Learning to work in new ways

Learning to work in new ways 

As a professional coach, we know it’s not always a busy lifestyle that stops people from breaking old habits, it’s normally the fact that they don’t have to or don’t need to. But so many of us are now working in new ways that we may not have tried or considered just a couple of years ago. So this is a great opportunity for us to be exploring new ways of working with our clients, especially any managers who work in organizations that have made very public commitments to introduce a new hybrid working model.

For some of us this new hybrid approach is great news, however we know people react differently to this type of forced change and this may leave some people feeling worried, anxious or stressed. And we know some managers will be trying to navigate these new ways of working so they can support their team, but also deliver the work needed to stay on target. We also know that the future is going to look quite different no matter who you work for, so we will all need to learn how to be more agile, adaptable and resilient if we are going to thrive in this new world.

Coaching Managers

Managers in particular are already leading these changes and supporting their teams in new ways. Many will be talking to HR colleagues or looking for guidance on how to respond to requests from their team members to work from home more or get support if they are being asked to get the team back into the office if they are now in the habit of staying at home more often. They will be looking for ways to explore hybrid working with their team and where possible co-create an approach that works for them and what they need to deliver. Talking about innovation is one way to explore change in a way that feels positive and can help find new ways to do things and we have already seen managers talking about the need to rethink strategies, reinvent solutions and realign their existing goals or implementation plans.

You can help them with this creative thinking by coaching innovation and expertly guiding them through the process of change. This will enhance and enable them to reach their full potential, overcome roadblocks and accomplish sustainable success for themselves and their team. Your coaching style and the approach you use can be fully adapted to help drive conversations about innovation, but only if you fully understand the journey people go on during periods of change. And if you encourage an idea generation mindset, the manager will maximize the opportunity to bring creativity into any discussions about new ways of working with their team and turn the best ideas into action they can try out or explore as they start to work in these new ways.

A new approach

By guiding Managers to prepare, develop and implement a range of creative ideas they co-create with their team, they will quickly find the right mix for their team that the hybrid approach can offer. This will help them all respond to any changes and take advantage of new opportunities to innovate in the future. However, you need to feel confident to offer suggestions and go beyond simply asking the right questions in the right order. So try mixing up your approach and challenge yourself to explore new ways to engage with your clients.

Talking about innovation or moving away from the approach you would normally take within your coaching sessions may be new to you and will need to be built into your coaching style, but one idea you could try is to simply reflect on a coaching session and review the answers your client gave to the questions you asked. Then see if you would have done anything differently, or if you could have used any of the coaching tools you have available to open up the conversation in a new direction. See if you could have explored a different line of questioning if you have approached the session in a different way by using images.

This is another approach many coaches find helpful if they want to explore a subject with their clients, but they are struggling to get them to open up or talk freely about the subject being discussed. We offer a range of printed and virtual card games that can really help get the conversation started.

Spotting natural ability

Some people you coach will have a natural ability to embrace change and fully maximize any new ways of working, but they may not know about this hidden talent. So here are five things you can look out for when coaching managers or discussing change as part of your next coaching session:

1. Do they have good observational skills and are they naturally curious?
2. Are they constantly looking for opportunities?
3. How big is their professional network and do they look for new ways to connect with others?
4. Will they take risks and experiment?
5. If they fail, do they learn from the experience and bounce back?