Introduction

In the Autumn of 2021, Think EQ was awarded a contract by Education Scotland to deliver a programme of learning to educators across the country on pre-identified professional learning programmes. Specifically, Education Scotland sought to offer a peer coaching programme where similar-career-stage professionals in education (teachers, school leaders, pupil support assistants, community learning and development practitioners, ASN teams and early years) were partnered with a peer coaching partner from outside of their own local authority area as part of a wider education workforce support package. No prior experience of coaching was required to participate.

We were tasked with:

• Designing a programme of learning to introduce the skills required to have basic coaching conversations with a view to taking the learning back to the workplace,
• Supporting Education Scotland with the promotion of the offer to prospective participants in schools, early learning centres, and in community learning and development settings,
• Matching professionals using pre agreed criteria, introducing them to one another and monitoring their progress for 3 sessions back and forth,
• Facilitating monthly live learning sessions designed to support and complement the practical coaching offer,
• Analysing and reporting on high-level thematic data emerging from sessions, as well as project impact data.

The initial programme saw 244 register and undertake this opportunity. In 2022, the offer was extended to a further 1500 educators across Scotland and rolled out wider to include colleagues in regional education hub settings and to those not specifically taking part in an existing professional learning programme.

What is Peer Coaching?

‘Peer coaching (also known as co-coaching) is a confidential process where two people, who are at a similar level, support each other to work through challenges they are facing. During a coaching session, peer coaches take turns to coach each other. A peer coach actively listens without judgment, reflects back what they are hearing, asks incisive questions, and supports their peer coaching partner to decide on a course of action’, British Council, 2022.

According to Quantum Workplace, ‘peers often have better insight into an employee’s work ethic and productivity, performance, and areas that could use improvement than managers, as they work closely with one another on a daily or even hourly basis. Creating a culture that fosters peer coaching encourages more accurate development’.

Challenges and Solution

Naturally, with the challenges placed on the education workforce during the pandemic, we sought to ensure a pragmatic and flexible approach was adopted. Our intended ‘launch’ session became a recorded, on-demand video ensuring those who could not make a live session did not miss out. We offered two slots of monthly live learning, in the morning and in the late afternoon. We surveyed and evaluated the feedback from participants and adapted our approach to ensure maximum participation and we extended the offer from an initial 3 months to 6 months to allow all participants to complete the programme.

How we matched:

Prospective participants were invited to register to be matched with a peer coach. Our platform took the matching requirements and auto matched the participant to another peer outside of their local authority. The match was based on job role, and in some cases, professional learning programme, and coaching experience. As an example, a headteacher in Angus Council was matched with a headteacher in the Scottish Borders. Both had no experience of coaching at all.

The auto match process allowed us to onboard participants at-scale, providing a high-quality match. We added a human element to the matching process, sense checking a selection of matches to ensure they were a good fit in terms of coaching experience and career stage. None of the participants reported any issues with their match.

Online learning:

During the onboarding process, each participant was invited to join our online learning programme. This online course was made accessible on demand and include a series of learning modules, as well as tools and resources to help them with their peer coaching conversations.

The in-built chat function was enabled 24/7, ensuring that participants could reach out to us at any point to ask quick questions or seek support.

Reporting:

Throughout the programme, we were able to provide Education Scotland with a range of meaningful data and statistical insights, ranging from general participant demographic data to themes emerging and impact of coaching on their professional practice. This information was gathered using forms which were embedded into the course modules and were completed by the participants themselves. We were able to provide point-in-time data, as an when requested by the client.

Our impact

Education Scotland were able to benefit from a fully managed, end-to-end service which saw us promote and advertise the service, set up the programme infrastructure with scope and objectives, report on the delivery of the programme to time and budget and to manage the day-to-day activity of matching, onboarding, reporting and client liaison.

As the programme progressed, demand for a place increased, rising from 244 in 2021, to 1500 in 2022. This represents an 84% increase in demand.

Education Scotland were able to use the impact data to evidence the impact of the peer coaching programme, and its success, to evidence need and acquire sponsorship for a further, larger programme.

