A lot of sparks have been flying in the past few days on the subject of moonlighting, specifically in the IT industry. I thought some sunshine would help. 

Various leaders have been arguing vehemently from their respective logical bubbles – ethical, moral, economic, business and legal.   A few things are standing out for me in these narratives.  

· Truth is, moonlighting has been in existence for decades. Millions who found themselves in a low wage island had to moonlight to make ends meet. So, working two shifts has been a norm and we have been ok with it because it helped everyone.  

 · The hue and cry is because it is happening among employees who work for celebrated global organisations and that is new.  

 · I am not hearing enough number of HR leaders speak up and share their views. After all, this is as HR an issue as it can get. I wish more and more from the profession voice their well-considered insights. Employees are keenly watching what “organisations are saying and thinking”.  

 · The employment model has been changing rapidly over the past two decades and these narratives only reinforce these rapid irreversible changes. Please see the chart below capturing what our research back in 2001 said about the emerging segmented approach to employment.   Specifically, S3 and S2 jobs are diminishing and S1 and S4 are increasing. 

As more and businesses try to restructure to remain competitive, we are only going to create more and more low wage S1 jobs whose holders will be pushed to moonlight. That is sad.   

· What is evident from these narratives is a significant realignment of “employer – employee relationships”. The diminishing place of the psychological or the emotional connect, the changing expectation of time versus mind-space, between deliverables at a price and a larger commitment to the cause. What do our employees mean to us?   

· While I hear voices of “control” and voices of “indifference”, I am not seeing enough voices of “curiosity” and “empathy”, asking questions like “what is going on?” or “What are the implications?” What do we wish for them? Is quality of life a thing that concerns us?  

 · Well, this perhaps signals the emergence of a new social order at work, a new way of looking at freedom and autonomy and choices about work and life that businesses are perhaps proposing. 

To me, it appears to be somewhat close to the Gestalt Prayer, a 56-word statement authored by psychotherapist Fritz Perls:  

 I do my thing and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, And you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful. If not, it can’t be helped.   

— Fritz Perls, “Gestalt Therapy Verbatim”, 1969

As you think of retirement …You have just a few years left to retire and you have been thinking about it a lot. As you think about it, what is the image that comes to your mind – about your emotional state? A toothpaste tube or a fountain pen? Those who see the need to continue to be in the driver’s set may feel like the toothpaste and those who shift gears and become mentors, coaches and guides are more likely to feel like fountain pens. What do you think?

I am for a few moments putting myself in the shoes of a young employee and taking an empathetic view – of an employee perhaps fresh out of college or with a couple of years experience.

And, I am trying to make sense of what is going on and I just don’t get it.

I am constantly reading reports about some companies reporting margin pressures and their inability to pay all the variable pay to their employees. I am also reading about a “funding winter” and some of the celebrated start-ups laying off, sorry “right sizing”.

I don’t understand how such large companies are struggling to find money to pay their front-line engineers? Or celebrated unicorns unable to retain their employees.

I am confused.

I want to find answers and naturally google. I quickly stumble upon the recent press announcements about pay revisions for CEOs of these celebrated companies and I do the math and find that the multiples (the gap between what the CEO is paid and what the front-line employee is paid) are dumbfounding to say the least.

I do more googling and read reports about how premium property sales are booming and many of the new owners are from the start-up world.

And then, I am reminded about the fact that my employer wants me to come back to my base location and start reporting for work in person and I am struggling to figure out how I will do it. There are costs involved but I am told I saved a lot these two years!

Thankfully, I have a few job offers on hand and I am tempted to consider them. Of course, I will be called opportunistic. But then, who isn’t, I ask myself.

In the middle of all this, I have this engagement survey to complete. I will be asked if I like my job. Of course I do. Do I like my Manager? Actually, in the larger scheme of things, he is ok. I will be asked if I plan to stay for the next 12months. Of course, I don’t.

You see, I am a rolling stone that gathers no moss. But then, I am rolling because I am seldom on steady ground. Truth is, I am not sure if I am needed or not needed. Am I “talent” or am I “cost?” Should I plan my career or does my organization have a plan? Does my company want to “engage me” or “disengage me?”.

I really wish I could have a conversation with someone about all these dilemmas.

As I step out of the world of the employee, I realise that this is not the whole truth. There are other ways in which organizations are choosing to work. There are other cultural paradigms. Unfortunately, the harsh reality of the marketplace for talent is this – it is a market place and no one is insulated. The choices and actions of one organization and one industry impact the others. More importantly, it shapes the values and beliefs of employees about work and organizations in general. That is the tough part

The rise and fall of professionally unreasonable jobs

A job that offers a certain level of stretch and challenge is considered “developmental” in nature. In fact, many leave jobs that have lost their developmental glow.

