Should we be coaching leaders of complex change?

COACHING LEADERS OF CHANGE
Authors: Sola Fadojutimi & Tanya Durlen
Should we be coaching leaders of complex change?
Our world changes all the time – we change, others change, the world around us changes. Change is inherently stressful – it is human nature to prefer the safety of the familiar over change, however delightful the vision for change is!
Leaders of change – organisational change, public behaviour change – sponsors, project and programme managers, business change managers, policy makers – live in a state of constant, relentless change and uncertainty all of the time. Their days are filled with intense pressure to achieve often unrealistic targets; deliver uncertain outcomes; deal with inevitable resistance to change from others. To borrow from a systems thinking metaphor from the Open University (Ray Ison: Systems Practice – How to Act in a Climate Change World), paraphrasing: they are like jugglers juggling many balls at the same time; sometimes not knowing how many balls are in the air; not knowing which one to drop to stop the rest of them crashing down.
Organisations spend considerable sums of money on implementing methodologies; changing from one methodology to a better one; sending their leaders of change on training courses. However, change often requires so much more than traditional methodology. Without these skills it can become difficult and stressful, especially to those new to change. Daily stress erodes confidence. Inexperience can be costly in a change programme – there often isn’t another chance to make that critical decision. Programme and project budgets are finite, and time needed to deliver change is always at a premium.
What is at stake is often also about organisational success, individual career opportunities, and reputation. In other disciplines, especially in sports, we don’t think twice about investing in coaching skilled and talented individuals through their journey of complex change. Given the importance of complex change programmes to organisations and individuals, it is surprising that we don’t invest more in coaching leaders of change.
Coaching provides that safe environment to test potential decisions; have
them challenged by a sympathetic listener without losing face. Being a leader of change is a lonely job, the daily challenges test our resolve (personally and professionally). Often, there is no one to turn to when pressures of programme life inevitably trigger deep personal issues.
Coaching has been around for top leadership for a long time, but not readily available to those who are new to leading complex change. For example: senior programme managers, who are just below that top level – people who spend their entire lifetime, the whole day, every day leading change. These people need a fine blend of technical, political and leadership skills, as well as a lot of self-awareness and resilience to do the job they do. They need to be comfortable with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity needed to deliver the various facets of complex change. It goes without saying that a
coach would be an invaluable resource to people encountering such challenges.
But what sort of coaching do they need?
The traditional distinction between performance and development coaching doesn’t quite cut it. Leaders of change need it all – a coaching blend. They would benefit from a coach who knows the ins and outs of managing complex change and using the variety of project and programme methodologies; who has the same bruises as them; perhaps grey hairs to prove it; and who can at the same time recognise the psychological and ontological questions and guide them to seek the answers.
They need a coach who can “walk in their shoes”; help them understand the likely consequences of key decisions before they are taken and act as acritical friend who will help them to highlight relative weaknesses yet encouraging them to play to their strengths. A coach’s insight to an individual style and preference can go a long way in assisting them with dealing with the leadership challenges involved with difficult stakeholders and big board meetings.
There is no universal prescription for the change coach. But change leaders invariably could benefit from a coach who:

• Knows the delineation of responsibilities between the change sponsor and programme manager; and can help address personal relationship issues between the two.
• Understands the nature of inadequate information in complex programmes and helps the leader find ways of challenging progress despite that.
• Can help them find the right balance between diving into detail and being too hands-off; juggle time and priorities between different roles.
• Assist them figure out how to change the way they lead appropriate to the programme lifecycle and maturity of the team.
  In all of this the coach is the “catalyst” as the growth and learning occurs without intrusion and intervention in the programme itself. In response to coaching, change leaders accelerate and improve their abilities to develop strategies in leading and “juggling” that is right for them personally.