Xenonex | FAQs: Coaching leadership & management questions answered

Coaching

Coaching is a non-directional approach of asking questions to raise awareness so that the person on the receiving end of thesse questions (the ‘Coachee’) achieves greater clarity and understanding on how to solve their challenges or dilemmas. We often associated the term ‘coach’ with sports teams – the person whose role it is to get the best out of the talent in their team. The same can be said for how a coach operates in the commercial world too.

Here are some attributes of a good coach:

They will help an individual and/ or team to improve their performance
They will facilitate learning and development
They will enable individuals to find their own answers to problems
They enable individuals to unlock their true potential
They will use clear and simple language to support individuals and teams
They will ensure accountability with their teams and stakeholders

A Mentor is often referred to as the ‘wise owl’; ‘been there, done that, got the t-shirt’. Mentoring differs to coaching as it often sits at the more directive end of the spectrum. In the workplace, a Mentor will often be formally designated to an individual by mutual agreement. They may take a broader approach to an individual’s career, rather than the ‘here and now’ approach often associated with coaching.

Yes, absolutely! Xenonex are experts in enabling potential Coaches to fulfil their potential, so that they can either become Internal coaches that are employed by the organisation in which they are a Coach, or external Coaches who work freelance across a number of organisations.

In either respect, coaching can be an extremely fulfilling occupation, with enormous job satisfaction coming from seeing the progress and development of the coachee.

There are a number of ways that the effectiveness of coaching can be measured, here are a few examples:

Evaluative feedback provided by the Coachee
Through an appraisal system
Staff retention
Reduced time spent on leave for illness
How willing staff are to recommend their employer to others
People surveys or questionnaires

At Xenonex we believe in the power of communication, and this applies specifically to the role of the Coach. So, it makes sense that we are big believers in measuring effectiveness and engagement through conversation. Use your coaching skills to have open, honest and meaningful discussions in order to maximise potential in the workplace.

A coaching culture will help create a workplace that is open, honest and non-judgemental. Coaching cultures do not believe in playing the blame game; rather they will understand root causes and bigger pictures and work strategically on solutions rather than calling people out.

As a result, strong and clear coaching will result in a more harmonious workplace, better communications and more trust.

Since coaching tends to empower those within a workforce, it is known to increase productivity by addressing problems at their root cause, rather than wasting time communicating a problem and waiting for it to be fixed.

Xenonex believe that a Coach can operate at any level of an organisation, from the shop floor, all the way up to the C-suite.

We have a selection of courses that will help develop effective Coaches at first-line, middle, senior and executive level. We also believe it is important that, when those at the lower end of the hierarchy are displaying coaching skills such as communication and empathy, that they too should be empowered as Coaches.

Let’s not forget the supply chain also. If a supply chain is working harmoniously as part of a multi-organisation coaching culture, then there will be more trust inherent in relationships.

Change management is a key skill for today’s managers, leaders and Coaches. Increasingly, the world does not stand still for long! Therefore, the ability to get the best out of any evolving situation or culture is important.

A Coach is a key part of change management. Coaches will need to enable open-minded approaches and the generation of new ideas. They should be able to catalyse change rather than react to it. A Coach is often an organisation’s most important bellwether, so their utilisation and effectiveness during times of change is vital.

Xenonex believes that a good Coach can have more of a positive impact on confidence than almost any role in an organisation. The power of clear, open and honest conversations is hugely influential on a person or team’s confidence. How an individual is praised or signposted for future development; how their goals are agreed and how they are progressing towards achieving these goals is fundamental to improving confidence.

A coaching culture is found in organisations that encourage open and honest discussions between their employees. Coaching can be seen as development through meaningful conversation.

There are a number of established leadership styles; the most common are as follows:

Autocratic: An autocratic style takes a firm and authoritative approach. An autocratic leader will often dictate methods and processes.

Democratic: This is a participative style that encourages collaboration and tends to be self-effacing.

Laisse-faire: Taken from the French meaning ‘leave as it is’, this is a hands-off style that believes individuals largely possess the skills they already need to achieve organisational goals. Coaches tap in to the inner resourcefulness of people and teams.

Holistic: The holistic style is the most encompassing style of leadership relevant coaching. It will consider the many connections that go up to make an individual and a team, including some that are outside of the workplace.

If you are responsible for team members, and you want to learn more about how you develop their skills, then a course in coaching should be a consideration. It is a way to learn more about how effective coaching works, the different types of coaching and how they can be applied in an organisational context.

Coaching is a great way to develop the professional relationships you have. You will find yourself more open to having discussions with team members, and be able to have a better relationship with your own managers.

