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The Courage to Coach When it Matters Most

New manager development programs are often a surprising “problem child” in the Learning & Development portfolio.

The recent Association for Talent Development (ATD) report sponsored by Third Factor, “New Manager Development: Building a Foundation for the Future,” highlights a critical gap: while 70% of organizations have new manager development programs, most fail to realize their full potential with 77% reporting only moderate success or worse.

Helping new managers transition from individual contributor to people leadership roles is vitally important for the performance of not only those managers but everyone that reports to them as well. But with the large population of managers in most organizations, Learning & Development (L&D) is often tasked to execute these programs at scale and on a shoestring budget. Add in the time pressures on new managers, and it can feel near impossible to deliver impactful leadership development programs for this audience.

We know how challenging this mandate can be, so we’ve collected some practical strategies from leading organizations that we partner with to help get the value out of your investment in new manager development.

Leadership at the Helm: Building Top-Down Support

The ATD report underscores the importance of senior leadership in new manager development. Most of the organizations surveyed indicated that a lack of either resources, senior leadership support, and/or prioritization were challenges to training new managers. So how do you build that critical support at the top of the house?

First, pick your moment. When organizations make significant investments in new manager development, it typically comes at a time when there is a clear business need – for example, a new strategy, a culture transformation, declining engagement scores, or high turnover. Use these windows of opportunity to demonstrate how Learning & Development can help turn conceptual business plans into real action by driving the right behaviors in managers.

Second, enlist your partners. You need every tool in your arsenal to build the strongest business case to senior leaders for investing in new manager development. Involve HR or internal business partners as well as your third-party vendors to help demonstrate to senior leaders the value and expected outcomes of these programs. Hearing directly from your leadership team about a strategic transformation they are driving from transactional to advisory services, for example, will enable your vendors to design programs that directly support those needs.

Finally, start small and get senior leaders directly involved. One L&D team that we work with is driving a multi-year rollout of a two-day in-person program to help managers build coaching skills – a significant investment of time and resources. But it all started with just one session focused on the C-Suite team. Through that firsthand experience, the CEO and his team became passionate champions of the program. They not only committed to funding a broad program rollout, but the CEO now speaks directly to every cohort of managers that goes through the program. His involvement sends a strong message about his commitment to manager development and also reinforces the connections between the content and their business priorities.

Balancing Learning Formats

Training a large population of new managers can be costly. For many organizations, it’s just not feasible to offer in-person experiential learning programs to all new managers.

In fact, the ATD report notes that asynchronous learning channels are the most common offering made available to new managers. We often hear from L&D leaders about the benefits of asynchronous learning for creating custom learning pathways and offering flexible programs that work around the busy schedules of new managers. Yet there is always a desire to incorporate some of the benefits of live, in-person learning experiences as well.

Increasingly, organizations are looking at blended learning formats to provide the scale and cost effectiveness of asynchronous learning but with some of the human connection and energy of live or in-person programs.

A financial services company that we partner with offers an asynchronous program that enables managers to learn coaching skills through a series of self-paced videos. But to enhance the experience through peer support and live discussions, managers are placed into learning cohorts that proceed through the program as a community. A live virtual kickoff provides context about the program, introduces managers to others in their cohort and builds energy around the learning journey they are about to start on. Midway through the program, cohorts reconvene for a live application lab to work through any questions and challenges as they start applying the skills in their work environment. And upon completion of the program, managers have access to 1:1 coaching and a library of resources to support ongoing skill development and application.

“The most successful new manager development programs that we see always place a strong focus on practical application.”

Whether asynchronous, in-person, or a blended format, the most successful new manager development programs that we see always place a strong focus on practical application. New managers are often completely underwater balancing their priorities of delivering results while also developing their people.

In fact, time constraints on new managers were the most common challenge cited in ATD’s report. Most new managers simply don’t have the time, energy, or interest to dive deep into theories on motivation and performance. Instead, they need a few practical tools that they can implement immediately, opportunities to practice new skills, and strategies to focus on actions that will have the greatest impact so that they see immediate results and build confidence.

Measuring What Matters: The Art of Success Metrics

You’ve heard it a million times – “how are we measuring the impact of this program?” When it comes to reallocating investment or cutting costs, new manager development programs are an easy target if they can’t demonstrate impact. Effective metrics not only demonstrate program effectiveness but also ensure the program remains relevant, impactful, and aligned with evolving business priorities.

ATD’s report highlights a similar issue: 87% of respondents cite a lack of metrics to track the program’s results as a challenge to new manager training. While most organizations do assess program effectiveness, many focus on participant satisfaction and use informal conversations rather than quantitative or outcomes-based measures. So how can you incorporate impactful metrics without creating an overly complex science project?

