​Let’s talk about Chris, a newly appointed leader.
 
Chris has just been promoted to lead an accounts team of four people in her company. She is determined to do a good job of it. She knows her new team will have challenging but achievable targets. 
 
She is, however, worried about how to lead people. Over the past five years in the same organisation, she has experienced poor leadership. Her CEO and immediate manager, John, has a very aggressive approach, has a couple of favourites that he spends more time with and does not listen to or support his people. There is low morale in John’s company of 20 people and there is a high turnover of staff. 
 
Chris wants to ensure that her own team are highly motivated to achieve their targets so she researches what she might do. She comes across the concept of inclusive leadership. But how can Chris use an inclusive leadership style to motivate her team?
 

Firstly, what is inclusive leadership?
 
I love this definition of inclusive leadership from Juliet Bourke and Andrea Espedido. It is ‘leadership that assures that all team members feel they are treated respectfully and fairly, are valued and sense that they belong, and are confident and inspired.’ 
 
Their research suggests that teams with inclusive leaders are ‘17% more likely to report that they are high performing’ and ‘20% more likely to say they make high-quality decisions’.
 
There is much that companies can do from an organisational perspective to become more inclusive. But what can an individual manager do with their team? 

A facilitator is “one who contributes structure and process to interactions, so groups are able to function effectively and make high-quality decisions.” (Ingrid Bens)
 
A facilitator will assist you when you want to:

• Clarify challenges, solve problems and make decisionstogether in a group
• Improve meeting or team effectivenessand deal with group dynamics
• Create plans that are agreed by consensus 
• Get commitment for actionby the participants and 
• Have an independent person to guide a group

 
Facilitators can save you time and money with their process and group management skills and are used in, for example:

• Engagement meetings: to gain staff or stakeholder input on projects
• Conference workshops: as a guide to enable participant discussions
• Focus groups: to get responses on a specific topic
• Strategic planning: to generate a way forward and commitment 
• Issue resolution: to solve a problem and gain agreement 
• Team meetings: to improve meeting performance and effectiveness

 
Who is facilitating for?
 
Facilitation services are frequently used within all types of organisations at team, department or organisational level. These include:

• Universities, research institutes and research funders
• Companies in any sectors, both large and small
• Learned academies and professional bodies
• Schools and colleges
• Charities
• Government departments and public sector bodies.

 
Benefits of using a facilitator
 
A facilitator will enable the group to:

• Use their expertise to achieve the results they seek in the time available
• Participate fully in any discussion allowing all members of the group the chance to express their views 
• Move towards their desired outcome more efficiently whilst allowing a flexible approach, based on the outputs expressed in the session(s)
• Handle disruptive behaviour in a professional manner and 
• Take accountability for the outcomes and actions agreed.

 
Here is another of my favourite quotes from Ingrid Bens that describes a facilitator.

​"A helper and enabler whose goal is to support others as they pursue their objectives.” 
 
If you would like to know more about how Mazamo can support your team or your organisation with facilitating, please contact us by clicking the button below.
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Coaching helps people explore their strengths and weaknesses in order to improve an aspect of their working or personal life. A coach will empower a client to make decisions, set and reach their goals, or deal with challenges. Often people use a coach to build their self-confidence when they face a particular challenge.
 
In a ‘2017 Global Consumer Awareness Study’, the International Coach Federation found that participants in the study gave the following reasons for participating in coaching (in no particular order):

• Improve work/life balance
• Increase self-esteem/self confidence
• Expand professional career opportunities
• Improve business management strategies
• Increase productivity
• Optimise individual/team performance
• Improve communication skills

 
Benefits of coaching
 
Having a coach will enable the client to:

• Set realistic goals and ensure that they are the ones the client wants to achieve 
• Start taking action immediately
• Develop new skills to increase the chance of success
• Increase their focus and productivity and spend more time on what matters to them
• Eliminate the blocks that keeps them from achieving your goals and
• Improve their motivation and create a momentum that makes it easy to get results.

 
A typical individual coaching approach
 
Coaching is forward focused to deliver results and is typically in three stages, highlighted below.
 
These stages and the number of sessions are designed and customised depending on the need of the client. The session plans are also flexible and the coach is ready to adapt the session, even within a session, depending on what has happened since the last session.
 
1 - The chemistry session(s)– this initial work is aimed at building a rapport with the client and clarifying their goal.  Typically over one or two sessions, the coach helps to focus the client on defining what they would like to achieve and to understand where they are now in relation to their goal. 
 
2 - The coaching sessions– as a thinking partner, the coach creates an environment for the client to create their own self-awareness through looking at values, beliefs and behaviours. The aim is to enable the client to eliminate blocks, facilitate deep-rooted behaviour change and take action. During the sessions, the coach will challenge the client’s thinking and deal with any live issues whilst keeping in mind progress towards the desired goal. 
 
The sessions can be face-to-face, but are increasingly by video-call or by phone. 
 
It is usual for the most change to take place in between the sessions when the client continues to learn, reflect and practice any behaviour changes or take action as appropriate.
 
Learning and progress on any actions that the client commits to, is reviewed at every session.
 
3 - The final session– this is where the coaching is evaluated and progress is recognised and celebrated. Plans are also made to make any changes in behaviour sustainable.
 
Mazamo individual coaching is usually over six sessions, with each session normally being 4 weeks apart. Team coaching is normally four sessions over a total three-month period.
 
If you would like to know more about coaching and how Mazamo can support you or your organisation, please contact Mario Moustras to arrange a phone conversation.