Leadership & Management

Xenonex are experts at delivering courses in leadership and management. In other words, we make a distinction between the two. Largely speaking, a manager will be more directive and will focus on more of the day to day operations, whereas a leader will be more focussed on the bigger picture and defining the vision. Here are some terms commonly associated with each:

Management
Rule making
Task-driven
Risk-averse
Controlling
Planning
Leadership
Rule-breaking
Outcome-driven
Inspiring
Trusting
Encouraging

Whilst this list on the face of it seems to be more positive about leadership, it is important to acknowledge that both good, strong leadership and management have their places in the workplace.

There are a number of established management styles; the most common are as follows:

Collaborative

This style encourages a team approach to the workplace. It will often be identified by a bottom-up approach to problem-solving.

Transformational

As the name suggests, this style is not afraid of a challenge. It will in all likelihood be risk-taking, and be prepared to question rather than accept the status-quo.

Consultative

A consultative manager will often use phrases like ‘tell me what you think’. They will be expert in managing their seniors as well as their teams. They are not driven by conflict; rather they will look to harness the power of the team harmoniously.

Pace-setting

Again, as the name suggests, this style is very much task and performance driven. It is as at home on the manufacturing floor as it is in the financial sector. It will be more focussed on short-term outcomes than long-term outcomes.

It is important that, from the outset, any leadership and management theory is appropriate for the workplace. Therefore, the senior team needs to consider existing and preferred culture, a company’s KPIs compared with targets, any existing underlying issues, stakeholder involvement etc

What comments are being made in appraisal, and are there any common denominators?

How do customers perceive our value proposition, and how could this be improved?

Is there anything from our competitors that we can learn?

Once this type of data has been established, then communication is key. If we are talking about a wholesale cultural change, why is this the case? Is the business in trouble? Have we fallen far behind our competitors?

Any company that is even considering a shift in leadership style needs to consider how best this is communicated. Consider a company, that frequently gets amazing feedback from customers and employees, and yet isn’t making as much profit as it should be. Why is this? Is it because the culture is too laissez-faire, and quality is not what it should be? Conversely, is it due to problems not being identified and fixed at source?

Most cultures do not take well to overnight change, where the reasons for the changes have not been communicated clearly. This applies as much to leadership and management as it does to any organisational change.

Xenonex are an experienced and established training provider, that have their own courses as well as those that are delivered in partnership with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).

Since our courses apply at many levels, we are certain that we will have a course that will help you improve your skills.

Our trainers and coaches are hand-selected to be knowledgeable and inspirational, whilst our ‘Live Online’ and Online learning is brilliantly researched and produces great results.

Take a look at our online courses or alternatively drop us a phone call or email and we’ll do our very best to walk you through it.

Business management has been studied for decades, and there are many theories and sets of data that support each of them. Here are some of the most established management theories:

Scientific Theory (Taylor): Humans are like lab rats that will perform in response to stimuli

Administrative Theory (Fayol): If you improve senior management, then all employees will over time also progress

Bureaucratic Theory (Weber): Standard operating procedures are the key to a high-quality product or service provision. This is especially effective in larger organisations.

Human Relations Theory (Mayo): We are social animals, therefore by putting groups together for tasks, overall performance will improve.

Systems Theory (Von Bertalanffy): A holistic approach, where everything needs to be optimised and in harmony for a business to succeed.

X&Y Theory (McGregor): Any workplace is made up of two different types of workers – those who lack, and those who have ambition.

Our Courses

A useful way to think if this is as follows:

Level 3 courses are for new, or first-line managers and team leaders

Level 5 courses are for middle manager, who report to executives, and lead other managers

Level 7 courses are for those in senior posts or at an executive level

Yes, we offer a choice of ‘open’ courses, which anyone can attend, and ‘in-house’ courses which are delivered exclusively within an organisation.

You should be able to use ALL COURSES guide and website filter too to help establish their suitability for your role. Alternatively, please phone or email us and we will do our best to help you find the best course for you.

ILM stands for Institute of Leadership and Management. It is a well-established, and highly regarded organisation whose offer qualifications in the leadership and management sector.

With over 90,000 candidate registrations every year, they offer the widest choice of leadership and management courses in the UK.

Xenonex has been an approved ILM centre since 2010 and have an outstanding reputation. We work closely with the ILM to ensure that the quality of our programmes is best-in-class.

The ILM is part of City and Guilds. As well as offering qualifications, they have an abundance of other resources available to their learners, such as webinars and private discussion groups.

Reflective learning is simply where learning is encouraged by reflecting on what is being taught, and experiences. By taking time out of work – or a learning environment – and recalling experiences, we are better able to adapt our behaviours and make informed choices.