But what I am concerned about today is the other extreme. Jobs that offer so much challenge that they appear to be “professionally unreasonable”. At one time, “extreme jobs” or “adrenaline pumping” jobs were celebrated because they pushed executives to test their endurance and the limits of human possibilities.

Unfortunately, many who signed up for these jobs did not read the fine print. The unintended consequences and the collateral damage. Mostly their physical and mental health.

So, when would you call a job, “professionally unreasonable”?

Here is my tentative list:

• when the demands placed on the person far outstrip the resources at his or her disposal. This could be people, infrastructure, know-how, support.
• when the growth aspirations committed by stakeholders on a sustained basis are alluring but certainly unreasonable and fatigue causing.
• when you are by design doing the job of two people or handling two or more portfolios – unwittingly taken on as a part of your growth plans
  when there are sustained time pressures where for ever you are running and have lost all sense of boundaries and yet feel unfinished at the end of the day
• all of these have in some ways become a permanent feature of your work life with no end in sight

It is my sense that when the pandemic brought the entire humanity face to face with mortality, one of the things that people started asking themselves was questions of an existential nature. What is
important for me? What price have I been paying? What are the burdens that I can do without?

Dealing with “Professionally unreasonable jobs” is certainly high on the list for many.

Organizations may want to urgently ask themselves if they are promoting a culture where such jobs thrive? If they do, it certainly
shows that the organization does not care, is unempathetic and has a purely commercial relationship with its employees.

In today’s times of “talent uprising” as they are calling it, how many will sign up for such jobs or keep them, I wonder.

Certainly not the younger generation of employees who are confident, bold and multi-faceted.

Of course, employees in such jobs will also need to re-evaluate what they have signed up for in return for their pay and benefits. They will need to ask themselves how they wish to balance success with happiness and well-being.

It is my hope that the post-pandemic days will signal the waning popularity of “professionally unreasonable jobs”.

What do you think?

Whenever you meet employees across levels – CXOs to front-line employees and engage them in conversations about culture and climate, they are likely to bring up several issues which might sound like dissonances – between what they see as reality and what is the intent.

I have found it useful to take an empathetic view to these voices of dissonance rather than see them as cynicism. I see it as the dilemmas that organizational men and women face on a daily basis about what I call “dishonesties of organizational life”.

Yes. On an everyday basis, someone or the other will be inclined to see an organization they are working in as “dishonest”.

So, let me define what I specifically mean by dishonesty in this context. To me dishonesty is the dissonance between what an organization espouses and what it actually does. This could be their values, their published culture, their brand promise, their vision and so on.

Let me give an example or two. An organization might genuinely want to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit. They may be committed to it and constantly talk about it. However, some of their policies may not promote risk taking or some of their leaders may themselves be risk averse. So, in the eyes of many employees, there might be a “dishonesty”.

Similarly, many organizations claim to be “employee first”. They genuine believe in it and do a lot to embrace this. They have several policies and programs to take affirmative action in this area. But the experiences of employees in some parts of the organization may be contrary.

The truth is that even the best of organizations are unlikely to be able to stay 100% true to everything they espouse at all times in all situations and with all people. That is a myth.

However, the ability to accept this reality is a necessary condition for one to remain at peace and stay productive in an organization.

I will now come to the phrase “allowable”. Allowable to me means those inevitable shortcomings despite good intentions which are within acceptable limits causing no moral and ethical harm of a willful nature. Just like human beings, organizations have frailties too.

Many of us are able to live in peace with these allowable dishonesties of organizational life while continuing to do our bit to make things better and reduce the gaps. Others maybe end up feeling miserable, become cynical and even turn activist in their views, expecting a somewhat unreal and idealistic world.

The best way to deal with this is to ask oneself about the dishonesties in our own ways of living which we consider allowable!

Like individuals, organizations could also do with some empathy, forgiveness and mercy. Once we do that, we can ensure organization effectiveness and be at peace and productive.

What do you think?

First to wake up, last to eat and last to set her head down to sleep.

An Indian girl is brought up seeing her mother or the lady of the house as the primary care giver. As she grows older, she is ingrained with values that prioritise taking care of the people around. As she grows even older, not only is this seen as a responsibility but being the primary caregiver melds into one’s sense of identity and self-esteem. We are who we are because we care!

