In the ever-changing business marketplace, transitioning new leaders has become a much more complex process. Transition leadership coaching is an emerging practice that tackles the challenge.
By Ingrid Johnson
Nothing stays the same anymore. Work continues changing. The nature of competition is evolving. Marketplace globalization shifts like sand dunes. Technology constantly changes, dissolving the line between work and personal lives.
The constant changes happen so quickly, and it has left organizations with a leadership capability gap that is measured by a lack of appropriate skills and agility. Transitioning internal and external leaders into their new roles in a way that enables them to quickly adapt to the evolving business environment and manage continual change has become critical.
In response to training needs, the practice of transition leadership coaching is emerging as a strategy for improving and accelerating leadership capabilities and developing leadership potential.
Not Just Any Leadership Will Do
Deloitte annually researches global human capital trends, and leadership – specifically, the right kind of leadership was a top topic. The 2015 survey of more than 3,300 businesses and Human Resources leaders in 106 countries found that companies around the world are struggling to develop leaders at all levels and are turning to new approaches to accelerate the process.
While leadership and learning have dramatically gained in importance, the capability gap continues to widen. A paltry 6 percent of survey respondents felt ready to address leadership issues; 10 percent believed their succession programs were adequate; and only 7 percent had strong programs in place to develop the new generation of millennial leaders. The survey also found that leadership training was falling behind, meaning businesses did not have the capabilities needed to manage the transforming business environment.
As experienced leaders retire in increasing numbers, taking business critical knowledge with them, the gap in leadership capabilities will continue to grow unless new learning and development models are put in place.
Ideally, new leaders transitioning into the organization, or appointed from within, will enter a transition program almost immediately. When people are chosen for management positions, there is an unspoken expectation they are fully prepared to manage the intense demands of the position.
The reality is more likely they do not know their team members, do not have the detailed knowledge to expertly manage the new role, and have difficulty balancing internal organizational and external marketplace transformations. The result is poor performance, and many simply end up leaving. McKinsey & Company found that 40 percent of new executives fail within 18 months.
Stepping In As a Change Agent
One of the new leadership development models organizations are embracing is coaching that specifically addresses new leadership in volatile and rapidly changing marketplaces. Transition leadership coaching engages new leaders in the corporate culture, structure, strategies and team engagement. It is designed to eliminate the typical first 120 days of floundering in the new position.
This type of coaching helps the leader identify personal traits, and leadership styles and skills, and assess how they can be successfully applied in the new role. The coaching also helps the new manager with team building, achieving alignment within the organization, establishing leadership priorities, and developing the right language for effective communication. Development strategies include role playing, software program training and on-the-job activities. There is also continuous feedback as the coach becomes a mirror for the new leader.
One of the primary goals of transition leadership coaching is the identification of strengths and weaknesses with feedback focused on applying strengths to the new positions and overcoming weaknesses that can quickly derail new leaders. It is about smoothing the transitional stage so that new managers are more likely to succeed, and that influences team performance, employee engagement and financial results.
However, the new leadership development model goes even deeper because it is not concentrated solely on the person assuming the new role. In the new development model, coaches help transitioning leaders adapt to modern structures and processes, like working with networks, participating in collective leadership and generating innovation. Coaches help new leaders become change agents who are able to minimize risks, a key quality for leaders in today’s dynamic and networked environment.
As business environments grow in complexity, coaching will be one of the most adaptive processes for leadership development. The changes going on now are just the tip of the iceberg.
As the new dynamics progress, experts predict future leaders will need to be able to work in even flatter structures in which functional boundaries are dissolved. Leaders will need to be able to manage increasing globalization, adapt to technologies yet to be developed, and manage an overload of information. Whereas leaders could once focus on local, regional or national events, they must now be agile enough to adapt to global events with the assistance of diverse teams.
Changing the Mindset Leader
It has become apparent to many senior executives that the traditional leadership training approaches are not adequate by themselves. Future leaders must be able to work in a collaborative, network-centric structure, and that requires a change in mindset and not just skills development.
The real power of transition coaching is found in its ability to help leaders develop the right mindset so they are more agile and able to deal with complex problem-solving. As fast as things change today, new leaders can easily drown in change before they even get an opportunity to work at full capacity.
Transition leadership coaching helps leaders develop thinking processes that lead to solutions. This approach prepares the coachee to adapt through a continuous stream of change. There are conversations, feedback, accountability, and the participation of other people who can provide support and feedback of value.
The manager takes ownership of development in this approach, and the coach guides the person through the thinking process. One of the greatest advantages to this coaching model is that the leader can eventually become a coach to his or her team members, helping them develop the right mindset and take ownership for development progress. This creates a learning and development culture that will help the new leaders, yet to come, succeed.
The new coaching model for leadership development, focused on building new leaders able to work within complex networks, is still in the nascent stage. However, it is already clear that old leadership development models are woefully inadequate in today’s environment.