Yes, some of our courses are accredited by ILM. We also run non-accredited courses.

About Xenonex

Reason 1 – The Brilliance of our System

There’s a reason why we say we deliver brilliance in results driven leadership and coaching.

It is because we believe that clarity is key. That by illuminating complex organisational structures, and engaging with people through clear communication, we can really make a difference.

Reason 2 – The Balanced Approach

We believe in tough love! Our experience tells us that there is a balance to be struck between challenge and support, and between handholding and delegation.

To this end, the Xenonex style is one of approachable authority. You will find us focussed on the commercial reality, whilst being inspirational and people-focussed.

Reason 3 – The Power of Reflection

We believe that reflection is a key part of performance and behavioural improvement at all levels. This applies to Xenonex as well, after all we are part of one team:

We coach you; You coach your team.

They reflect back to you; you to us.

And together, we make things better.

We can show you how.

Xenonex stand for brilliance in results-driven leadership and coaching.

Our values are as follows:

We will work with utmost integrity.
We believe in the right balance of challenge and support.
We believe in being results-driven, no matter who we are working with.
We believe in the power of clear communication.

All of our trainers and coaches have abundant experience of delivering powerful training and business impact across a variety of sectors. We will always aim to match your coaching needs with the most suitable Xenonex coach. For a full overview of our coaching team click here.

Online Learning

Online learning, which is also known as e-learning, on-demand or distance-learning, is where knowledge resources are delivered online, usually over the internet. It is a flexible, effective and efficient way of learning, as you choose the time, place and pace of the learning.

Online learning can also incorporate live online tutoring, often referred to as a ‘blended approach’, where, rather than being in a room with a tutor, you meet live online.

Assessments can also be shared and assessed online, usually through a ‘Learning Management System’, or ‘Virtual Learning Environment’.

When you purchase an online course with Xenonex, you will be allocated a username and password automatically. You will access your online learning through our Learning Management System. This can be found on the ‘Log-In’ button at the top of our website. Here, you will find your learning material. You can log on and off as many times as you want, and the system is bookmarked and will remember where you were up to each time you log on.

Our online courses comprise the following:

Online learning resources

The unique Xenonex reflective workbook

An action planning toolkit that allows you to focus on next steps of applying your learning

Leadership showcase tool to facilitate a review with your line leader or sponsor

If your course is formally assessed through the ILM, you will have one opportunity within the existing course fee to re-submit each assignment once. Any attempts over and above this will incur an additional charge.

‘Live Online’ is the term that Xenonex use for courses that are delivered via the internet but have lots of structured input and interactions with course tutors. They combine real-life support (LIVE) over the internet (ONLINE).

The online portal is another name for our Learning Management System, where you will be given a username and password to access your learning and assessment materials.

Xenonex courses are built around interactive workshops, where you will have an opportunity to liaise with your peers online to discuss projects, knowledge, skills, modules and feedback.

‘Blended learning’ is a term that describes the combination of pure online learning and elements where there is human interaction, such as online tutoring. At Xenonex, you have the option of studying fully online, Live online or a combination (blend) of the two.

The unique Xenonex workbook will help you apply your learning in the workplace; you can download an example of one of our workbooks on this webpage DOWNLOAD WORKBOOK. It includes reflective questions that run alongside the learning and relate each element of the course material directly to your role. Our reflective workbook ensures that the learning applies directly to you, your role and your organisation. The workbook truly brings the learning to life.

This is a tool that we include in our online courses. It is there to enable you to demonstrate to your line leader or manager what you are learning, and the progress you are making with your learning.

Usually course access lasts between 3 and 24 months depending on the level and type of course you have purchased. Each of our product pages display the access time for each course.

Technical

Also known as a ‘Virtual Learning Environment’, a learning management system is a piece of software that stores your learning record, tracks your progress and gives you access to learning material.

When you have purchased a Xenonex course, you will be emailed instructions to help you access your learning resources.

Don’t worry! Simply email or call us and we will send you a replacement. Alternatively, you can request a new password through our online portal.

You can try out our online demonstration tool on any of our online course product pages. If you are enquiring for a group, then we can provide a trial access to one of our courses.

You will need to be online to access our courses. The course workbooks that accompany the online courses can be saved on your computer and worked on offline.

Don’t worry – you can phone us during office hours, or email us and we’ll be in touch as soon as we can.

Xenonex are committed to ensuring that, as appropriate, progress can be tracked and celebrated. Our Learning Management System allows for stakeholders to log in and view progress through our Group Leader Dashboard (additional costs will apply).

Due to the comprehensive nature of our courses, the best learning experience will be delivered on a PC.