Deciding Which Coaching Path to Take for Your Organization
Major organizational decisions don’t get made at the drop of a hat. They require extensive research, evaluations, and debate. The decision to foster a culture of coaching within your company is no exception. Effecting this change starts with having an impactful coaching program in place, but not all coaching programs are created equally.
In your research, you may come across many options, each with its own strengths, benefits, and focus. But it’s not enough to choose just one program; you have to pick the one that best suits your organization’s specific needs. Sometimes, this means enlisting the help of an established, professional program. Other times, it could mean creating a coaching program tailored to your organization. In our opinion, a blend of professional coaching and DIY methods is often the best approach, allowing you to find the program that best fits your needs.
Can You Implement Effective Coaching on Your Own?
As with all DIY projects, there are certain things you should consider before moving forward. First, you will need to make sure the investment is worth the effort and that you fully understand everything it entails.
A successful DIY coaching program requires an investment of your organization’s money, time, knowledge, and experience. As anyone who has attempted a DIY project can attest, sometimes these investments end up being much larger than what you originally anticipated. Be sure to weigh the potential costs and risks, both expected and unexpected, against the benefits of a custom-built program before pursuing a DIY approach.
Whether or not DIY coaching is the right path for your company is up to your organization to decide. While it might seem daunting or overwhelming to conduct the aforementioned cost-benefit analysis, doing so is a necessary first step in determining whether a DIY approach is the best move for your specific needs.
Benefits of Implementing a DIY Coaching Program
The biggest benefit of taking a DIY approach is that you get to control the development of a program tailored to your organization. As such, you will know all the ins and outs, understand the intention behind each element of the program, and be familiar with the pitfalls you need to be careful to avoid. It’s a big undertaking, but the end result can leave you with a program that’s much richer and more fulfilling than a standardized pre-existing program.
Drawbacks of DIY Coaching
Not every organization is a candidate for a DIY coaching program. This method may not be the best fit for your company if:
- Your organization does not have someone in-house who is familiar with effective coaching principles.
- You find yourself mixing and matching principles across different coaching programs without considering their intended purposes.
- You base your coaching program solely based on things found online, such as webinars, blog posts, and informational articles.
While researching online can give you a strong foundation and framework, relying on it might increase your risk of missing the subtle nuances that drive long-term success.
“Think of it this way: While there are some home renovation projects that you can teach yourself and still come out with marvelous success, you would hesitate before trying to tackle a project as essential and potentially disastrous as plumbing without really knowing what you were doing,” says Alan Fine, Co-Creator of the GROW® Model. “Your coaching program is just as essential. If you want it to be effective, you need to ensure that someone in charge of creating your coaching program is not just knowledgeable about coaching but an actual expert. Someone who can help your organization avoid the pitfalls and the stalls that are inherent to implementing any sort of program into an organization.”
Things to Consider Before Creating a DIY Coaching Program
Before developing a DIY coaching program, ask yourself the following questions.
Do You Have the Time to Create a DIY Coaching Program?
DIY coaching requires a great deal of creativity, implementation, and revision. Let’s return to the renovation analogy our founder used earlier: You would not try to take on your summer project of renovating your basement and get all the work done in a few spare weekends. Handling such a time-intensive project with that sort of mindset would lead to cutting corners, hasty solutions, and an end result far less than you had hoped for.
The same principle applies to the creation and implementation of your coaching program. Evaluate your schedules and deadlines and determine whether you are willing to invest the time necessary to create an impactful program the right way. That way, you won’t have to repeat the work in the future.
Is Your Company the Right Size for DIY Coaching?
At first glance, the size of your company might not seem all that important when deciding whether or not DIY coaching is right for you. After all, if the coaching program works on a small scale, surely, it will work on a larger scale as well; however, this isn’t always the case.
The logistics of implementing a coaching program become exponentially more complicated as your organization grows. Planning a program to tackle those logistics can quickly become a headache. That’s not to say that with enough effort, you can’t make it work. You absolutely can. But it’s important to assess your organization’s size first and decide whether you are ready to handle the implications of a larger company.
Are Your Senior Leaders Willing to Commit to DIY Coaching?
Whether you pursue a DIY approach or an established program, it’s essential to have buy-in from your senior leadership for it to function properly. When it comes to a DIY coaching program, their commitment is even more essential. In a DIY coaching program, you will have limited external input, leaving the program’s success or failure solely on your organization’s shoulders.
Your executives determine organizational priorities. If they put the time and effort into your coaching program and prioritize its implementation, your chances of successful coaching are much higher. By contrast, if your team is unwilling to commit to these things, you might be in trouble.
When DIY Coaching Is Not the Right Path Forward
After asking yourself the necessary questions and weighing the pros and cons, you may decide that DIY coaching isn’t the right move for your company, and that is okay. The good news is that there are a variety of coaching programs available, and you’ll most certainly find one that works for your organization. Even then, almost all coaching programs offer customization to better suit your specific needs.
Full-service coaching programs have been thoroughly tested, so there is far less to worry about in terms of trial and error since the methodology has already been proven. Working with a full-service coaching program also reduces the time you have to invest compared to DIY methods. While it will still require a time commitment, it will be far easier to accommodate with your schedule.
Additionally, working with a full-service coaching program does not require you to know everything about coaching. Instead, you will be able to learn as you go. So, while you might not become a coaching program expert, you also won’t have the need to be one since you’ll rely on an external resource.
Find the Coaching Program That’s Right for You
Whether you choose a full-service coaching program, a DIY technique, or a blend of both, it’s important to never underestimate the investments required for each in terms of money, time, and expertise. By weighing the advantages and disadvantages, conducting thorough research, and understanding your organization’s existing strengths and weaknesses, you can develop a coaching program tailored to your specific needs and set your team up for long-term success.