Most important is systematizing and quantifying participant feedback with a short, standard feedback form for every participant to complete. In our experience, taking a few minutes to do this at the end of sessions before participants return to their other work is the best way to drive response rates and specific feedback. In addition to participant satisfaction, include one or two questions tied to target outcomes – for example, participants’ confidence in their ability to apply the skills in their daily work.

With a basic feedback system in place, start looking at longer-term metrics and impacts. A large energy organization that we work with administers a final survey approximately three months after leadership development programs on how participants are applying their learnings and the resulting business impact of those actions. These concrete examples offer powerful impact stories that are highlighted to the company’s most senior leaders.

Another financial services organization surveyed the direct reports of program participants and found that more than 85% noticed an improvement in their leaders after completing the manager development program – a metric that helped build ongoing support and expansion of the program.

Transforming Insights into Impact

As the ATD report highlights, new manager development programs are a critical aspect of the L&D portfolio and yet there are very real challenges to making them effective and impactful. These strategies offer a blueprint to help ensure the investment in these programs delivers real value for the business and for your people.

Successful new manager training programs can be hard to come by

Performance and culture are the most desired outcomes

The most important skill for new managers? Communication.

Finding time is a top challenge in training new managers

Equipping new managers for success

Hybrid work can be a great model for people who are established in their careers, but it presents unique challenges for those just starting out. Early career employees don’t have the same opportunities to observe the workplace culture and leaders often struggle to provide frequent, specific feedback when not working in the same physical space.

So how will we lead this generation just entering the workforce, for whom “hybrid work” is not even a relevant term because it is the only style of work they know? Effective coaching needs to be part of the DNA of how we lead people now. In practical terms, it involves making the culture visible, creating opportunities to observe performance, and establishing systems to bridge the gap between in-person and remote work in a way that builds trusting relationships.

Make the culture visible

George Bernard Shaw famously noted “the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has occurred.” Early in our careers, workplace culture and the nuances of professional life were communicated to us mostly by simply being in the office. We saw how people interacted outside of meetings and we overheard the words they used with their leaders. Through observation we formed images in our minds that we could then emulate.

It is easy to expect that employees entering the workforce today will similarly absorb these indirect messages. But with fewer opportunities to observe how things work, early career employees are left to make many assumptions about how to successfully navigate a new organization. Compound this with the tremendous ambiguity that remains around so many aspects of hybrid work, and you are likely to run into issues.

One of the greatest coaches we worked with, Jack Donohue, spoke of the need to build sharp clarity before we can offer effective feedback. People cannot do things that they cannot imagine. We need to break down vague concepts such as “flexible work,” “professionalism,” and “remote collaboration” into specific behaviours that people can see in their mind. Perhaps on your team “flexible work” really means that all team members are online and available between the hours of 10am and 3pm, their MS Teams status is always kept up to date, and the entire team is together in the office between 9am and 5pm on Wednesdays. Drilling down to this level of specificity is necessary to build the clarity that will enable early career employees to succeed.

Create opportunities to observe performance

When I was on my first project as a new management consultant, I was tasked with completing the analysis of a large data set. It was a steep learning curve, but I was eager to prove myself. I would continually tell my manager that everything was going well when I was actually working late nights scouring the internet to troubleshoot Excel errors.

My manager eventually called a time-out when she glanced over my shoulder and found me manually moving data around a spreadsheet. While she commended my eagerness to learn, she also pointed out the people sitting beside me who could teach me a much faster approach. “Might it be better to ask one of them for help and then you will know how to do it too?” she asked. A wild idea, I know.

In a hybrid world, we must intentionally create opportunities to observe performance.

It is never easy to teach early career employees everything they need to know in their first job. But it is even more complicated when we do not have opportunities to glance over their shoulder and directly observe their work. In a hybrid world, we must intentionally create these opportunities to observe performance. Working alongside new employees on early projects and joining them in as many meetings as possible is critical to see them in action and identify behaviours to reinforce or adjust.

A leader in one of our coaching workshops liked to regularly use screen sharing capabilities. This allowed her to see the steps that her team member was following and quickly identify process steps that she wanted to either reinforce or adjust. By sharing her own screen, she normalized the practice so that her team was comfortable with the approach. It also made her own work more visible and surfaced process steps that had become so automatic for her that she wouldn’t have otherwise thought to teach them.

When it is not possible to see the person in action, questions are a valuable tool to gain insight into their thinking. One leader we worked with likes to use questions such as “how would you approach this task” or “can you walk me through your thinking” so that he can offer adjustments or additional information before getting started on the task. During regular check-ins, questions such as “what are you most proud of this week” or “what would you like some feedback on” can provide jumping off points to understand how the person is working. The key is to continue asking questions and actively listening until you get below the surface-level responses and uncover specific behaviours to reinforce or adjust through feedback.

