Aspiring to a coaching culture

‘Coaching in partnership’ worked with citywide partners to develop an external coaching network for staff.

Kathy said: “My case study demonstrates the value of looking beyond our own institutions to develop a citywide coaching culture. Knowing that both Leeds City Council and two local NHS Trusts also ran internal coaching networks, it made sense to join together in order to reduce any requirement for an ‘external’ coach at Leeds Beckett. In addition to the obvious cost savings, the citywide network is also an excellent example of partnership working across the city.”

The Leadership Foundation, which is committed to developing and improving the management and leadership skills of existing and future leaders of higher education, is offering the case studies as examples of development of a coaching culture and coaching best practice.

The case studies can be read as a series or as stand-alone pieces and provide an opportunity to learn from experienced practitioners.

Research undertaken by the Institute for Leadership and Management at Leeds Beckett (ILM, 2011) reported that 95% of 250 large UK organisations surveyed believed coaching as a development tool benefited the organisation, and 96% believed it benefited the individual. The new Coaching Case Studies and a soon-to-be-released Leadership Foundation stimulus paper: ‘Exploring the impact of Coaching in Higher Education: a Provocation’ will help to illustrate the impact and benefits of coaching for the individual and organisation.

Dr Lesley Huxley, Director, Membership and Organisational Development at the Leadership Foundation, said: “The Coaching Case Studies provide real value to development and HR professionals who are looking to benchmark their institutions’ coaching approaches with others in the sector. They provide useful tips and tools for implementing institution-wide (and in the case of Leeds Beckett University, city-wide) coaching interventions to provide support at all leadership levels.”

The other case studies in the series are: ‘Developing a coaching culture’; ‘Creating a coaching culture’; ‘Introducing a coaching culture’; ’Leading through coaching and internal peer coaching provision’; and ‘Validation for internal coaches’.

The case studies are the result of a 'Reflection on Coaching Event', which took place in May 2015. The event, hosted at Bournemouth University, attracted 40 development professionals from 30 institutions from across the UK to discuss the aspirations, achievements and development of a coaching culture within their institution.