Octopus’s Garden
You’ve likely heard of the GROW model for coaching, it was one of the first and part-created by the ‘Godfather of Coaching (UK)’, Sir John Whitmore. It stands for
Goal
Current Reality.
Options (or Obstacles).
Will (or Way Forward).
(It’s a bit of a crap Mneumonic but this was the early days of management consultancy bullshit, so it was pretty whizzy back then).
In a Linked In post, William McKee suggested we should drop the ‘R’ as the coachee ‘…probably knows the reality they are in and the risk is that the coach is using reality questions to gain information to start problem-solving on behalf of the coachee.’
And I couldn’t disagree with him more.
Have you heard the joke about the English tourist who goes on holiday in the Irish countryside? On the day of departure, he sets off for Dublin to get the ferry but gets lost. He drives past a farmer leaning on a gate chewing on a straw but doesn’t stop for directions, instead pressing on sure that he’ll get his bearings soon. After passing the farmer for the fourth time, he stops and, panicking that he’ll miss his ferry, asks for directions. “Ah well,” comes the laconic reply,”if it’s Dublin you want to be going to, you don’t want to be starting from here.”
And that’s often how we approach coaching. Or any situation where we wish to find our way to a desired goal. We don’t want to admit where we are actually are, so we pretend we are in a place that is more favourable. We persuade ourselves our reality is other than it is because admitting where we really are is painful, embarrassing, upsetting and quite possibly something we have been avoiding for some time.
Whether it’s a coaching or a consulting relationship, the first objective is to get the client to make a clear-eyed, honest and accurate assessment of where they are, to be sure they know and acknowledge their starting position. It’s only then that you can help them work out what the next step is towards their goal.
If you don’t do that, you leave them driving around in circles.
When I’m Sixty-Four
After talking about older workers quitting the workforce last week, I was delighted to see that Ageing Better have launched an ‘Age-Friendly Employer Pledge’ to tackle ageism.
They found in a poll that a fifth of people regularly experience ageist attitudes in the workplace after turning 50. Almost half of people over 50 feel employers view them more negatively than younger colleagues and job applicants. I’m not surprised, I experienced ageism in the telecoms sector in my mid-forties.
It’s a massive waste of talent and the 50+ labour pool is essential for employers as the ‘boomer bubble’ in the population passes into retirement. These attitudes are wrong, but they are also short-sighted and damaging for businesses who are struggling for people and skills.
It’s part of a bigger picture of employers struggling to accommodate a multi-generational workforce. Whilst it is clearly more demanding to meet the diverse needs of the generations, the rewards are considerable and not just getting access to a wider talent pool.
Older workers have a big contribution to make in mentoring (an often lamented ‘casualty’ of hybrid working, so employers apparently think it’s important). Younger colleagues can also reverse-mentor, developing themselves whilst helping older colleagues with the digital skills they need to function better in the modern workplace.
It also brings greater diversity, of experiences, perspectives, ways of thinking and culture that will enrich decision making and create real learning experiences for everyone. It brings a richness and dynamism that avoids groupthink and can create some extraordinary outcomes.
Additionally, it improves resilience as older workers bring wisdom and emotional maturity (well, not always, but in general!) that can be invaluable in times of crisis.
Now we need some positive action for the other parts of the workforce that are being neglected.
Only Women Bleed
One of the suggestions in the pledge is that Ageism be specifically mentioned in DE&I policies. My first reaction was “What? It isn’t already?” but then I found another blog on their site about the need for menopause-friendly workplaces. If the needs of half the population are being overlooked, it’s not so surprising that ageism is too.
Us blokes, especially us older ones with the grey hair, can get a bit squeamish about this. That probably explains why most ‘leaders’ run a mile at the slightest mention of it, boards being predominantly full of men with grey hair.
I got past that when I saw Kate Usher talk about it and share her personal experience. I really hadn’t appreciated quite how severely it can impact some women and how difficult the workplace can be when they are trying to deal with the symptoms, even mild ones. Neither had some of the younger women in the audience because, well, why would they if we never talk about this stuff?
It certainly gave me a new perspective on some of the women I worked with and how, in my ignorance, I misinterpreted and misunderstood their actions and behaviours. I feel a bit guilty about that but at least I never took part in any of the demeaning and frankly outrageous comments other men made. Those attitudes have to change.
Kate and others are speaking out and drawing attention to this, so ignorance is no excuse anymore. This is something that impacts almost every woman in the workplace and the fact that almost no attention has been given to it in the past is really incredible. This is even true in sectors that have a majority female workforce! You can bet that wouldn’t be the case if it had been men that were affected. It is improving but there’s a lot more to do.
If you want to find out more, check out Kate’s website for more info and free resources or get her book ‘Your Second Phase’.
These Days
The results are back from the 4-day week trial and research programme and the evidence in overwhelmingly positive. Almost startlingly so. The vast majority companies involved have already decided to keep it.
It’s not an answer to all the problems of the workplace or for every company but it is definitely one of the possible solutions. So how do companies manage to cut their working hours by a fifth and still maintain (and often improve) productivity?
The answer is that you start by asking employees what steps they could make to save time. They know where the waste is and how it could be reduced. Typically, they cut meetings down from the usual hour to half or a quarter, or even scrap them completely. They stop doing pointless reports, they reduce the number of emails and messages by being more thoughtful about when and who they go to. They streamline bureaucracy or remove it.
They also get more deliberate about their work, better organised and more focused. This tends to be a natural development but obviously some training and coaching can really help here.
It just shows how much waste there is in organisations. Gary Hamel reckons 80% of bureaucracy in large organisations is unnecessary and could be cut, so this is really only scratching the surface, and that’s without adopting new ways of working or doing any major changes to processes.
It also shows what can happen when you really listen to your employees and give them the licence to suggest changes and the autonomy to make them. This should really be standard in organisations but, for now, it remains an exception as managers cling onto command-and-control and hierarchical decision making. Now it’s clear that they are penalising themselves by doing so.
Oh, and employees are much happier, healthier and engaged, which is probably the least surprising finding of all.
Hanging On The Telephone
Many thanks to those of you who took up my invitation last week to tell me about your work experiences and what you found crap about work. I’ve had some great conversations and met some great people. It’s been good to get some of my opinions validated (and a few challenged!) and learn some new things too.
I’d love to hear from some more of you. It’s the same deal, you tell me what you find crap about work and I’ll see if I can give you any helpful advice or resources to help you. If you’re interested, DM me on LinkedIN or email me at colin@colinnewlyn.com for a call or zoom. Or, if you prefer, just email me with your comments. All discussions in strictest confidence
.