Time to reflect
PHIL CHITAGU
The world of work is evolving and so are our practices.
We have been operating under lockdown for two years now and we have mastered how to operate under such a difficult environment.
It is time to reflect on what has gone right and wrong.
You might have wanted to go north but you ended up going south.
You did not get the results you wanted, or you declared super profits.
It is time to reflect on how you navigated your way that gives you such results.
The key factor in my view is people. What changes the narratives on the market is the people you surround yourself with and what you then do to capacitate such individuals that bring the desired results.
Is this not the time to look at coaching as a strategic business agenda?
Who is a leadership coach?
A leadership coach is a skilled and experienced guide and businessperson, who understands the world of work and provides a leader with a safe space to discuss pressing or emerging issues and concerns.
Leadership coaches use specialised tools and processes to build a leader’s capacity to achieve organisational goals.
They provide personal, customised coaching in one-on-one sessions or in small teams.
Why do you need a coach?
Whether you need help growing your company, strategic planning, raising capital or navigating a challenging economic landscape, our globally-recognised coaches leverage the most effective tools and evidence-based best practices to help you achieve results.
Your coach becomes a trusted confidante — providing you with a peer-to-peer sounding board.
He or she acts as your co-architect in the creation of a scalable action plan designed to accelerate your success ASAP.
Would you like to build your executive presence, communicate with more influence, design and present winning business pitches, enable consistent success in your team OR win and retain high-value clients?
Is Leadership Coaching a business agenda in Zimbabwe?
Agreeably, leadership coaching is a new industry in Zimbabwe.
This area has not yet been fully embraced as a business agenda.
This is different from developed countries where the success of the business depends on the leaders who are coaches in the business.
There is no doubt that 70% of employee development takes place on the job and only 30% off the job.
This justifies why coaching and mentoring plays a critical role right from the national level.
Who should have a coach or mentor?
Everyone should have a coach or mentor-whether you are a politician (members of parliament), church leader, executives in an organisation or line managers, community leaders, judiciary services, school administrators just to mention a few, all need coaches or mentors.
These act as sounding boards in both good and bad times.
The reason why at times bad decisions are made is due to absence of mentors or coaches.
In certain situations, conflicts manifest because there are no coaching or mentoring programmes to change the narratives.
What is the cost of having a mentor or coach?
The cost is negotiable but what is key is for you as an individual to mind-shift and move from point A to B.
The coachee has an agenda upon which the coach acts on.
The mentor has the agenda based on a mountain of experience in identified areas.
The mentee agrees with the mentor on areas to be addressed and comes up with a mentoring road map which should be pursued with vigour and energy.
What are the challenges imposed by coaching and mentoring?
- Availability of coachee and or mentee-there are people who nominate individuals to coach them but just want to ride on the name of such individuals without going through the coaching or mentoring process.
Coaching and mentoring are like marriages. Once you start the process, it is a lifelong process.
- Commitment-focus is very key in this regard. Never remove your eyes off the pedal once you are on this journey.
- Passion-your aspiration determines the area you want to be coached or mentored. What you want to be defines the coaching or mentoring programme you will go through.
- Honest conversations-coaching and mentoring programmes are not for the fainthearted. Both mentee/mentor or coachee/coach should be open with each other. The conversations are life changing.
- Professionalism-There is need for professional distance as one makes a decision to be coached or mentored.
There is a need to appreciate the reasons why you have invested in going through the programme.
The above are some of the challenges but there are many of these.
As you look at the 2022 strategic goals, what will make the difference on the market are the people you have and what you do around them.
As the economy opens one day, competition on talent will be very stiff.
Is this not the time to reflect on what organisations will do about people so that the desired performance will be realised?
Dr Phil Chitagu (PhD) is the Immediate Past IPMZ President and writes in his own capacity.