While this situation could be changing today, it is true of many women who are currently at mid-level or senior leaders in their organisations. This conditioning plays out in many ways at the workplace but one of the critical fall outs is this – women rarely prioritise their own needs over that of others.

Meeting expectations at work tends to be all consuming. Keeping customers happy, managing bosses and colleagues and rushing back home to be there for the children and look after the elderly is all in a day’s work.

Taking time out to follow a hobby could feel selfish. One’s own annual health check-up could be the most postponed item on the to-do list.

Training programmes are given a pass. Networking is a no-no.

End result – we have women who are stressed, have perennial health issues and blame work for stress at home and vice versa.

In our research for the women’s leadership programme ‘SheLeads’, many women leaders we spoke to mentioned that they would never have been where they are today if they did not have a robust support system at home. Their identity is not tied to the meals they cook or the academic achievements of their children. Cooking is outsourced, teaching kids is outsourced and time at home is spent in quality fun and bonding.

Our leaders  realized that children need their own space and prefer showing off their boss-moms more than having them hover around all the time.

This support system is something successful women leaders have built even at work.  Many have asked for help and been mentored – not just in skills and knowledge but also those intangible yet critical areas like navigating the political waters of the organisation.

These women leaders have grasped at every opportunity to up their knowledge and skills. They believe their functional expertise is one of the main factors that helps them stand out at the workplace.

Some have been lucky enough to have not just mentors but mentors who are also sponsors – people who ensure their voice is heard in the right places, who speak about them when opportunities arise and generally ensure that they are in the minds of senior stakeholders who the women may not have direct access to.

It is clear that the journey to the top cannot be a lonely one! If you are a man reading this, what more can you do to support the women in your life? To the women:

Who is helping you succeed?

When did you last ask for help?

When did you last put yourself first?

There are occasions when the timing of a person’s entry into the SheLeads programme is quite serendipitous.

Tara was one such individual who came across as a timid and tentative participant. The first coaching session that focused on Appreciative Inquiry, saw her breaking down while speaking to her coach. This is something that rarely happens in the very first conversation. For Tara though, it was one where for the very first time, she felt truly listened to without an iota of judgement. This connect seemed to be exactly what she needed at that point in her life.

In the company that she had been with for over a decade, she was an award-winning leader who handled a broad portfolio including talent acquisition, talent management and other HR practices. The difficult situation that defined her life at that moment was that she had just separated from her spouse and was also mother to a young daughter.

She had requested to be moved to a new location to put some distance between herself and her old life so she could have some space to think things through.  She wanted to patch things up with her husband and she felt the distance would help.

So here she was, in a new place, a new set of people to work with and a new family unit consisting of her mother, her daughter and herself. Nobody in her new ecosystem was aware of her background and she wanted to keep it that way. She feared the judgement that this information would invariably evoke.  While she also had to put on a brave front for her mother and her daughter, in reality, Tara had never felt more lonely or scared of what the future held for all of them.

When she entered the SheLeads programme, the strength-based psychometric instrument and the Appreciative Discovery Dialogue helped Tara understand all her strengths while also exploring ways in which she could leverage them. The intra-personal inputs in the life skills portion of the programme, helped her identify many of the beliefs that formed the basis of her outlook on life.

Through the coaching sessions, she was able to challenge each of these beliefs and arrive at new perspectives.

One of the most important shifts she made revolved around trying to patch things up with her husband. Every overture of hers seemed to meet with disastrous results. Her coach helped her stop and take a long hard look at the relationship. She began to realize that relationships can flourish only with mutual trust and respect. This helped her to let go and rediscover her own self-respect.

Tara’s other overarching belief was that people would judge her based on her marital situation.  This belief extended to colleagues at work and she had refrained from sharing this information, even with her new boss.

As she challenged this belief along with her coach, she was also exposed to inputs on strengthening stakeholder management in the life skills workshop. Putting the two together, Tara came to the conclusion that people respected her for who she was and not what she was.

Once she made peace with herself and understood all that she had going for her, she realized that what other people thought no longer mattered. A great weight shifted off her shoulders and she felt free again!

With this new found courage, Tara went on a journey of exercising her independence. She invested in a car. She filed her IT returns by herself. Both of which she earlier depended on her husband to do. She had a heart-to-heart with her manager and was happily surprised by the empathetic response she received. She voiced out her need to learn and strengthen her knowledge to support her growth in the organisation. She was promptly put into various projects and interacted with different groups.

The internal transformation had resulted in an external transformation as well and there was no stopping Tara. She accepted and valued her redefined family unit and took every opportunity to strengthen her relationship with her daughter and mother. As part of the program’s sustainability measures, she chose both of them as well as her manager and a friend to be her accountability partners – people who would keep her motivated to stay the course she had set out on. She also knew her coach was always there for her, just a phone call away.

