Put Me In The Game Coach!

Coaching in the Workplace

The great sports coaches inspire. Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi would inspire character. Former Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson would inspire unity. Alabama legend, Coach Nick Saban— inspires growth. What if there was a different kind of coaching you probably didn’t even know about? A kind that builds on these three qualities and so much more. Coaching in the workplace is a resource more and more companies are implementing to inspire and encourage their employees to perform to the best of their abilities while becoming the best version of themselves. Middleton Meyers is one of the companies leading the charge.

What is coaching?

According to Lee Hecht Harrison, “Coaching is a development process designed to help individuals and teams achieve and sustain top performance in ways that are linked to the organization's needs and measurable business results." Coaching is designed to help employees grow in a myriad of areas, personally and professionally. Coaching is a collaborative process designed to creates a space for the coachee to talk about their goals, their career, how they can improve their skills, enhance performance and how they can grow through changed behaviors.

A key to effective coaching is to build rapport with the coachee. A one-time coaching session could be ineffective, since the goal is to change specific behaviors to gain desired results. Having multiple sessions over a period of time helps build trust through accountability, gaining insight into the coachee’s past and lets the coach check in on the progress of the coachee’s created action plan.

Coaching in the workplace should address problem solving, developing and enhancing core competencies, achieving long term goals, and improving performance. Why are these things important? Much like Middleton Meyers, regardless of the industry we’re in— many companies are also in the industry of people. It’s the people that help us grow. It’s the people that create our culture, that drive our results and our products. It’s the people that matter. It’s the people that we want to help grow and our company’s growth is a byproduct of that.

What are the benefits of coaching in the workplace?

The benefits of coaching in the workplace are simple yet overlooked. It begins with employees feel more valued and more comfortable in an environment where they are given the opportunity to grow. That, in turn, leads to better performances. The same is true for working with an internal coach, with the added benefits of: internal perspective on the company, organization third party, help to connect coachee’s goals to the company’s goals and provides consistency with organizational development and training.

How is Middleton Meyers implementing coaching within our company?

In February, Middleton Meyers hired Drew Swift as the Director of People and Coaching. Drew has since started recurring one-on-one coaching sessions with every team member in each department.

These meetings focus goal building, but they don’t shy away from asking thought-provoking questions designed to gather information and identify potential obstacles that could hinder growth. Drew’s mission is to guide each team member into creating their plan of action that will lead to the desired change.

We define our “why” as what gets us out of bed in the morning. What gets us going and coming to work. Sure, it differs for everyone. But with a goal, a strategic plan, a supportive team, and a coach that helps steer you in the right direction— we can accomplish our goals individually, which helps our company grow exponentially.