What I really want to highlight is the role of leaders as change agents and how developing effective coaching skills can play a key part in navigating changing landscapes and retaining your employees.

How many employees (and leaders) hear the words ‘Organisational Change’ or ‘System Changes’ or ‘Economic Downturn’ and feel excited and optimistic, chomping at the bit and can’t wait to dive in? Hmmm … versus how many fear change and never feel ready?

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Coaching skills for change can equip leaders to guide their teams through change while maintaining high engagement. Rather than leaders seeing coaching as an additional ‘task,’ instead see it as a critical leadership tool in times of change.

You have likely worked hard to build your reputation as a Leader; and how many of you who have built your reputation, still find change hard?

How many of you have experienced resistance or disengagement from your teams during a period of significant change? Or indeed have experienced this personally?

When facing organisational change, how often do you feel that your ‘usual leadership’ approaches don’t quite work to keep your teams motivated and engaged?

Perhaps … you avoid those tricky conversations until the last minute? Maybe … as a leader, you’ve had negative experiences of change in the past, and feel a little uncertain?

Possibly … some leaders think it’s someone else’s job to manage change? (E.g., HR?)

Imagine if…

• You had tools & strategies that build on your existing leadership skills & equip you to have some great coaching conversations about change?

Fast-forward…

• To a time where you are commended for your Leadership and have a shining reputation for building trust & navigating changing times with a human touch

Picture…

• A team where they don’t fear change, they understand and feel ready to transition to a different way of working or being, and transition through change confidently

I believe this is entirely possible because I’ve seen the results that can be achieved. When I first start working with leaders in organisations, I watch them go through transformation from overwhelm and uncertainty into optimism about their ability to lead and coach through change.

I’d like to give you a taste of a model I’ve developed as a framework to support leaders in promoting wellbeing and employee engagement and retention by focusing on the way in which Organisational Change is led – ‘Coaching for Change – The 3 Rs for Retention’.

So how might you begin to develop your coaching skills to navigate change?

Resilience. Reputation, Readiness

1)  What do I mean by Resilience?

- Emotional agility & stability

By listening and validating worries for example, you help individuals feel emotionally supported, which strengthens their capacity to endure challenges.

One of the key areas to explore is around strengths – by focusing more on what you and your team do have rather than what you don’t, you will notice an immediate shift in teamwork, confidence, and cohesion.

2) What do I mean by Reputation?

How many of you believe that by being transparent and addressing concerns you build trust and foster a team that’s competent & adaptable?

Authenticity and trust as a leader means being YOU.

One of the important parts about building a good reputation as a leader (& an organisation) is trust.

Building trust is a key element when working on reputation, especially in leadership or team dynamics. Trust creates a foundation for credibility, collaboration, and influence – all essential for a strong reputation.

3) What do I mean by Readiness?

Well, this speaks for itself re: preparedness and teams feeling supported.

Building confidence to transition through change, confidence within the team, with the leader and with the organisation. Turning worries into opportunities for preparation ensures the team is equipped to face future changes confidently.

Building confidence is crucial when working on readiness for change. When individuals or teams feel confident in their ability to manage and adapt to change, they are more likely to embrace it with a positive and proactive mindset, and more like to stay with the organisation.

How do these areas of Resilience, Reputation and Readiness intersect and relate to each other and how do they relate to employee wellbeing and retention during times of change? You’ll see the intersections in the diagram above.

Having shared a taste of this model (& there's more that sits behind it), I want to invite you to consider some small steps – some coaching exercises which you as leaders can take away and put in to practice straight away as a first step to making a change in how your organisation approaches and navigates change.

1. Strengths-based visualisation

• Purpose: to use visualisation techniques to build resilience by focusing on strengths
• How to use:
  • Guide the individual through a visualisation exercise where they imagine themselves handling a difficult situation with their strengths
  • For example, if a person’s strength is ‘problem-solving’, they visualise themselves calmly working through a problem and finding a solution
  • Discuss how the visualisation makes them feel and how they can use this mental rehearsal to build real-life resilience. Access all the senses during the visualisation: vision, kinaesthetic or ‘felt’ sense, what they hear etc., so they are truly immersed in the moment
• Outcome: visualisation reinforces the individual’s belief in their ability to use strengths effectively during challenges

2. Trust ladder exercise

• Purpose: to assess and gradually build trust between leaders and teams or among team members
• How to use:
  • Ask the individual or team to visualise trust as a ladder or perhaps draw it – where each rung represents a different level of trust (e.g., from basic reliability to deeper emotional trust)
  • Have the individual identify where they believe they currently are on the ladder with key stakeholders (peers, subordinates, etc.)
  • Together, create action steps for moving up each rung (e.g., improving communication, showing more vulnerability, being more consistent)
• Outcome: individuals can see trust as something that can be built step by step, with clear actions leading to a stronger reputation

3. Positive on purpose: self-talk reframe

• Purpose: to build confidence by replacing negative self-talk with positive affirmations
• How to use:

• Identify negative or self-limiting beliefs the individual may have about their ability to manage change (e.g., “I can’t handle this,” or “I’m not ready for this”)
• Work together to reframe those thoughts into positive, confidence-building affirmations (e.g., “I’m capable of learning,” or “I’ve handled challenges before, and I can do it again”)
• Encourage them to practice these positive affirmations regularly, especially when facing moments of doubt

• Outcome: positive self-talk helps shift the individual’s mindset, reinforcing their belief in their ability to manage change and increasing readiness

I believe that change (organisational or personal) is feared, and people see it as hard; it’s approached in the wrong way & most people don’t know how to navigate the human aspects of change very well, and it doesn’t have to be this way.

Remember that by developing leadership coaching to navigate organisational change, you can really impact whether employees choose to stay and grow with you, or up and go … off into the sunset.