1. Building a Coaching Culture
Through REAL Conversations
Presenter: Amanda Cahir-O’Donnell,
M.Ed. Mgmt., FCIPD, FIITD, PCC (ICF), FAC, EMCC,
Accredited Global Coaching Supervisor (CSA).

2. About Amanda
• 10 years in Business www.tioconsulting.ie
• Established TIO Consulting Ltd. to follow my passion –
• Executive & Team Coaching
• Previous Roles - Head of Learning and Development – AIB
Capital Markets & Training Consultant in Hewlett-Packard
• CIPD Member since late 90s
• Published Co-Author of Two Seminal Books in Ireland
• Twice winner of ‘ICF Executive Coach of the Year’ – 2014,
2016

3. Content
• What is a coaching culture?
• Why bother?
• What might go wrong?
• How to build a coaching culture
• Other considerations for HR

4. What is Coaching?
Coaching is a deliberate process using
focused conversations to create an
environment for individual growth,
purposeful action, and sustained
improvement.
Ref.: Homan and Miller ‘Coaching in Organisations.’ (2008)

5. What is a coaching culture?
• A coaching culture exists in an organisation when a coaching
approach is a key aspect of how the leaders, managers and staff
engage and develop all their people and engage their stakeholders, in
ways that increase individual, team and organisational performance
and shared value for all stakeholders.
• Ref. Peter Hawkins ‘Creating a Coaching Culture’ (2012).

6. Coaching Culture Ctd.
• Artefacts
• Behaviours
• Mindsets
• Energy
“To successfully establish a Coaching Culture:
You can’t have a disconnect between words and actions.”
Amanda Cahir-O’Donnell, 2016

7. What do we mean by
REAL conversations?
• R = Results-Focused
• What do you want to achieve from this session?
• E = Engaged [Be Present]
• 360 Degree Listening
• A = Authentic
• Be YOU
• L = Lasting Change
• Individual Accountability
Dialogue = A space where we create meaning together

8. Why bother?
- It’s all about Talent.
Ref. Excellence in Coaching – The Industry Guide (3rd Edition) – Edited by Jonathan Passmore. (2016)

9. What might go wrong?
• Not linked to Business Strategy
• Top Level Commitment to Change Behaviours
• Confusion between Coaching, Mentoring and other Developmental
Interventions
• Random coach selection by individual managers
• Contracting – Contracting - Contracting

10. How to build a Coaching Culture
Ref. Passmore, 2016.

11. How to build a Coaching Culture Ctd.
Three Core Pillars:
• Coaching Strategy/Policy – linked
to Organisational Purpose, Mission,
Current Strategies
• N.B. Contracting
• Alignment with Organisational
Culture Change e.g. High
Performance; Employee
Engagement
• Coaching Infrastructure – Who will
manage the process for success?
Coaching
Strategy
Alignment with
Organisational
Culture Change
Coaching
Infrastructure

12. Other Considerations for HR
• Internal or External Coaches?
• Selection Criteria?
• Professional Body Alignment?
• Overview on Ethics, Boundaries &
Boundary Management
• What will suit your current
organisational culture?
• What is your overall budget?
• Where will you achieve best value
for your investment?

13. Coaching & Supervision Bodies
• ICF
http://www.icfireland.org/
• Association for Coaching
http://ie.associationforcoaching.com/pages/home/
• EMCC
http://www.emccouncil.org/ie/en/
• Coaching Supervision Academy
http://coachingsupervisionacademy.com/

14. In Summary –
Building a Coaching Culture through
REAL Conversations
• Build your Business Case & Gain
Commitment
• Devise your Coaching Policy and Strategy
• Align Coaching with other Organisational
Initiatives
• Decide on your Coaching Infrastructure –
Internally or Externally Managed
• Take a COLLECTIVE “leap of faith”
• BE REAL

15. Q & A
We would be delighted to hear from you, if you have any queries about
establishing a coaching culture in your organisation.
You will find us at:
T: 045-486180
E-Mail: info@tioconsulting.ie
@TIOConsulting
Amanda Cahir-O’Donnell

16. APPENDIX

17. Dialogue
Dialogue is the highest form of
communication; it involves true two-way
communication where each participant
draws the other out, searches for new
meaning, voices his/her own opinion with
integrity, all in search for truth or a
mutually-acceptable course of action.
- William Isaacs

18. Sample Checklist for One-to-One Engagement
Use the following checklist to review your overall contract, identify any gaps and plan to check
back on these with your coachee.
Procedural
• How long is the relationship likely to last?
• Frequency of meetings?
• Where will we meet? (Will this vary?)
• What notes will be kept? By Whom? Where will they be kept? Are
they accessible to others?
• What is the procedure if one of us needs to cancel a session? How
will we re-arrange?
Psychological
• What aspects have we brought into awareness that might
otherwise have influenced under the surface?
• Have we both been open about any anxieties or concerns we
have?
• Have we considered how either of us might unwittingly sabotage
our relationship?
• Have we planned how to recover trust if something does go
wrong?
• Have we addressed the potential dependency issues? The
possibility that the client may feel overwhelmed? Or rebellious?
• What ground rules have we agreed to ensure that either one of
us will feel comfortable enough to raise any issues with our
relationship?

19. Sample Checklist for One-to-One Engagement Ctd.
Use the following checklist to review your overall contract, identify any gaps and plan to check
back on these with your coachee.
Professional
• What are the boundaries to our relationship?
• What issues should the client take elsewhere?
• How will we know when issues are outside our agreed
boundaries?
• What are the expected outcomes from working together?
• Are we satisfied that the professional level of the contract is
within our competence?
• Have we specified what is outside the contract?