Using coaching to drive better project delivery

Q: I work for a professional services firm where we’ve discussed coaching. How would you recommend we use coaching to drive better project delivery for our clients?

A: Thank you for your question. I’m pleased that you are considering the use of coaching, as it can indeed help you deliver better projects. The benefits vary depending on how you use it. Let’s look at three different approaches.

1. Use external coaches

One of the easiest ways to use coaching is to make external coaches available to your project managers. Typically, the external coach would talk through the projects with the project manager and understand where they most need assistance. A coach can help them develop better relationships with stakeholders, communicate more effectively and improve the way they lead the team. Many issues on a project relate to soft skills and being able to mediate, negotiate and have difficult conversations. In these situations, coaching comes in handy, because it helps people reflect and approach a situation differently. Coaching is less suited to train people in hard skills. It would be better to send them on a workshop or training course if they need to learn about planning, for instance.

2. Teach your project managers to coach

Another option that has more far-reaching benefits is to teach your project managers how to coach their teams in a way that is empowering and motivating. Many project managers use a task-oriented and directive approach with their teams. They are good at solving issues, providing answers and telling others what to do. This directive approach works well with junior staff, but it has a disengaging effect on senior team members who are highly skilled. What they need is a sounding board more than a boss who tells them what to do. They need a manager who listens to them and helps them reflect on how to move forward. When project managers learn to use coaching as a leadership style, not only do they empower people to think for themselves, they also shift responsibility onto the team. They do that by asking insightful questions that encourage the team to fill in the blanks.

3. Have project managers support each other with peer-to-peer coaching

A third option – which builds on the previous one – is to pair up your project managers so that they can coach each other across projects. This is an extremely powerful and sustainable option that not only helps the individual project managers to better manage their projects, but also builds long-lasting friendships and a support network. With peer-to-peer coaching, each project manager will be given a safe space to share and discuss the most difficult situations on their project. They will benefit from the insights of another experienced project manager and, of course, practise their own coaching skills.

How to get started

When you integrate coaching into the way you run projects, you can expect your project managers to gain better leadership and emotional intelligence skills. Relationships will improve, and team members will feel more empowered and responsible for the outcome of the project. A good way to get started is to enrol your project managers in a workshop where they get to practise their coaching skills and pair up with others who they can start peer coaching. Finally, remember to give people access to an external coach whom they can work with in confidence.

Susanne Madsen is an internationally recognised project leadership coach, trainer and consultant. She is the author of The Project Management Coaching Workbook and The Power of Project Leadership. For more information, see www.susannemadsen.com

 Do you have a question for Susanne to answer? email her at mail@susannemadsen.com