In terms of creating a lasting and sustainable impact on a business using peer coaching, and with the continuation of this programme into the new year, we are excited to see the more granular impacts that the peer coaching programme will have on the sector going forwards.

Trying to build a better culture?

This programme is highly versatile and suitable to anyone looking to change their workplace culture using measurable and informal coaching methods to do so. If you would like to chat more about how we can help you to do this, contact us at hello@thinkeq.com 

Introduction

People-focused, innovative organisations see the value in coaching and what it has to offer in relation to business and growth. For many organisations, their leaders have been coached and their own personal experiences of coaching can help drive buy-in for it, leading to coaching programmes trickling down to managers, teams, and individuals. They are invested in it, but all too often, it’s difficult to prove the cost/benefit value of a coaching programme to both the individual and organisation.

So, how do we gather the data from coaching conversations that is needed by leaders to inform strategic decisions and grow businesses?

At its very core, coaching is a developmental tool rooted in trust and confidence between the coach and coachee. Naturally, we don’t divulge the content of an individual’s coaching session but when we are running multiple coaching programmes from one organisation, we can start to see certain themes emerging. These themes can begin to draw out some interesting information about an organisation’s culture, internal and external influences on individual and organisational behaviours and sector-wide beliefs, allowing us to begin to identify what an organisation’s needs may be.

How this project came about

In 2019, Coaching Direct was appointed to deliver a career coaching programme with one of the top 5 UK universities. The aim of the programme was to provide a safe, confidential space for thirteen women within clinical and academic faculties to receive a programme of six goal-orientated coaching sessions, over a ten-month period, with ThinkEQ.

Surprisingly, when participants were evaluated part-way through their programme, and again at the end, in an industry of intellectuals, a high volume of participants reported that they frequently experienced feelings of low self-worth. With most respondents indicating that they felt this, it became apparent that low self-worth, low confidence was widespread in academia. Further, the feelings of low self-worth were exacerbated by heavy workloads, a difficulty in prioritising workloads, coping with the effects of change and a feeling that there was limited scope for progression in their roles.

Coachees were followed up 6 months after their programme to find out about their current situation. Of those who responded, all expressed the view that the coaching experience had been productive, successful, and positive. 100% of participants who responded stated that they would recommend the coaching programme.

In 2021, ThinkEQ was again appointed to deliver career coaching programme to a further ten women. Coachees were evaluated using the same criteria as before both during, and at the end of their coaching programmes. The following themes were observed:

Now in its third year, the career coaching programme has grown in both scope and diversity. 39 places have been awarded and the offer extended to both academics and professional services staff. The offer has been taken up by 7 men and 32 women.

What information we gathered

As with the first cohort, the themes of low self-confidence in role, alongside management of personal time and work/life balance were identified as areas of particular concern for coachees. Low self-confidence and general feelings of ‘not being good enough’ were very apparent in academia, particularly among women. Several coachees expressed anxiety about being ‘found out’ and admitted feeling stressed as a result of comparing themselves to others.

Our recommendations

Alongside a coaching programme, our suggestion, which was taken up, was to offer a workshop out to the wider faculty, exploring the subject of ‘imposter syndrome’ and the triggers that lead to low self-worth. The workshops were designed and implemented to be strategy focused.

Balancing workload, alongside family and general life commitments was again highlighted as an area of particular concern. Several coachees indicated that their workloads were unmanageable, leaving them little free time and resulting in feeling ‘tearful’ ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘not good enough’. Our suggestion to the university was to look at development opportunities with a positive psychology, time management and strengths angle. A strengths-based approach development leverages strengths; realised and unrealised, learned behaviours and weaknesses to reframe how we use our skills and how we can dial down and/or delegate the strengths that exhaust and drain us.

Our impact

We supported coachees to bring about real change

In our survey of all the respondents, almost all believed that it was time well spent, with a staggering 89% agreeing that they believed it would help them achieve their goals and advance their careers.

