of the firm and Ernst & Young has, unusually, an open points system where all partners are aware of the income (based on points) awarded to their colleagues. Successful business development is increasingly visibly rewarded in this way. As a result the type of person who is held up as a hero or role model has changed. These are no longer just the people who have achieved excellence through detailed knowledge of a technical area; the person who has built up the business stream from small beginnings to significant earnings receives recognition has become a figure who is generally admired.

In Peter Matthews's view the nature of the shift towards more effective business development can be a subtle process, but to re-emphasise, it is about culture not skills. He cites the occasions when it is sensible for an Ernst & Young employee to admit in a meeting that he or she simply does not have the answer to the client's problems at his or her fingertips. There are times where such openness is appropriate, and indeed the client will be impressed; however an admission of a lack of comprehensive knowledge does not fit easily into the traditional audit or tax culture.

Developing the skills

A change of mind-set is essential, but so also are the deployment of appropriate skills. These must be delivered within the business and at the appropriate time. The learning environment has become broader. Therefore Ernst & Young has adopted a coaching solution but, in Peter Matthews view, coaching will take many forms. However, in his words, 'coaching works when the recipient feels that it helps them achieve their goals'. It cannot be an imposed solution delivered irrespective of the feelings of the recipient.

The current structure of coaching support was developed following a mapping exercise of skills undertaken jointly by Business Development and Human Resources in the Ernst & Young Southern Region. It was at this point that it was recognised that the relevant skills were generic (life skills was the term adopted) and topics like effective questioning and listening could be developed in any situation. Although they still form part of business awareness training many relevant skills could also feature in a recruitment interviewing training event.

There are now some 150 staff involved in business development. With the exception of a small team involved in collecting information, these staff all give coaching support. Some will deliver support on individual pursuits or pitches to clients; others will work within business or service areas; others will work on designated accounts. They will work with individuals or with teams but with all try to capture the 'teachable moments' when recipients are most receptive to guidance or support. Most of these business development coaches have been recruited from outside Ernst & Young, but have to pass through an assessment centre which investigates their capacity to coach others. Increasingly it is hoped sales coaches will be recruited from within the business.

The future

Peter Matthews highlights three areas where he feels the programme will continue to evolve. First, there is still work to be done in positioning coaching within the range of training on offer. This will involve communicating the benefits to senior managers who may still regard coaching as a soft option. Secondly, the coaching itself needs to be more pragmatic and focus on specific events and targets. Thirdly, there needs to be a greater link with HR, working around transferable life skills.

A Womans Coaching Programme at the Greater London Authority

Background: the role of the GLA

The Greater London Authority (GLA) is the strategic body with the responsibility for delivering the elected Mayor's vision for the capital city. It is made up of a directly elected Mayor - and a separately elected Assembly, the London Assembly, which has 25 members. There are some 670 staff employed to help the Mayor and Assembly in their duties.

As Mayor, Ken Livingstone, controls important aspects of the running of the city. He is chair of Transport for London, directing policy strategy for transport in the capital. He sets the budget and directs policy for the GLA and the London Development Agency, as well as setting budgets and inputting to strategy for the Metropolitan Police and London's fire services. In addition the Mayor is responsible for setting strategic plans for London covering economic planning and development, the environment and culture to name a few.

The Assembly scrutinises the Mayor's activities, questioning the Mayor about his decisions. The Assembly is also able to investigate other issues of importance to Londoners, publish its findings and recommendations, and make proposals to the Mayor. This case study concerns a programme aimed at enhanced development for female employees of the GLA. The Mayor has consistently stated that his commitment to equality and diversity is one of the underpinning elements in his vision for London. Career development is an important and complex challenge at the GLA for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it is still a relatively young and fluid organisation.

There is a strong business case for the development of women: targets are set and met for the proportion of women in the workforce. Women are represented in many senior posts in the organisation, such as Director of Finance, Executive Director of Services and within the Mayor's Office. However, despite this success and many progressive recruitment mechanisms, women remain underrepresented at the senior grades and staff turnover at less senior levels has been quite high in the past.

People move on for many reasons, but a re-occurring theme is that they feel they have plateaued, professionally, and find it difficult to see much scope for career stretch and challenge. Although they still enjoy being in the organisation, their individual job roles may feel constraining after a while. They therefore look outside the organisation for progression routes. This has led to an overall perception that the organisation does not place sufficient emphasis on career development, especially at the lower grades.

Developing the initiative

The women's coaching programme was created following focus groups that were held in May 2003. The then Learning and Development Manager, Angela Goldberg, felt that a number of women in the less well-paid jobs didn't quite know how to move on - where to go and what to do.

Two focus groups were held, one for female employees from black and minority groups and one for any female employee. Similar themes emerged from both groups. Some participants felt that the organisation had a male orientated culture; some felt that the GLA insufficiently implemented its commitment to career development; some felt they did not have adequate support from their line manager and, importantly, did not know how to address this with constructive confidence.

