Managing access to coaching

Access to coaching: an unregulated space

Two recent events hosted by the Bayes Centre for Charity Effectiveness (CCE) have prompted me to return to research I carried out in 2020, as part of my MSc in Coaching and Behavioural Change.

The research explored how large UK charities manage access to 1:1 coaching:  how they decide who is “permitted” to have a coach, or who is “encouraged” to do so. My conclusions were fairly damning, in the report I wrote:

“… overall, the processes and criteria used by UK charities to manage access to coaching are inconsistent, vague and may lack strategic alignment, particularly in relation to tackling issues of lack of leadership diversity… The often unregulated space in which routes into coaching are designed, promoted and managed at best fails to engage in issues of diversity in leadership, at worst risks increasing the current lack of diversity. Approaches that may act as closed shops and are perpetuating historic, loose and hidden arrangements...”

Four years on we might hope that this situation has improved, however questions remain about the extent to which charities are making full use of the power of coaching.

Coaching for Chairs

The idea that coaching is often considered to be preserved for those in the most senior roles in organisations is not new news (Daly and Overton, 2017) and there is also some evidence that having a coach can be viewed as a status symbol (Passmore et al, 2019). Given this, what was particularly interesting in my research was how coaching was not something that was seen as relevant to, or offered to, Chairs or Trustees. In fact, many research participants were surprised this was even a question.

Interviewees (who were senior leaders in People roles) variously described Trustees being assumed to feel they were at a stage of life where they had nothing left to learn, or to feel that they had been appointed as experts and therefore with no need for further development.

As one interviewee explained:

“We have some pretty high achieving Trustees, really high achieving, and I suspect the expectation is only what they can give us, rather than what we can give them, and I suspect that’s from both sides… It’s just a couple of Trustees’ faces in front of me, and I just imagine myself offering them the opportunity for coaching and the sheer indignance of that suggestion!”

But are charities missing a trick in not challenging these perceptions and considering offering coaching to Chairs and Trustees? In his recent speech at the CCE event exploring leadership in charities Paul Streets OBE, outgoing CEO of the Lloyds Bank Foundation, spoke of the increasingly challenging context in which Trustees now find themselves, and his concerns about the impact of growing risk aversion, complexity in the sector and fears around personal liability.

The CCE research report exploring the Future Charity Chair echoes much of this and specifically highlights the need for more training and support for Chairs. Given that, should charities be more proactive in offering coaching to Chairs and Trustees, and Chairs and Trustees be more proactive in seeking it out?

Understanding barriers to coaching

Aside from access to coaching for those in governance roles, my research found that with regard to access to coaching for staff, there was generally an absence of planned, rigorous and transparent systems and processes with access often relying on a combination of both personal factors:

• Does the staff member understand what coaching is?
• Have they been provided information about it?
• Do they have the skill and confidence to request coaching?
• Does their line manager understand coaching and the impact it can have?

And organisational factors:

• Does the charity have either trained and available internal coaches or resources to access an external coach?
• Has the organisation shared information on the availability of coaching?
• Does it have a process through which a request for coaching can be made?

Cumulatively the potential barriers to accessing coaching can be significant.

Coaching and diversity

Considering this through the lens of diversity, is also important. While coaching literature has increasingly focussed on the importance of diversity and cross-cultural understanding in recent years, this has tended to focus on the need for coaches to develop this awareness (Passmore, 2013) and skill (Stout-Rostron et al, 2014), rather than consideration of whether and how the demographics of potential coaching clients influence their access to coaching or how coaching might support organisational goals to diversify leadership teams.

In my research, although all of the organisations involved expressed a commitment to diversifying their leadership teams, it was very rare for them to articulate a clear role for coaching in helping achieve this.

Coaching works

So, why does it matter? Because coaching works.

In October 2023 Erik de Haan summarised results from an analysis of 40 independent Random Control Trials that demonstrated how effective coaching can be. He wrote:

“All studies together show that coaching interventions are likely to have significant positive effect... Coaching has a positive impact on wellbeing, workplace skills and goal achievement. Clients feel better prepared, less stressed, and are more likely to achieve their goals.”

In addition, there is clear evidence of the way coaching can support leadership progression and development (Passmore et al, 2019).

In this context ensuring open and transparent processes for accessing coaching are crucial: the risks of coaching being “very expensive personal development for the already highly privileged” (Hawkins and Turner, 2020) are real.

Managers and leaders, in both executive and governance roles, have a responsibility to fully consider who may benefit from coaching, and ensure the way in which access is managed. This includes specifically considering the role coaching could play in supporting those in governance roles and in diversifying leadership teams.

Dr Helen Timbrell is a Consultant, Researcher and Coach at the Centre for Charity Effectiveness (CCE), where she also coordinates the CCE coaching programme and facilitates Action Learning  for Charity Heads. To contact Helen to discuss any of the issues raised in this blog please email helen@helentimbrell.com.

More information on CCE coaching programmes, which are available for charity leaders in executive and governance roles (including Chairs).