We provided the University with the data they weren’t aware of

We provided the University with the information needed to make relevant and necessary learning and development choices, offering a tangible return on their limited financial investment. We equipped leaders with the data needed to more deeply understand what it is like to be an employee of the University, to home in on and really make use of the strengths and opportunities that exist for staff within the organisation and also use feedback to start to bring about cultural changes.
Managing coaching programmes at this scale and of this frequency is huge undertaking. With limited time and resources, ThinkEQ liaised with the programme leads to understand how they wanted to use coaching. From there, we supported with the advertising and promotion of the offer, the shortlisting and communication, the onboarding of coachees and matching to coach and all of the administrative activity associated with gathering coaching contracts, evaluating the programme and providing the aforementioned insights and themes.

Are you curious to find out what coaching can tell you about your organisation? Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help – hello@thinkeq.com

Background and Challenge

In the dynamic and highly competitive world of investment management, effective leadership is crucial for success. Emotional intelligence (EI) plays a pivotal role in leadership effectiveness, influencing interpersonal relationships, decision-making, and overall team performance. This case study explores a recent Emotional Intelligence 360 Assessment conducted with a fund manager, referred to as “John,” to identify strengths, areas for improvement, and the subsequent development plan.

John is a seasoned investment management professional with over 15 years of experience. He holds a prominent leadership position within a leading financial institution and manages a team of portfolio managers and analysts. Although John has a strong track record of achieving financial goals, his team has encountered challenges related to cohesion, motivation, and communication. It was believed that enhancing John’s emotional intelligence could potentially address these issues and elevate his leadership effectiveness.

Solution

Developed by MHS, the Emotional Intelligence 360 Assessment was administered to gather feedback from John’s peers, direct reports, and superiors. The assessment evaluated John’s EI competencies across the 5 scales of emotional intelligence of the EQ-I 2.0, including self-awareness, self-expression, interpersonal, decision making, and stress management. In addition to a self-assessment, anonymous surveys were distributed to 10 colleagues, 5 direct reports, and 1 immediate manager who had worked closely with John over the past year. 

Findings

Upon completion of this assessment, John met again with his coach, to discuss the key findings and blind spots.

1. Strengths in Self-Awareness: John demonstrated a high level of self-awareness, recognising his emotions and their impact on his decision-making. This self-awareness contributed to his ability to effectively manage stress and maintain composure during high-pressure situations. John’s direct reports scored John slightly lower than he scored himself.
2. Areas for Improvement in Emotional Awareness: John’s emotional awareness scores indicated a need for improvement. His colleagues felt that he could enhance his ability to understand the emotions and perspectives of others, particularly during team interactions and client meetings.
3. Mixed Results in Interpersonal: John’s relationship management skills were rated differently by different groups. While his superiors acknowledged his proficiency in building strategic relationships, his direct reports felt that he could improve in providing feedback and fostering a more inclusive team culture. John found his relationship with his own line manager a challenging one and this was later explored in more depth in his second feedback session with his EQ coach.
4. Need for Enhanced Independence: Although John had a strong foundation in self-awareness, he struggled at times with independence, particularly during high-stress situations. His superiors suggested that he work on maintaining a consistent emotional state and avoiding impulsive reactions.

With focused support from both his coach and his manager, John was able to create a development plan designed specifically to target and develop the areas of lower emotional intelligence and seekout further opportunities to leverage his areas of emotional strength.

John fed back that the experience had been truly life changing, allowing him to stop and reflect and take the action necessary to develop himself to become the best leader he can be.

Want to learn more about the EQ360 and how you can increase leadership effectiveness in your organisation? Learn about the Emotionally Effective Leaders programme.

What Prompted You To Enquire About EQ Certification?

At the point when I started exploring the EQ certification, a considerable amount of research and guidance on emotional intelligence was emerging. The ‘soft’ and less tangible aspect of management, leadership, and just overall ability to work with others and for others started becoming more tangible and mainstream – Daniel Goleman’s model was referenced a lot, Brene Brown’s TED talks about shame and vulnerability were receiving millions of views,  everyone in the world of people development was writing or speaking about what aspects of our behaviours, skills and approaches are dictated by our emotional intelligence. Organisationally, we at SUSU knew that EI is integral to effective management and leadership, and that gaining a deeper understanding of it and having a well-developed tool to assess and discuss EI was a necessary next step to help us in empowering and growing compassionate, inspiring and high-performing managers and leaders.

