Putting ideas into action!
As a coach and facilitator working with some premier European business schools at the beginning of this millennium, it was always pleasantly surprising to meet other coaches pioneering their ‘value-added’ services within executive education. At that time business schools were clearly the domain of professors and researchers. As coaches, we were brought in by enlightened clients or forward-thinking leadership faculty. We mostly helped executives interpret their 360 degree feedback or facilitated small groups in simulations or other learning experiences as part of a leadership program, and then helped these individuals make sense of their learnings.
As we fast-forward 16 years, it is now unusual not to find coaches involved in many different ways in most leadership and other executive education programs too. Indeed, many business schools have already grown their own stable of external coaches to work with their executive clients and recently I was even asked to help a US school with the challenges of building up their own coaching pool. Coaching demand has increased to the point that in some schools there is even a role for coach management. This increase in coaching in executive education programs follows a growing acceptance of coaches working closely and successfully with executives in many industries, where you will hear senior people proudly referring to ‘my coach’. This appetite for personal coaching has also matched a trend towards less traditional management hierarchies, leaner organizations, and higher expectations that has reenforced the need for better and different people leadership. This has also led to an increasing demand for faculty specializing in leadership and a corresponding need for coaches to work within their programs. It is kind of a triple-win for clients, faculty, and coaches.
This story is from the January/February 2017 edition of The Smart Manager.
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This story is from the January/February 2017 edition of The Smart Manager.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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Building A Quality Culture
A strong company culture defined by its values, beliefs, and behaviors, has a profound impact on its products and services. More so in today’s VUCA world, where to stay relevant and maintain a competitive edge, it is critical for organizations to build a culture that focuses on quality. Suresh Lulla, author of Quality Fables, elucidates through significant examples how creating a culture of quality is imperative to driving success and productivity.
Customers For Life
The history of General Motors in India can be traced back to the 1920s, when it became the first automotive company to set up an assembly plant in the country. The relationship since then has not been as fruitful as GM would have hoped. GM’s flagship brand, Chevrolet, was introduced in India to build upon the success of the popular Opel marque. However, success has been fleeting at best—an issue that GM India is determined to rectify. It aims to do so by adopting a two-pronged approach: using customer feedback to influence product development, and delivering a superior sales-to-service experience.
The Digital Shift
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The Story Of Telling
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A Sustainable Model
With a total market value of $4.3 trillion and an employment base of at least 1.3 million direct employees and millions of others indirectly employed, platforms have become an important economic force.*Companies today are constantly looking for ways to build platforms—Infosys Ltd announced its plans of monetizing its platforms to make them a $2 billion business by March 2021. But are all platform businesses successful?
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