It was evident that a viable development solution must recognise two important issues. First, that the GLA is a small organisation with limited possibilities for upward movement. Secondly that some women don't always see career progression as vertical. Thirdly, that they have a talent for being highly skilled supporters of one another and that they naturally understand the power of self disclosure in order to move forward. Accordingly, a specification for a contract to design and deliver an appropriate and innovative programme was prepared and submissions invited from consultants. The GLA were open to different models of intervention, but the following points formed the core of the specification document:

• A sound demonstration of coaching as a development model or approach and, in particular, how it can be used to benefit women in organisations.
• A strong awareness of diversity issues, especially those facing black and ethnic minority women in the workplace.
• Understanding how the success of the scheme can be measured.
• An explanation of modes of delivery, highlighting the time spent per client and the types of communication to be used. This had to include a demonstration of flexibility and responsiveness to changing needs.
• Comments on the types of mechanisms that can encourage buy-in from line managers, including an explanation of their role in this.

All of these factors had to address themes identified from the focus groups. These included work/life balance, career direction and mobility, organisational culture and confidence and assertiveness. A budget costing of £2,000 per participant was agreed at this stage

The programme in practice

The successful consultancy, JJB Personnel and Training, designed and delivered a package that gave each participant twelve hours of individual coaching from JJB, a detailed workbook to complete, and participation in three workshops. Each workshop lasted for a full day, and explored the following topics:

• Clarifying career and life goals, and developing strategies to implement them successfully.
• Gaining greater understanding of individual styles, and how others perceive this.
• Reviewing approaches to personal and professional development.
• Building strategies for balancing work and home responsibilities.
• Encouraging networking, and drawing on mentors for support.
• Growing self-confidence in own abilities, and considering how they can maximise opportunities in the workplace.

Additionally, there were three planned meetings of action learning sets over the duration of the programme, although sets often met more frequently in their own time.

The programme lasts 6 months. The first programme had sixteen participants and began in Autumn 2003; the second, with twelve participants, began in Autumn 2004. There is a transparent nomination and selection procedure. Interested participants discuss the matter at their annual performance review. Their line manager must then put forward a business case, which must be supported by the Director. Nominations then go forward to a selection panel.

So far the programme has been highly successful and to date there have been twice as many nominees as places and one key task is to give supportive feedback to the unsuccessful applicants. Some individuals have benefited in terms of immediate advancement; they have secured better jobs inside or outside the GLA. Equally important, though, have been the softer outcomes: participants feel more positive and confident about their future and their ability to manage the challenges that lie ahead. This resulted in some applying for jobs that they wouldn't have previously considered. The following statements were amongst the feedback received:

"Has helped me to clarify and prioritise - made me realise that the goals I had previously set myself were in fact not my goals but someone else's. Made me focus and re-evaluate."

"Has resulted in a change in my working hours so I can balance home and work. Would not have done this before the programme - the programme has helped me to re-assess my lifestyle."

"I'm achieving career goals as am talking to my line manager more."

"Made me think back to what I always wanted, the values I hold."

"Within the group I did not feel alone, I could see a link with us all. We all learnt something from each other."

"360 feedback was good. Was scared at first and the negative feedback was hurtful. However, as a result, my behaviours have changed."

The effect on the organisation has also been very positive. Line managers have commented on the improved contribution from participants, and improved performance feeds back into the whole organisation. The scheme has also been highlighted in the Mayor's annual report to Londoners as a tangible demonstration of the GLA's commitment to gender equality. In turn, this reflects well on the GLA's ambition to be an exemplar employer. It is intended that the approach used in the programme will continue to be embedded into the organisation. One way of achieving is by training six volunteers from each group to work as facilitators for the action learning groups. This starts to build a critical mass of useful expertise that remains with the organisation, after the programme has finished.

Learning and development

It is important to recognise that the women's coaching programme does not involve a taught element. It is based on providing the appropriate framework and support for self-development and insight.

Angela Goldberg feels strongly that this is the most appropriate response to a diverse group of women. They will all be starting from different life-points, but they will also share many universal issues. She rejects conventional thinking about women-only programmes which often start from the premise that they have skills and experience deficiencies.

Angela Goldberg, says:

"The premise that you can identify these gaps and then formulate a training programme to fill them is a nonsense. Women, in particular, respond very positively to interventions that explicitly cater for their learning styles and preferences. These are often complex and hard to define. This is why our programme was so powerful. The mixture of activities was both challenging and supportive, and offered the best of individual and group learning."

In Angela's view, a central issue for women is often confidence and self-esteem. As a result women must also consider their career development from the inside out. Angela says:

"Learning is not about remembering huge blocks of information. Too many organisations still believe this to be the case. It is about subtle shifts in how you perceive yourself which result in changes in the way you behave and the responses you get from others subsequently. It's a virtuous circle."

This was produced on behalf of the CIPD by the University of Cambridge, Programme for industry.