Had you explored other EQ tools, if so which ones and what made you choose the EQ-I 2.0 certification?

I was aware of Daniel Goleman’s EQ model and associated Emotional and Social Competence Inventory, however, we had the pleasure of working with a leadership coach who was certified in EQ-I 2.0 and had used the assessment as part our CEO recruitment at the time. The tool, its use and benefits were explained to us so effectively, so when the opportunity came to become certified, it was quite evident which tool and certification to pursue.

What were your goals and objectives in using a tool such as the EQ? Do you feel those goals have been met? 

Organisationally, our objective was to use the EQ tool for development and recruitment. Developmentally, we wanted EQ-I to enable our managers and leaders to gain a better understanding of the various scales and subscales so they could leverage those there were strong at and look to develop in those that scored lower. We have definitely met this goal. Recruitment-wise, we wanted to have a better insight into the candidates’ social and emotional skills and utilise a few bespoke interview questions to explore pertinent areas with them as part of the selection. We utilised the EQ assessment for the recruitment of the CEO, a Director role and a number of senior management roles. However, with the recruitment challenges that immediately followed Covid, we opted to exclude the EQ assessment so as not to extend the selection process, and the majority of successful candidates had the assessment as part of their subsequent induction and initial development.

In what way has it developed leaders?

What parts of a debrief stand out for you/your client? Is there an ‘a-ha’ moment?

For many clients, it is common to see that their self-reflection on the scales/subscales at the start of the debrief matches the actual scores in the report, or at least areas of particular strength or those that are most underutilised. Another ‘a-ha’ moment usually arises in seeing how two, three or more of the subscales interact and affect each other, realising that all of them are interconnected and can be leveraged to balance each other.

What do you love about the tool? Is there anything you would change about it? 

I love how logically the scales and subscales are organised, giving a comprehensive picture of one’s EI. It is great to see each subscale analysed from the perspective of the impact it could have on one’s work, and strategies provided for how to develop or leverage them more effectively. I love the coach report that allows to have a clear overview of the interplay of each subscale with the others, making it easier to prepare and deliver debriefs. It also offers a range of coaching questions that could be used as part of the debrief reflections. The leadership report helpfully offers an additional dimension whereby clusters of subscales constitute given leadership competencies.

What is next for EQ development at University of Southampton Students Union?

We will continue using it as a development tool for our people/line managers and student leaders, and where appropriate, open it up to other colleagues through our mentoring programme.  

Would you recommend using the EQ tool with clients? 

EQ is a great tool to gain a better understanding of oneself, especially from the perspective of emotional intelligence, and how this has an impact on how we interact and work with others. I would therefore very much recommend using it with clients across all levels of the organisation to help inform current practices and behaviours as well as build those for the future.

Would you recommend training with Think EQ? 

I would absolutely recommend learning with Think EQ – the entire experience – from initial enquiries to post-learning support – has been excellent. The care and the passion about the subject matter and the customer was present in every interaction, training session and feedback debrief. I am delighted that I have completed my EQ-I certification with Think EQ.

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Consultation

Morgan Stanley came to us at the start of 2023 with a desire to develop the emotional intelligence of their emerging leaders, part of a programme of leadership learning designed to enhance the skills of the organisation’s emerging talent.

The aims of Project Catalyst were to enable participants to:

• build high impact communication skills by exploring concepts of personal impact and influence, communicating with different audiences, and using multiple approaches and techniques to build a personal brand,
• build effective network and stakeholder management skills by exploring how to proactively build networks across the organisation and create value for stakeholders,
• create paths to accelerate careers by exploring different dimensions of career achievement through working with people, working on the business and working on self.

Naturally, a well developed EQ can support the achievement of all of these goals and we were therefore able to work with the client to produce a suite of support to help bring the learning to the leaders. 

Our Recommendations

We consulted with Morgan Stanley to understand their objectives through this piece of work. Form there, we recommended an EQ tool that would enable participants to consider their areas of emotional strength ; those that work well for them in their current role and could be further developed in future roles. We also used this tool to explore their areas for development and how, by making even the smallest changes, could lead to the biggest improvements.