During the pandemic, when her boss quit, Tara was asked to take over as the CHRO of the organisation.

Troubled Tara had turned triumphant.

Note: This client story is representative of only the essence of all the work that actually happens in the programme. For more information on SheLeads : https://www.cfi.co.in/a-women-leader-development-program/

In the inaugural session of the SheLeads programme, Gitanjali came across as a serious, reserved, composed young lady. Starting her career as an individual contributor in a role that needed strong negotiation skills, she grew to lead a six-member team across two countries. She came to this programme looking for some inputs that would help her be a better leader. She had not bargained for the depth of change that was ahead.

Gitanjali was someone who revelled in ensuring her customers got the solutions they were looking for. While this made her a great negotiator with third parties, those skills seemed to make a strange disappearance when she needed to stand up to people inside her own ecosystem! This especially happened in her interactions with senior or older colleagues.

Our sessions on intra and interpersonal skills as well as the module on stakeholder management proved to be a game changer for Gitanjali. Supported by coaching sessions, she understood how her upbringing that focused on being ‘respectful to elders’, affected the way she interacted with certain members on her team.

If someone was older and more knowledgeable, she found it hard to give them direction as a leader. It did not feel right to her and she often paid the price but still could not get herself to call them out. Her conversations with her coach helped her make this connection and she also realized that ‘respect to elders’ extended to being respectful of authority as well.

With this new awareness, Gitanjali built up the confidence to call out one of her team members who was ignoring an SOP. He was older and more experienced and she had feared upsetting their equation. While she was nervous and uncomfortable, she mustered up the courage to initiate the difficult conversation. She quickly realized that the senior gentleman seemed unaware of the impact he was having on the department. She explained to him how his way of operating affected her ability to manage the team. Much to her surprise, he understood her point and was happy to comply.

Gitanjali came away from that conversation with two lessons. First, that senior colleagues were willing to listen to her and actually appreciated her inputs. Second, she realized the importance of communicating the ‘why’ of her decisions.

As Gitanjali regained her confidence through this new perspective, she was able to find joy in her day again. She started connecting with colleagues not just at work but also outside of it. She enjoyed this new bonding and how calm it made her feel.

It took a lot of strength and work throughout the four months of the programme for Gitanjali to challenge her long held belief. She went from a tentative leader to one with purpose and focus; from a serious introvert to somebody who took joy in reaching out to others. Her Coach describes her deep transformation quite poetically – ‘A flower had unfolded its petals and smiled’

https://www.cfi.co.in/a-women-leader-development-program/

Chances are most of us would say, “of course yes”. I start my work early and end pretty late, be it at the workplace or virtually. Yes, I am hard working. So, therefore are you hard working? Well, I have a provocative question to ask: what is the real difference between spending long hours at work and being hard working? As as coach who works with leaders who wish to realise their potential, I believe that the real difference between spending long hours at work and being hard working is this: Hard to me refers to discipline. Working to me refers to the ability to persevere and not give up and keep trying. Hard working to me is about the discipline of making time and expending energy towards things that really matter to us. For many of us, spending long hours at work may be a necessity – we need it for economic reasons. Many of us may feel almost choice less in the matter. However, our job alone cannot define our character, can it? What about having the discipline of going behind what we always wanted to do? It could be the habit of time for oneself, time for the family, nurturing relationships, pursing a hobby, learning a new skill, improving our health or of course changing some of our behaviours. All of these call for discipline. Peter Drucker said, “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work”. Hard work to me is self directed, intrinsic and elevating and taking us forward in a way that is meaningful. That is the way I would like to see the distinction. What about you?

Manju joined the SheLeads programme with her first baby arriving soon! She came across as a confident and mature leader who was curious to explore the programme’s offerings and see what she could take back from it.

At that point, she was heading a department and had some memorable and successful projects under her belt. What gave her a sense of purpose was the idea of creating tangible and lasting assets, that make a real difference while being socially impactful.

In SheLeads, one of the first shifts that happens in our participants is when we ask them about their dreams for the future. Many realize they have not thought about it at all and were just focusing on surviving each day. Manju was different. She aspired to move to the executive level, heading the entire division.

In the individual coaching sessions that are an integral part of the programme, Manju started to realize that her aspirational goal was in fact, something that she was quite capable of achieving. As conversations with her coach went deeper, and beliefs and assumptions were unpacked, she realized that nothing was holding her back but herself.

