My passion for coaching came unplanned – although I am known for my love for planning. In 2016 the company I worked for at the time was going through a great change. The reaction to it was common – both with individuals and in the organization as a whole. We went through the typical stages of reacting to a change where shock, denial and anger are always at the beginning of a painful process.

As a manager I tried to figure out what was the best thing I can do for the organization – I experimented with micromanagement (a long-forgotten practice), but also with macromanagement. I quickly realized that neither helps to manage a change. Climate change requires a change in management, and a change in management comes (or doesn’t come) from a change in CEO’s mind. It took something completely different from previous experience. That is when coaching came to my mind. I organized the first sessions in the company, I talked a lot and didn’t listen that much. I actually held typical business presentations – I presented slides and asked questions. Then I started with coach training. I applied my coaching knowledge in working with the team in the company. Sessions slowly began to take on a horizontal dimension instead of a vertical one. Despite the typical business mantra – “always have an objective” I had no goal, but I had a passion for coaching that still holds with me today! All I wanted was for employees to have a chance to express their frustrations related to the change process in a constructive way.

I invited employees who have people reporting to them to the sessions and presence was voluntary. Of course, as CEO, I never knew if they came to the coaching sessions because they liked them or because I held them. After some time, I began to come up with unpleasant topics for the organization – the topics that float in the air which everyone whispers about or does not bring them up. The first steps were cumbersome. I realized that mountain Avala will not collapse nor will Danube start flowing upstream when a challenging topic is opened. On the contrary, the participants came to conclusion that they were given a secure place where they could express their dissatisfaction. The next important lesson for me was how to react to comments I disagree with. It took me a while to start facilitating the sessions, instead of running them hierarchically.

During the process of implementing coaching we introduced the rule of frequent one-one-one meetings at the very beginning, where we (each in his own way), spread the culture of coaching within the company.

Out of various topics I will point out the ones I believe have triggered changes in the company: the difference between facts and interpretations, emotions condition behavior, how to look at a situation from different angle, manager as a coach pros et cons, values ​​we nurture, swimming in the matrix, conflicts in the organization, passive aggression, realism vs absolutist thinking, and many more.

Success in coaching does not come overnight. It takes time for a new culture to assimilate. Like with any change it is important that the tab on a scale shifts to the side of those who believe in the process. A year after the introduction of coaching I was approached by some of the employees who weren’t involved in the process. Their question was – what is happening with the team that is attending the coaching session? According to them, they became more tolerant and calm in the discussions at the meetings. That was my first, objective signal that something good was happening.

Work on coaching is actually work on growth and development of employees. And growth is like a river that floats – if it is blocked, there are vortices of dissatisfaction from both individuals and entire organization. The role of coaching is to facilitate the growth of an individual and a company itself. The growth doesn’t require a large training budget, what’s more important is the good will of a team to work on themselves. Today, knowledge is available wherever you look and it only takes a little energy to look for.

As time was passing, I have defined a goal – I want to build a coaching culture in organization, as part of a larger culture of growth. The opposite of this is the stagnation culture which is a complete opposite to human nature. Building a coaching culture doesn’t produce quick results but it does deliver long lasting results and it enables individuals and organizations to better cope with the unpredictability of the times we live in.