Operational and ethical issues when integrating consulting and coaching in service of organizational change

Transcription

1 THE FUTURE OF COACHING: BUILDING BRIDGES AND EXPANDING BOUNDARIES Operational and ethical issues when integrating consulting and coaching in service of organizational change Luiz Felipe Cavadas de Paiva PAPERS PRESENTATION OCTOBER NEW YORK

2 Agenda Methodology Conceptual Framework/Literature Review Summary of Main Findings Conclusions and Recommendations 2016 Luiz Felipe Cavadas de Paiva 2

3 Question What are the consultant s ethical responsibilities to each part involved in a multidisciplinary approach in a client system? 3 3

4 Methodology Single case study: Review of project notes 24 months after the beginning of the project 8 one-hour semi-structured interviews (directors, managers and partner in consulting). Focus groups with 11 coordinators. Applied ground-theory to build descriptive and conceptual codes. 4 4

5 Literature Review Coaching has been a part of consulting for more than 4 decades. Executive coaching has been criticized of being an instrument to promote the organization s normative ideology and manipulation. Consultants and coaches are not neutral - they serve a corporate agenda that might conflict with the interests of individuals and groups. Although ethical thinking is embedded in professional bodies, practitioners seldom have clear guidance to solve ethical dilemmas when working directly with organizations and clients 5 5

6 Literature Review Consultants play different roles from directive to non-directive approaches to facilitate change: Technical expert Trainer Process Specialist Organization Coach Solution Facilitator 6 6

7 Organizational Change Previous Structure Business New Structure Business Manager A Manager B Manager A Manager B 6 7 Manager C Manager D 48 Employees 73 Employees Employees 26 Employees 30 Employees 17 employees Manager A: 80 HC Manager B: 54 HC Total: 137 HC Manager A: 22 HC Manager B: 121 HC Total: 146 7

8 Dealing with the client system (Consulting) Consultant Business Business HR / Area Manager B Business Manager A Manager B Consultant HR / Area Consultant Manager A HR / Area Other Consultant Manager A Manager B Position 1. Position 2. Position 3. 8

9 Who is the client? Consultant System HR Area System Business Area System Services Felipe Thomaz HR 2 HR Managers 2 HR Business Managers A & B Managers C & D Consulting with Felipe Interviews Workshops Meetings After action reviews Consultative calls Consulting & Individual Coaching with Felipe 12 individual sessions for both clients 6 additional sessions to Manager B Individual Coaching with Thomaz 12 individual sessions for both clients 4 additional sessions to Manager D 14 Training & Group Coaching with Thomaz 6 2-hour group coaching sessions 2 Groups 7 additional 2-hour coaching sessions 2 Groups 5 half-day training sessions 2 2-hour meetings for sharing learnings 9

10 Main findings Context defines the limits for integrated approaches, consultant selection and group interventions. Nomenclature (consultant/coach) makes no difference. Clarifying the service scope and consultant role at the delivery time is more important. Dealing with multilevel clients presents a space for ambiguity. Consultants must remain independent and neutral to help the client system do the work. Informal contracting is better suited for the dynamics of change management in multilevel interventions. The general (umbrella) contract is enough to clarify responsibilities

11 Main findings Same consultant individually coaching peers: Disturbing and unproductive x helping with systemic view. Same consultant coaching boss & subordinates: Increase problematic context x faster adaptation and integration. Performing different activities in the same day requires high level of selfmanagement and space for self-fine-tuning. Clients monitor/test for ethical behavior. Defining confidentiality agreements that allow the use of information that may help the system advance. Supervision is key to keep consistency for consulting and coaching

12 Conclusions & Recommendations Coaching (individual & group) is a powerful element to support change and transition. No single model or predefined approach can be prescribed. Each context will demand a different solution, that might change during the course of implementation. Having one company doing all the intervention allows for a systemic approach. A consultant s behavior during the consulting phase will impact in his/her acceptance as a coach. A non-directive approach increases the possibility of a client-consultant partnership. Consultants must adopt a meta-position of integrity and ethical behavior, showing ethical responsibility to all parties involved. On top of the general contract with the organization, consultants should establish informal contracts with each part involved. Special attention should be given when selecting coaches to work for people disputing resources at the same level, or top-down relationships, where there is a clear imbalance of power

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