Performance Coaching Skills for Social Work
Performance Coaching Skills for Social Work
JANE HOLROYD
RICHARD FIELD
Series Editor: Keith Brown
www.learningmatters.co.uk
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2012 Jane Holroyd and Richard Field
First published in 2012
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011945613
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 44625 673 2
ISBN 978 0 85725 991 2 (pbk)
Contents
List of figures
List of tables
List of activities
Foreword
Performance management, whilst key to all organisational productivity, is often poorly executed. Performance coaching combines performance regulation with the unique benefits of coaching to achieve sustainable personal and organisational results. Opportunities to have coaching conversations and coaching as a leadership style are key themes within this text, together with understanding how to combine the best of coaching with improving performance management, which is a crucial agenda for all public services.
This book contains a wealth of knowledge and experience, coupled with a variety of activities, practical examples and tips for success. The skills you are encouraged to develop support and promote a learning organisational culture where staff receive appropriate and timely feedback when it most counts when issues occur. It discusses how to handle even the most difficult conversations.
It has been expertly produced by Jane Holroyd and Richard Field and offers clear advice and support for how best to improve health and social care delivery via performance coaching. Their many years of experience are clear to see and their expertise in coaching and performance is of real value to the sector. They are qualified coaches and use both their coaching expertise and years of leadership and management experience to provide an invaluable insight into coaching performance.
It is my sincere belief that the text will benefit all who work in this field and, ultimately, their clients.
Keith Brown
Series Editor
Director of Centre for Post Qualifying Social Work, Bournemouth University
About the authors
Jane Holroyd has over 25 years experience in the development and delivery of services within the NHS and was awarded an MBE for her achievements and services to nursing. She worked for the Leadership Centre where she was responsible for Medical and Nurse Director Leadership programmes and associated links with Europe. She co-authored the strategy document Leadership and Management Development for Social Work and Social Care Creating Leadership Pathways of Progression and is the author of Introduction to Leadership and Management Improving Personal and Organisational Development. She is a specialist in developing leadership programmes and organisational development and is a public sector coach.
Richard Field is a qualified executive coach and coach supervisor with over 28 years experience of public service leadership and management development. Richard started his career as a qualified accountant before joining Anglia Ruskin University where he helped managers develop competence in financial management, planning and creativity. Richard has worked for the Office for Public Management on a number of highly successful programmes including the Future Leadership programme, delivered with Ashridge Business School and commissioned by CLG. Richard, who now works as a freelance development specialist, has an MBA, is licensed to use a range of psychometric instruments and has authored and contributed to a number of leadership development textbooks.
Section 1
Introduction
Welcome to Performance Coaching Skills for Social Work, a book primarily for professionals and managers involved in, or responsible for, performance within health and social care settings. The content will also be of potential value to managers operating elsewhere in organisations engaged in public service commissioning or provision.
The current environment calls for the pursuit and maintenance of high levels of sustained performance from individuals, teams, organisations and multi-agency collaborations. High levels of performance require both management and leadership. Management concerns the what of performing - establishing objectives, determining frameworks, processes and systems, monitoring and taking corrective action as necessary. High levels of performance require more than managerial activity, particularly in the service sector where human endeavour and how staff are led is crucial. Coaching, in its various forms, offers a means by which those involved in public service can be supported and challenged to perform.
While this book addresses the management of performance, the primary focus is leadership and the contribution coaching can make to achieving high individual and collective performance.
The content of this book draws on three overlapping domains:
- leadership;
- performance; and
- coaching.
Coaching is seen in many aspects of organisational life, for example, in our spontaneous conversations when a person strives to help another tackle a challenge, discover a way forward or develop a particular skill. It is present as a natural or learned style of leadership and in more formal relationships involving internal or external qualified coaches. In some organisations, coaching is so widespread and embedded that a coaching culture exists.
This book looks at performance through five filters:
- service user;
- self;
- team;
- organisation; and
- community.
The content is intended to be of practical use and includes different ways of looking at performance and coaching, useful processes, techniques and tips. While essentially practical, the content is informed by theory and includes references to other writers in this field.