Once that moment of epiphany happened, she moved from an ‘either-or’ mindset – especially when it came to her impending motherhood, to an abundance, ‘both-and’ mindset where she decided she was not going to give up her career aspirations just because she was having a baby!

She had help at home, a supportive spouse and a role model working mother. She realized that on one hand, it was easy to rationalize why she could choose not to do many things. But on the other, when she cleared what she called ‘the cobwebs’ in her mind, she saw no reason why she could not become the head of her function. She wanted both – motherhood and a career…and more!

As Manju participated in the workshops which explored both interpersonal and intrapersonal factors that affect one’s decision-making process, she arrived at the action plans she needed to achieve her goal. She decided that she needed to improve her visibility inside the organisation as her role currently required her to deal only with external stake holders and her boss.

She therefore identified key internal stakeholders she’d like to start developing a relationship with, as they were crucial to her being seen as a potential candidate for the executive level. Manju also chose to work on domain strengthening skills that would be needed to take on the next level. She planned it in such a way that this goal could be met during her maternity break!

She made rapid progress when she successfully helped another department collect pending dues from an institution, building her credibility with others in the organisation. She started getting routinely called in and consulted on matters that were not part of her portfolio earlier. She was looked upon as a solutioning partner, even for other departments in the organisation.

As Manju worked on her aspirations and dreams, she discovered her many strengths and began to leverage them. Situations that she would have earlier accepted as something she had no control over, now spurred her on to try new things and move out of her comfort zone. Her reward was finding opportunities that were fulfilling both personally and professionally.

At the end of the programme, she had this to say. “I am very confident that no matter what life throws at me, I can find the strength in me to cope. I am extremely comfortable with ambiguity now, something I wasn’t at all, earlier”

It’s been two years since Manju attended the SheLeads Programme. The fact that sustainability measures put into every coaching engagement actually work is apparent when today, Manju has exited her comfort zone and taken up a completely new role. A person who struggled to deal with ambiguity is now enjoying embracing it.

She is a woman in control of her destiny, baby and all!

Sarita glanced at the clock. It showed 6.30 PM. Office hours were 9.00 AM to 6.00 PM. She looked around her. All her male colleagues were either squinting into their screens or having heated conversations on the phone.Not even one looked like they were getting ready to leave. She really did not want to be the odd one out.

But her kids needed to be taken shopping for the school excursion the next day that they were so excited about. Her boss emerged from his cabin, saw her and asked her to come in for a meeting to work on the report due next week.

Appraisals were around the corner and she was quite familiar with the recency effect. Sarita, the youngest General Manager in the company with 18 years’ experience, leading a team of 20 people across 4 regions, felt tears welling up. Dilemmas are a part of every working woman’s world. Each moment is fraught with choices to be made and the opportunity cost of each decision.

The fact that women are conditioned to be primary caregivers of the family makes such dilemmas feel like value conflicts. It is not that men do not face such dilemmas but essentially for them, they are prioritisation issues – more a managerial skill they have to master! And there is always the lady of the house who ensures things get done, somehow. Dilemmas cannot be seen in isolation.

The elements of a dilemma include a value conflict governed by contextual prejudice and driven by limiting beliefs. In this series, we look at each of the micro dilemmas that women face. These tend to add up till a woman decides she can’t take it anymore. How can women equip themselves to manage these dilemmas and give their best, on their terms.

Dilemma 1:

• Is it okay for me to leave work on time?
• Will I be seen as less committed or dedicated than my colleagues?
• Will this perception that I create, affect my growth in the organisation?

Our research shows that women have had to work much harder than men to be taken seriously at the workplace. One indicator of this is the time they spend at the workplace. With on-site work slowly and steadily picking up pace, the advantage that women had when they worked from home is passe’ and they are back to coming in early, staying late, and participating in calls all around the clock.

One of the participants of our SheLeads programme has an assertive way of dealing with this. She makes it a habit to leave on time. When her male colleagues roll their eyes and talk about how she can leave early because she is a woman, she first reminds them that she is not leaving early.

Then, on the lighter side, she also asks them how long they are planning to stay at work to escape taking on chores at home. She also talks to them about how important it is to have work-life balance.

How have you perceived the women who leave on time in your workplace?

Ladies, what would make you confident enough to leave when you want to?

Note: This research was carried out for SheLeads – a special programme for women leaders, led by women coaches. Click here to know more

How many times has this happen to you?

