Coaching in Project
Organisations
People SIG
Eleri Evans – Trans4rm
Tim Lyons –
Focus
‘Whilst the link between attention and excellence remains hidden
most of the time, it ripples through almost
everything we seek to accomplish.’
FOCUS – Daniel Goleman
Coaching
… hard to quantify
………..many viewpoints
The commitment of corporate titans such as GE,
Goldman Sachs and Google now sees spending on
executive coaching in the US alone at more than
$1billion per year.
… a recent global survey of coaching clients by Price
Waterhouse Coopers and the Association Resource
center which concluded that the mean ROI for
companies investing in coaching was 7 times the
initial investment, with over a quarter reporting an
ROI of 10 to 49 times.
….the reason for such large returns is clear: leaders
cast a long shadow. “When they are able to walk their
talk, people listen and are likely to follow suit,
improving the levels of enthusiasm, trust, and team
effectiveness throughout a team or organization.”
Professor Konsatantin Korotov, takes the view that ambitious
executives don’t only need to understand what makes others tick they
need to recognise what is going on in their own personalities. And
coaching can play a key part in making this happen.
Roudebush, Google, Bacardi and HSBC
Perhaps, however, the
most effective coach of
all is staring back at
you from the bathroom
mirror every morning…
The Desautels Faculty at
McGill University in Canada.
….this must give some badge of quality to the concept of executive coaching
it does also raise the worry that its real basis is academic theory rather than
hard, practical ideas that can be used in the day-to-day
workplace. Christoffe Haag
Based on an article by
Matt Symonds in Forbes
Coaching ….
“Coaching’s aim is to direct or guide a person or group of people towards a
specific mutually determined objective.
It is fundamentally about learning and unlearning.
This is done through facilitating focus and awareness and by employing specific
coaching methods and skills to help individuals, teams or groups to be more
effective. “
Eleri Evans
‘(Coaching is)… a methodology for change, to help people (and through them,
businesses) to learn, develop and be the best they can be.’
Joseph O’Connor
Projects….
….and Coaching
Set objectives and goals and create action plans
Apply processes, methods, knowledge, skills and experience
Measure success around achieving project objectives
Plan and utilise resources
Project
Resources
People
Equipment
Materials
Intelligence
Coaching
Resources
Values
Beliefs
Behaviours
Power
Influences
Knowledge
Actions and reactions
Expertise
Culture
Where is coaching used?
Coaching for
Personal
Development
Executive Coaching for
Senior Management
Coaching for
Organisational
Development
Strategy Visualisation and Communication
Change Programmes
Selling
Manager as Coach
Senior Leadership Team Performance
Leadership Programmes
Talent Management
Development Coaching
Leadership Pipeline & Succession Planning
Creating High Performing Teams
Embedding Training
Role Specific Programmes
Retention Approach
Culture Change
Performance Management
Raising the bar on Performance
Creating a Coaching Culture
Coaching in the Project Environment
“Coaching allows me to stand back, re-focus on
…..today
my project and think clearly about how to
“Creating a coaching culture requires a lot of effort. In
Creating a Coaching Culture
Executive Coaching for
Project Management
progress. This helps take a lot of the
complexity out of project management and
keeps me focused on the outcome.
most organisations everyone is busy and it is a challenge
to get people to set aside time for their own
development, let alone find time to support others.
Manager as Coach
“Now that coaching is used in projects, our project
managers clearly have increased confidence, are much
more willing to challenge and can find new ways to
drive the project forward. Coaching definitely gives
them the edge.”
Creating High Performing Teams
“I see this as the manager’s primary role - providing
bespoke and contextualised learning that allows an
individual to be fully effective and provide maximum
value to the organisation. The manager as coach can
also ensure that development activity is tailored to
the aspirations of the individual as well as the future
needs of the business
“I’ve not been disappointed – the project team has really stepped up.
The team has taken ownership of all the project goals and consistently sees
delivering the whole project (rather than their part of it) as the primary
focus. l They work more effectively as a team and on a one-to-one basis, for
example they are now able to raise and deal with conflict constructively
Leadership Programmes
“We have used coaching - both access to an external
coach and a network of internal ones - as the foundation
of our Programme Delivery leadership
Academy. Individuals have welcomed the chance to work
through the complex issues they have been addressing
with an experienced, but impartial, coach - allowing them
to build both their knowledge and confidence.
Potential?
What makes projects fail (IT)
McKinsey / Oxford Study
What can coaching do to improve things?

Coaching enables people to be their best as individuals

Soft or hard skills?

Team coaching can align everyone’s objectives making them SHARED

Shared goals are more likely to be achieved

It allows team leaders to identify the superstars – earlier

It can help to match people to the tasks they best suit

A coaching culture can be self-sustaining – for the next project
Coaches are not for the meek….
“Coaches are not for the meek. They’re for people who value unambiguous feedback.
All coaches have one thing in common. It’s that they are ruthlessly results-oriented.”
- FAST COMPANY Magazine
You never know what you might like…
The most important thing people did for me was to expose me to new things.
Temple Grandin
Contact ….

APM People SIG

Eleri Evans – Trans4rm - eleri.evans@trans4rm.org.uk

Tim Lyons – Gestionnaire Ltd – timlyons@gestionnaire.net
APM emerging trends paper: Coaching in the Project Environment
https://www.apm.org.uk/sites/default/files/project%20environment%20-%20epdf.pdf