Build systems to bridge the gaps

Our Principal Trainer, Garry Watanabe, says issues with early career employees also often arise because they do not yet have mental maps for how things get done in the organization. In the office, getting quick answers is as easy as asking someone who does not look too busy. But when everyone is remote, it is impossible to see who might be warm for an interruption.

Garry suggests pairing early career employees with a peer-level buddy or more experienced mentor who they can go to for help. Providing a dedicated resource empowers them to find the answers they need and removes some of the barriers to seeking help. It also offers a safe way to ask for quick feedback and build confidence, all while freeing up your time together for more meaningful interactions.

Connecting early career employees with other team members in this way provides the added benefit of building relationships across the team, which is the ultimate system for bridging the gaps between in-person and remote work.

Start your people on a path to success

There is no doubt that leading early career employees in a hybrid world introduces new complexities and challenges. But by making the informal aspects of work more explicit, creating opportunities to observe performance, and building systems to bridge the gap, leading in this environment can be just as effective and fulfilling for both leaders and employees.

The Meta-Skilled Organization: Building the Capability to Evolve

Skills allow us to execute. Meta-skills like empathy, resilience, creativity, and self-awareness allow us to evolve. As organizations and industries face increasingly rapid change and disruption, in which job descriptions are fluid and agility is essential, these meta-skills are increasingly at the heart of sustained success. The ability to adapt is what makes us future-proof, and what separates individuals and teams that endure from those who are replaced. In this webinar, Third Factor CEO and author of The Power of Pressure, Dane Jensen, will illustrate how the capability to evolve can be broken down into six core meta-skills and outline practical skills and strategies you can use to cultivate your own ability to adapt. You’ll gain new insights into what’s really required for future-proofing yourself and your organization, and discover six core meta-skills across three categories that foster personal evolution. You should attend if:

• You want to build your team or organization’s resilience to rapid change
• You’re responsible for change management at a project or organizational level
• You’re charged with building competencies of adaptability, flexibility, innovation, or problem solving
• You want to build your own capability to adapt to an uncertain future

The Meta-Skilled Organization

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About the presenter: Dane Jensen is the CEO of Third Factor, the author of The Power of Pressure: Why Pressure Isn’t The Problem, It’s The Solution, an acclaimed speaker, an instructor at Queen’s University and the University of North Carolina, and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review.

Prior to now, hybrid working environments have never existed on a wide-scale basis. With few proven best practices to rely on, you need to work together with your team to create a new playbook for how to get the best out of the team and its individual members.

By necessity, this involves a lot of experimentation. To capture the lessons from these experiments, it will be essential that your people are willing to ask questions to gain clarity, share ideas on how to do things differently, and voice concerns when things aren’t on track. And this can only happen if your team members believe they are safe to do so.

Unfortunately, biology is not on your side. By default, people want to avoid looking ineffective or incapable to their leader. To foster psychological safety on your team, it’s not enough to encourage your people to speak up. You need to consistently demonstrate that it’s expected, appreciated, and rewarded.

Level the playing field

Like it or not, your people are hard-wired to view you as a threat. The amygdala, sometimes referred to as our “lizard brain,” is constantly scanning the environment for threats – and, according to Your Brain at Work author, Dr. David Rock, social threats like an imbalance of power are no exception. As much as you tell your people they can be honest with you, the amygdala will override the logical part of the brain until it has witnessed a pattern of behaviour consistently enough to convince it you’re not a threat.

“Telling people to speak their mind won’t yield any results if they haven’t seen a predictable pattern of behaviour from you that it’s safe to do so.”

In other words, telling people to speak their mind won’t yield any results if they haven’t seen a predictable pattern of behaviour from you that it’s safe to do so. You have to show them, over and over again, that the only thing that will result is a better work environment.

To sow the seeds of psychological safety, you need to set clear expectations with your team, ask for specific input on a regular basis, and practice responding positively – even when you don’t like what you hear, the timing is bad or the input is delivered in a way that triggers you.

Change the frame

People are unlikely to speak their mind when given a vague invitation for feedback. Consider the response you get when you ask someone “How are you?” Most of the time the reply is some version of “Busy but good.” or “Could be worse.”

Change the frame by explicitly stating that as the team adapts to a hybrid model, there will be much to learn and it is critical that everyone shares what is going on from their point of view. Emphasize that for the team to be successful, people need to speak up. Be clear that the expectation is that people will share ideas, ask questions, voice concerns, and admit mistakes.

“Be clear that the expectation is that people will share ideas, ask questions, challenge consensus, and admit mistakes.”

Walk the talk

After framing the expectation, reinforce it by consistently asking people for input. Instead of asking “any questions?”, which tends to garner nodding heads and silence, ask a variety of specific questions to surface where people are at.

