Coaching Skills as Part of Work Culture

At the Finnish National Agency for Education, the goal was to strengthen the culture of coaching and learning leadership, and to bring a coaching mindset and approach into the everyday work of employees in various roles. Supporting the VALOT coaching program along the way was the Coaching-based Skills – Online Training, where all employees could explore coaching mentality and approach at their own pace. Online learning was complemented by coaching days for those with leadership responsibilities, where their ability to hold participatory conversations with their teams, utilizing a coaching approach and tools for collective learning, was further developed.

Hanna Boman, Development Manager at the Agency for Education, and one of the responsible leaders for the VALOT coaching program, described the starting point as follows:

“The goal of the coaching was to build a shared understanding of why a coaching and learning culture is needed and what benefits it brings to us as a working community, as well as in our customer and stakeholder relations. Additionally, we wanted to strengthen every member’s understanding of what in our practices enables or hinders the development of a coaching and learning culture within our organization. The key theme that emerged was collaborative learning.”

What have been the most valuable lessons and insights from the learning journey?

The VALOT coaching process lasted about a year, during which content from the Coaching-based Skills – Online Training was used in a variety of ways. Development Manager Hanna Boman reflected on the key learnings from the process:

“A shared discussion in different groupings during the coaching process was seen as valuable and necessary in strengthening the desired organizational culture. It was beneficial to bring leadership-responsible individuals together in coaching groups, across organizational boundaries.”

 

We realized that leaders and managers play a crucial role in enabling a coaching and learning culture, by setting an example and turning plans into reality. It’s important to allocate time for this and ensure that all those in leadership roles can fulfill this responsibility. It’s also important that there is enough dialogue with staff about the objectives of the coaching, so that a shared understanding is created across the entire organization. Adopting a coaching and learning approach requires that skills are practiced in real-life situations and brought into everyday work contexts.”

What benefits did the coaching bring? 

The Coaching-based Skills – Online Training consists of six core themes, each with 5-6 modules. The extensive material was studied both independently, in pairs, and in small groups. Hanna Boman summarized the benefits as follows:

“We gained an understanding of how many different areas are involved in adopting a coaching and learning mindset. On a personal level, self-awareness increased through the tasks on the Coaching Skills learning platform. Discussions with colleagues about the themes of the learning platform helped us get to know each other better and strengthened our sense of community.”

Hanna also reflected on the program’s impact on the organization’s overall culture:

“There has been a conscious focus on the importance of community and collaborative learning, with various efforts to strengthen them. The coaching highlighted the value of goal-oriented and participatory cooperation. It also deepened our understanding of the significance of appreciative collaboration.”

Hanna also considered the benefits of the program for herself:

“The exercises on the Coaching Skills platform challenged me to examine my habitual ways of thinking and acting, encouraging small experiments, such as asking for feedback. I also found the shared discussions with other leadership-responsible individuals during the coaching sessions, as well as the discussions with my own manager, to be very valuable.”

Hanna emphasized the important role of coaches:

“The coaches played a key role. They facilitated our collaborative work, encouraging us to reflect on the coaching themes from different perspectives, providing stimuli, and deepening our understanding of the coaching and learning mindset.”

Who would you recommend the Coaching-based Skills – Online Training to?

At the end of the discussion, Hanna Boman concluded that the Coaching-based Skills – Online Training is suitable for all organizations that want to build a purposeful, interactive, participatory, and appreciative work culture.