You are standing in front of the stove to boil a packet of milk. It is one of the easiest things to do. Just light up the stove and wait for it to boil. It is so easy that you believe you can use those few minutes of waiting to do a few other things too. You are tempted to go grab your phone, attend to the door, wash an apple, fill your bowl with some cereals and so on. You are sure that nothing significant will happen by the time you return. But, almost always, at that very moment that you are away, the milk boils over!

I realise this can happen to us when we try to be present and listen. We believe we have done it all the time; it is so simple; we know how it will go and what will be said and so we try to do just one or two other things. And, at that very moment, for the person in your presence, the milk has boiled over – the person has said or felt something significant and you have missed it.

So, if we can be fully present we can achieve the goal of being there when it is boiling and not leave the person and the milk unattended and let the moment boil over.

One of our clients, a large conglomerate, is known for its mature leadership practices. While every organisation aims to grow their leadership from within the system, our client walked the talk and set processes in place to not only develop their people but ensure that majority of the senior leader requirements are fulfilled from inside the system.

Being aware and empathetic to the variety of challenges their new leaders faced, they partnered with us from the year 2015 for a project involving transition coaching for a new set of leaders. This cohort included CEOs, Business Heads and SBU Heads. Since then, we have completed over 80 engagements with them. In 2019-20, having worked with them for almost 5 years, we saw the scope to study that elusive aspect in many leader development programmes – evidence of effectiveness!

We decided to work with the client to launch a longitudinal study to gauge the efficacy of coaching. The study covered 46 Transition Engagements. The study participants were executives who underwent coaching, their managers/Sponsors during the engagement, CHRO responsible for the business and a representative set of Coaches who coached these executives.

What did the study reveal?

Transition coaching has been found to work 90% of the time.

Specifically, the survey data demonstrated that executives achieved ‘Extremely effective’ to ‘Very good’ outcomes. 52% of Coachees consistently outperformed in their job for the survey period and for the same period 11% of Coachees significantly outperformed in their job. Finally, 97% of the executives coached were retained in the organisation.

The qualitative feedback we received from stakeholders showed the depth of the work that had been carried out:

Sponsor feedback on the goal of strategic thinking:

“Coach used a project approach to improve Coachee’s strategic thinking. Coachee has to deliver 30% sales growth and reduction in inventory by a few days. Coachee worked with Coach and improved the sales growth to 90%”.

Coachee experience on being coached for improved interpersonal skills:

“When you move from functional role to Unit’s leadership role overnight, some of your peers become your subordinates. Managing and aligning them requires different set of tact. Managing managers effectively was the biggest take away from the program”.

Sponsor feedback on Coachee transitioning into a new function:

“Coachee was promoted from manufacturing head to Unit head and carried his bias from manufacturing into the new role. The coaching engagement helped to correct this and instill appropriate Leadership behaviour”

This longitudinal study was led by an independent coach. The sources of information for this study and the suggestions for improvement were provided by Coaches, Coachees (Executives), Sponsors and the HR team.  Transition Leaders and Coaches having diverse professional backgrounds added to the depth of talent and experience available to review in this study. Available transition coaching related documents included goals, status reports, tracking sheets, case studies, coaching closure documents, process documents and published success stories.

While coaching is a helping relationship between the Coach and Coachee, transition coaching is a structured support mechanism for Coachees transitioning into new roles. The new leaders were supported not only through focused coaching but also through specific internal business support from the organisation.

Some of the coachees were new to the business while others were completely new to the group. Others were looking at significantly expanded roles. The challenges these leaders faced, while being uniquely nuanced, also had many common aspects.

In coaching engagements, while the actual coaching content and objectives vary widely, focusing on specific outcomes is key. In the study we found that the outcomes related to transition and performance included the coachee’s thinking becoming more strategic, building a network both inside and outside the organisation and the coachee being more effective in managing the stakeholder’s expectations. Those outcomes that related to self-development revealed that the coachees were now more aware of the impact they had on others while also strengthening the perception of them as a senior leader.

Alignment with the new team and the stakeholders of the new ecosystem were needs that came up in more than one segment. Coaches also worked towards team integration and helped new leaders calibrate style and approach through a process of feedforward.

Culture was the other big area that Coaches worked on helping leaders understand. They did this through various interventions including having internal mentors who shared historical and cultural perspectives. Preparing for change and improving strategic thinking was done through enabling new skills which facilitated these aspects. Other leadership skills that were worked on included delegation, time management and effective communication.

Putting it all together, the pathway for the transition was clearly defined with support from the Coach as well as the organisation. Each of these transitions were critical and have had far reaching impact across multiple stakeholders – the individuals themselves, the immediate team, peers, subordinates, customers, and business.