• “Vikram, what do you see as the most challenging part of this?”
• “Alexis, you’ve been quiet, what are your thoughts on this approach?”
• “Jordan, how might this group support you in completing your task?”

Recognize the effort and impact

When people do voice their opinion, reinforce that behaviour by specifically describing what they’ve done right, illustrating the behaviour’s positive impact, and expressing appreciation for the effort. When it’s warranted, be sure to acknowledge the emotional component as well.

• “Natasha, asking for help kept the project on track and saved Peggy’s team from having to work late. Keep it up.”
• “Soheli, your idea led to a great discussion that got the whole team engaged. Keep them coming.”
• “Darren, it took a lot of courage to bring this to my attention and I really appreciate it. What can I do to help you move forward?”

Manage your outside voice

In some cases, encouraging this behaviour might be difficult. Suppose that you are just wrapping up a planning meeting at one of your in-person days in the office when Janelle excitedly suggests a new approach. Aside from the terrible timing, the idea itself raises huge red flags for you.

Internally you might be thinking “going that route would be a complete disaster!” But if your inside voice becomes your outside voice, you’ve just made the environment a little less safe for people to provide input.

To help you convey that input is welcome, even in moments when you’ve been triggered, a simple 3 step process can help.

1. Pause: take a moment to breathe and ask yourself what the moment needs from you.
2. Acknowledge: a simple thanks is often enough.
3. Respond: in most cases you will need to get more clarity, provid clarity, or delay the matter and revisit later.

They’ll believe it when they see it

When people feel safe to share ideas, voice concerns, admit mistakes and ask questions, you have better access to the information you need to keep your team on a path to high performance. Foster psychological safety on your team by framing input as essential to success, asking for the input you need, and recognizing your people for doing the right thing.

How Leaders Enable High-Performing Hybrid Teams

The transition to a hybrid work model is replete with hazard and risk: Can our people adapt to yet another major change in the way we do business? It also presents a unique opportunity to create new systems that work for companies and people – a culture of high performance in which people are truly committed. To capitalize on this opportunity, organizations need leaders who are motivated by a compelling vision of what’s possible and can adapt their skills to shape their environment. In this webinar, Third Factor Principal Trainer, Garry Watanabe, will uncover the opportunity present in the transition to hybrid work and showcase how leaders can get the most from it. The session will explore the challenges and advantages of hybrid work from a leader’s perspective, present an approach for building consensus and commitment in the face of novel problems, and introduce strategies to overcome some of hybrid work’s biggest challenges. You’ll leave with an exciting vision for a high-performing hybrid culture, a clear understanding of your people leaders’ assets and challenges in a hybrid environment, and insight to how leadership competencies can be adapted for hybrid teams. You should attend if:

• You’re responsible for maintaining employee engagement in the transition to a hybrid work environment
• You’re responsible for developing leadership competency for a hybrid model of work
• You’re a senior leader concerned about hybrid work’s impact on performance
• You want new ideas and practical tools for leading your own hybrid team

How Leaders Enable High-Performing Hybrid Teams
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About the presenter: Garry Watanabe is a lawyer, an instructor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, an inspirational speaker, and holds a Masters Degree in Sport Psychology. Whether he’s on the pool deck, in the classroom, or at the lectern, Garry is the consummate coach.

3×4 Coaching

As supply chain issues and staffing challenges continue to hammer organizations, there are two critical moments that determine whether people will stay committed and rise to the challenge: The crisis of engagement, when people realize their path forward is harder than they thought it would be; and the crisis of meaning, the emotional low that makes them question whether to continue. To stay committed and see the journey through, people need three things from their leader: clarity on what they’re supposed to be doing and why it matters; the skills and abilities to be confident in their job; and a sense that they’re seen and appreciated. In this webinar, Third Factor Principal Trainer, Garry Watanabe, will synthesize our 30 years of experience working with world-class coaches and reveal a simple framework to give leaders the mindset, skills and tools to keep people committed – and ultimately drive results. You’ll leave inspired with fresh ideas for addressing problems caused by the “great resignation” and other pandemic-related disruption, and a clear image of how you can use coaching at all levels of your organization to fight burnout and keep people engaged. You should attend if:

• You’re responsible for maintaining employee engagement and retention despite serious disruption
• You’re an L&D practitioner frustrated by other coaching programs that deliver poor results
• You’re a senior leader looking to drive performance without sacrificing a positive culture
• You want a new approach for getting commitment and results from the people you lead

Coaching in Critical Moments
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About the presenter: Garry Watanabe is a lawyer, an instructor at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, an inspirational speaker, and holds a Masters Degree in Sport Psychology. Whether he’s on the pool deck, in the classroom, or at the lectern, Garry is the consummate coach.