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From Compliance to Culture Shift: How eLearning sparks real behaviour change

This last year I’ve been writing a book and podcasting. In a recent podcast recording and through interviews and research as well as lived experience, I’ve been seeing and hearing how coaching is changing in HE and FE. The changes are partly—in my understanding at least, in response to requests from staff for more balanced power changes, L&D /OD budget changes and trends in learning. 

The top three changes I see in coaching are:

  • An increase in enabling staff to develop coaching or mentoring skills as part of their current roles,
  • More piloting/experimenting with team coaching (and also action learning continues consistently to be part of many leadership programmes) 
  • An increase in peer coaching, (and peer mentoring) including between organisations within the sector
  • Development of coaching communities of support and practise in various HEI’s 

These are all emerging as cost-effective ways to enhance leadership, develop roles, support humane healthy staff relationships and enhance learner support. It’s not always a big visible shift in programmes. It’s often more gradual and small scale, perhaps scalable projects, developmental iterations, rather than a ‘perfect’ whole organisational. I will focus on the first of these three changes: 

1. Increase in enabling staff to develop coaching or mentoring skills as part of their current roles

An example: a HEI where academic supervisory staff, who offer postgraduate supervision, have learnt to use mentoring as part of their supervisory approach have been powerful. Another example I have experienced is learning advisors who support learners with housing, interpersonal and finance issues, now discovering coaching skills. Advising in a straightforward manner, will have been very useful in the past in a range of situations, for example, when signposting to application forms. However, there are now times when learners need more deep listening, or an exploration of options. That’s when a coaching approach is particularly beneficial. 

The relational part, in my experience is that developing coaching skills within roles, which are traditionally advisory, supports a more student-led and reflective approach. It also enhances relationships; it builds trust through deep, open-minded compassionate staff -learner listening. It shifts things slightly—from giving answers to sitting alongside reflection. Sometimes that can feel like it takes longer in a conversation, but often it avoids the “quick fix that comes back next week” pattern.

2. Team coaching (TC) as part of learning and development programmes or for team development

I’m seeing more teams reaching out for TC as a way to overcome communication challenges. In my view, Team coaching sessions  can also be used as tool for gently enhancing trust in teams,  perhaps where it has been knocked a little bit. A few Team Coaching sessions can encourage staff to learn to really hear someone’s experience without giving advice at the first moment. Team Coaching can also support teams to see each other as supportive problem-solving peers, rather than competitors. 

However, using team coaching for teams in real immediate crisis may be counterproductive. Individual coaching or other support is best at first, to support staff to overcome obstacles, and then, when the team feels ready, team coaching may be used.

One innovation is to embed ‘team coaching’ or action learning into EDIB programmes: staff to experiment with applying coaching skills in small ways in their roles whilst working on EDIB. This method of embedding team coaching into courses—offers structured spaces for teams and groups to learn coaching as a more democratic group—starting initially with a leader or facilitator but graduating to a ‘timekeeper’ only and team-led approach. 

Team Coaching also offers reflective spaces—space to think in quality ways. I hear feedback that this feels like ‘experiencing breathing space ‘- in organisations that don’t always make that easy to pause and reflect.

3. Peer coaching and peer mentoring 

Peer coaching and peer mentoring are well used in many places in leadership in the education sectors across universities—for example the Be Mentoring network. They may contribute to the positive decline of the “heroic leader”—the pressurised person who has to know all the answers and risks burnout. Instead, peers support each other to learn. It becomes less about having all the answers and more about thinking things through creatively, and encouraging your peers to find and own their way as they develop. Noticing the impact of these developments is key.

Often these changes are small at first, but over time they shift how people experience working together. To sustain these shifts over time, structure and support become important.

Supporting peer coaching and peer mentoring

Frameworks that typically peer coaching and peer mentoring —and that also support coaches post-training, are ‘coaching communities of practice’, or other peer coaching networks. These may offer: 

  • Practice-based peer coaching lunchtime taster style opportunities—within a supportive group session
  • Protected L&D hours for peer mentoring and peer learning outside of the organisation – or within—as part of CPD. 
  • Formal group supervision opportunities to address specific challenges from peer coaching and peer mentoring practice
  • Continuing professional development (CPD), for example specialist CPD—such as mindfulness for coaches
  • Ongoing access to frameworks—for example, the updated ethical framework from EMCC Global
  • Access to other peer coaching and coaching frameworks and resources—for example guidance documents and templates for agreements and evaluations—see 
  • A skilled L&D lead who is contactable for queries and to discuss relationship or peer coaching related challenges

These communities are also ways of deepening and extending the learning from a wide range of coaching and mentoring programmes.

Benefits of peer coaching and peer mentoring

In any area of Learning and Development, gathering impact so you can speak about the benefits is powerful. Evidence of peer coaching by lived experience suggests benefits of peer coaching are often experienced in HE, FE and AE as:

  • Space and time to reflect on challenges, goals, issues, developments and themes
  • Moving from reactive to more responsive behaviours
  • Resourcing oneself to be ready for current and upcoming changes
  • Resourcing oneself to have better relationships, less conflict, and more collaboration in organisations
  • A decrease in conflict in wider workplace relationships
  • More open feedback conversations (e.g. peer observation conversations)
  • Stronger working relationships—breaking silos as colleagues across departments coach each other

Journal questions for L&D leads

  • Is action learning or team coaching used effectively in leadership, staff or management programmes? What is the impact of this on staff or students?
  • How might team coaching be used in any of our programmes, and for what purpose? How would it benefit the programme outcomes and journey?
  • Which roles in our organisation might benefit from developing coaching skills, and how might peer coaching be part of this development?
  • How might we support our staff to better access peer coaching/peer mentoring or action learning within our university and within the sector? 

Summary

Coaching, and mentoring, is changing in higher education. Peer, roles with coaching approaches embedded, and team coaching approaches, are becoming more popular and requested. Within the sector staff in one organisation peer mentoring staff in another or taking part in action learning cross sector groups are even increasing. Taking some time to think about which roles would benefit from having coaching skills, and where team coaching would add value to programmes, is a proactive and useful OD and L&D activity.

References

  • Rebecca Henry Litteck – speaks on setting up coaching communities in HE and FE, including how HE is changing coaching and mentoring in May and June episodes of 1AM talks. 
  • Advance HE – Coaching and mentoring: an inclusive approach to student learning and development
    https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/coaching-and-mentoring-inclusive-approach-student-learning-and-development 
  • Coaching culture in a distance learning university (Oxford Brookes University research)
    https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/items/0b9c41fe-c2a4-4348-92cf-0284c107a51e/1/ 
  • Developing a Coaching Culture – Nick Kapoutzis
    https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/lfhe/amds_03_dc16120c_university_of_westminster_case_study_1591193769.pdf 
  • EMCC Global – Global Code of Ethics for Mentors and Coaches
    https://www.emccglobal.org/ethics/code-of-ethics/ 

About the author: Andry Anastasis McFarlane is a learning consultant, accredited coach, coach supervisor and facilitator. She leads The Learning Moment and hosts 1AM talks—a free OD and L&D podcast. Her company has partnered with SDF festival for several years.