We were curious about the factors that actually contributed to the success of this engagement. Our study revealed that Sponsors/stakeholders’ involvement is crucial to the success of any coaching engagement. Sponsors were either involved in the engagement or aware of the progress of the engagement. Coaches were satisfied with the level of input they received from the sponsor before starting the engagement. Coachee benefit greatly from receiving encouragement and support from their immediate managers. 86% of Coachee expressed that their Sponsors helped in context setting.

The second factor that played a critical role in the success of this engagement was the Coachee’s ability to select their Coaches.  Chemistry is important in building an effective coaching relationship. The Coachee was partly involved in the selection of Coaches for their engagement. Coachees were provided with information about the Coaches including biographies, education, coaching credentials, functional expertise, industry experience and other background information.

Consistent coaching process – Great effort was taken to ensure that the coaching process and practices are consistent across the engagements and the partner organization constantly monitored and reviewed all processes and practices.

Calibre of the coaches engaged was another aspect that could have made or broken this engagement. The coaches engaged  in this transition coaching programme were a highly select and formally trained group. They have a keen understanding of the business and culture of the client. Although this study did not compare the effectiveness of the different types of coaches or the forms of coaching, we believe that only by employing coaches of a certain calibre, can the degree of effectiveness can be demonstrated.

The final differentiator was the ability of the Coachee to receive, accept and work on the 360-degree feedback. Interviewed Coachees expressed that trust and chemistry with the Coach made them receive their feedback constructively and view it from the angle of “How can I leverage this information for my benefit?”.

When the impact for the Coachee was “Transformational”, we observed that detailed discussions had taken place between the Coach and Coachee about the Coachee’s self-limiting beliefs.

This Transition coaching engagement was a collaborative effort with the talent management team of the organisation as well as the sponsors and managers of the leaders.  With the results observed over the years, it is now like a rite of passage for new leadership in the organisation to undergo transition coaching with the help of a Coach. We are proud to be associated with an organisation that understands that leaders do struggle and like all of us, can do with a little bit of help.

One of the common behavioural changes that leaders commit to make to their coaches is to listen better.

Sounds like a good intention indeed. The question that coachees and ask is this: How do I know that I am getting better at listening.In general, how do I know I am listening well? Waiting for 360 feedback can take a while. Leaders and Coachees need a simple way to know that on a daily basis they are inching forward – they need a check-list of sorts to self-monitor.So, here is my list of ten visible behavioral indicators that you are listening well. This could be a one-on-one conversation, at home with you children or your spouse, or with a colleague or team member or a team meeting or a review. I hope you find this useful and even build on it. 

1. When you are device free during the conversation
2. When you talk less (say 30% of the time only)
3. When you talk 3rd or 4th – certainly did not go first
4. When you are able to paraphrase the content of what others said
5. When you are able to paraphrase feelings
6. When you are able to summarize the meaning that you have made of what the other persons said or are going through and you do it a few times.
7. When you are able to ask good questions
8. When you are able to pick up the unsaid and unexpressed
9. When the most silent person in the room says something
10. When the people in the room have impacted you emotionally and you feel connected

I have been engaging with client organisations for their coaching needs for well over 15 years and I must say that a lot has changed in the manner in which coaches and coaching services are used and all for the better.

There was a time well over a decade ago when the coach was a trust worthy friend or professionally known to the CEO or a Board member and was invited by them to coach someone within the Organisation. Coaching at that time was a very discreet thing and even HR did not get included except for operational matters. Coaches were also not really called upon to share much by way of progress or status because they were known and respected. To that extent there was a certain level of opaqueness about what coaches did and how they went about their work. A lot was shrouded under confidentiality.

Much has changed since. Many HR leaders and Talent Heads are coaches themselves and / or are very familiar with how things work. They have also managed to take the burden away from CEOs and boards to find someone to coach.

The body of published literature about the practical aspects of coaching has also increased significantly.

Leadership Coaching is no longer considered a broad-spectrum antibiotic for all ills. It is now seen as an integral part of leader development. The varied contexts in which it is applied and the accompanying nuances are also very well understood by HR and Talent Heads. Most importantly, it is clear that coaching is a leader development intervention and not therapy and to that extent there is need for transparency, accountability and sustainability.

HR and Talent leaders who work in organisations where the centrality of the function is high are deeply involved in the talent management processes. They have a sound understanding of each senior leader and her or his development needs and plans for their career. They are also earning the trust of senior leaders enough to have candid and supportive conversations about their aspirations and development opportunities. To that extent the quality of initial briefing conversations that I have with these HR and Talent leaders are extremely deep, thorough and well thought through.

They also play a very useful role in helping find the right coach and then being available to the sponsors and the coach to ensure that the engagement is well set up and well supported for success. As a coach and coaching services provider, I am convinced that without internal support from HR and Talent leaders, coaching will remain shaky and with their full involvement, coaching can deliver great results.

I can also see that Boards and CEOs are beginning to recognize that the journey of leader development is unique, personal and requires them to be involved and invested, one person at a time and there is no magic wand which when waved will deliver a whole lot of leaders for the future.

Obviously, not all organisations and all functionaries may be there yet but I can see a significant shift and that is extremely exciting. Once we have a critical mass of role models doing the right things, the change will be rapid.

One of the common jokes that employees and line managers make about HR professionals is this: When you ask HR folks a question, they never answer you straight. They always say, “It depends”.

Well, we must say that we agree with that observation but not the allegation!

The work that HR professionals do is almost always contingent upon a whole lot of dynamic contextual factors. So, when the person says it depends, he or she is right.

As the three of us (Harish Devarajan, V J Rao and Ganesh Chella) got together to author the book, HR Here and Now, there was a lot of pressure on us to look at the future rather than the here and now.

We were steadfast in our resolve to stay with the here and now and not do crystal gazing.

That is because HR is in our view is part science and part art. There are some things which easily lend themselves to logic, reason and a scientific rigour. Whereas there are other parts of the function and profession which are open to multiple interpretations and approaches. We were happy to accept with grace and humility that there isn’t just one way of doing HR work and that our way is not always the right way. So, you see, the future of HR depends not on what will happen but on what we will choose to create, in response.

The context of our work in 2020 and beyond

As we look at the larger global context, six trends and possibilities strike us as significant in terms of their impact on HR work.

Artificial intelligence in our lives: The disruptive advances in the field of artificial intelligence that we are witnessing seem to hold more fear than hope for the future. Very few of us know the true implications of robotization and its impact on human lives and the future of work. Similarly, the nature and impact of advanced computing and the all-pervasive intrusion of technology into our lives will impact privacy and behavior in our day to day lives.

The geo-political landscape: After several years of globalisation and living in the belief that the world is flat, we are now beginning to realise that the world is not flat but walled. Growing barriers to trade and commerce seem to be making it hard for anyone and anything built on global aspirations. Can the aspirations of a nation be fulfilled within its borders? Will nations build more walls or is all this a storm in a tea cup and things will get back to where they were some time ago?

The emerging social fabric: What more and more researchers are telling us is that what concerns our employees more are the problems of living and not the problems of working. How will some of the challenges fuelled by social-cultural changes like relationships, parenting, personal health, the health of their elders, finances, domestic migration, lack of support for emotional and physical needs, lack of skills to cope with these challenges impact the social fabric and the ability of employees to give their best?

How will social disparities play out in the coming days? Will they get worse? Will social strife flow onto the streets? Is there the possibility of a revolution? Will there be a breakdown of law and order?

There is an ever growing fear that we live in an unsafe world with threats of safety and security from multiple sources We certainly know that not feeling safe does not augur well for a healthy and productive life at work and at home. Will these fears grow or diminish?

Breakthroughs in science and technology: We are seeing significant breakthrough in science and technology that hold the promise of a better life every single day. Be it health or conveniences or energy or communications, there is hope that on the balance, we are seeing progress. What are the new frontiers that science and technology will open up and in what ways will it positively impact our work and our lives remains to be answered.

The dreams and aspirations of future generations: What will the future generations aspire to accomplish? What will be their orientation to life and work? What is the nature of choices they will make in terms of the way they would like to live and work? What will matter to them more and what will not? What will be their motivational hot buttons?

Mother earth: How will we treat mother earth and how will mother earth respond? What will the global environment look and feel like? Will the heightened awareness and some of the breakthrough ideas help heal mother earth or will the ecological disasters that we are witnessing only increase in the days to come?

The HR response

While some of the potential trends we have outlined seem ominous and others at best uncertain, it is our hope that the right people will end up coming together to engage, understand and find solutions with varying levels of effectiveness.

HR has always been a multi-disciplinary field and it will be even more so going forward. More and more solutions will emerge from fields as diverse as AI, Information Technology, ecommerce, Neurosciences, positive psychology and mental health.

If the larger goal of all HR work is to help individuals and implement organization effectiveness, then we do know for sure that such work will get done somewhere in some manner and under some name.

If you were to ask us what titles the future generations of HR professionals will carry or how they will be organised or where they will come from or which part of it will be human driven and which part automated, we can only say that it depends!