The EQ assessment was supplemented with a 90 minute feedback session with an EQ qualified practitioner who sought to work with each participant in a personalised, offering tailored, bespoke development. Our coaches collaborated to pull out key themes facing Morgan Stanely’s aspiring leaders and from there, we were able to work with our partners at the Executive Coaching Consultancy to design a follow-on programme of learning specific to the needs of the participants. 

Rollout

Think EQ managed the process end to end, removing the administrative burden and project coordination requirement from the client. Over 100 participants were provided with a 90 minute online EQ session with one of our EQ-certified practitioners in the space of 4 weeks. Participants had one point of contact for the seamless scheduling of appointments. 

Our coaches reported that participants arrived into sessions fresh form having undertaken theior report and with the energy to participate fully. Together, they explored the various Agile EQ mindsets, what this meant for their current role and any future roles. Participants took away actions to follow up on, centred around their dicussion and new found self-awareness.

Measuring the Impact

From the individual assessments and out collaborative approach to measuring with the help of our coaching associates, we were able to give Morgan Stanley insights into what it feels like to be an emerging leader in the organisation. Honest, candid feedback allowed us to then tailor their follow on work and provide tangible, feedback-based training to address the themes raised.

From the observations, the following commonalties were reported:

Sustainability

It’s essential to know what’s happening in your organisation but what then? What will you do with then information? We worked with Morgan Stanley, and our lead partner, The Executive Coaching Consultancy, to build a programme of tailored learning that focused on addressing some of the issues and themes highlighted through the Agile EQ sessions. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it therefore Morgan Stanley left with tailored recommendations on how to move forward to further develop their leaders on an ongoing basis. 

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Why did you decide to train as a coach?

I was involved in a project with some fantastic coaches, designing a digital product to support people navigating tricky career inflection points. Working with them opened my eyes to how powerful coaching can be as a catalyst to meaningful change in people’s lives and careers. It felt like a natural progression and complimentary service to the learning design and consultancy I offer.

Why did you choose ThinkEQ?

Having been inspired by the coaches I was working with; it was only natural to ask for their recommendations when choosing a coach training provider and Think EQ were top of the list. It was great to have the opportunity to speak to Kirsty before making the decision and she was able to help me decide whether it was the right choice for me at this point in my life. I was particularly drawn to a provider that offered the opportunity to practice coaching beyond the programme and give something back to society at the same time, in the form of the Foundation.

What did you think of the AACT Training Programme?

It was fantastic. The small group live sessions created a super supportive space to practice and learn from your peers, alongside Kirsty’s expert teaching. I appreciated the way the course was structured, with time between live virtual sessions for home study, practice, and consolidation. I felt this helped embed the learning far more than if we’d done it as a 1-week course.

What have you been doing since your training?

I continued to develop my coaching skills with a couple of Foundation clients in the 3rd sector, which has been a valuable learning experience and had helped me put all the good teaching into practice. I’m continuing to grow my coaching practice, both as an associate with Think EQ and in my private practice, Glint Learning and Coaching.

What advice do you have for someone thinking of coach training?

It’s a fantastic skill to develop, whether you are looking to become a full-time coach, use it to compliment an existing skill set like learning & development or counselling, or simply find better ways to lead and manage your team. Think about what it is you want to develop your coaching skills for and then choose a training provider that aligns with your values.

Why did you decide to train as a coach?

I had been facilitating group coaching for nearly four years when I first considered training to be a professional coach. I loved coaching students, but I wanted to take that next step and be able to facilitate more in-depth coaching conversations with my coachees and to help co-create more long-term changes. I was also conscious that coaching was something that I took a lot of energy from and so I wanted to pursue opportunities that would allow me to learn more and improve as a coach.

Why did you choose ThinkEQ?

I chose ThinkEQ because I had previously been introduced to Kirsty through her work at the University of Edinburgh Business School and I really loved her enthusiasm, so I quickly identified her as being someone from whom I wanted to learn. I really liked that the course had a virtual learning environment and there was a clear focus on building a coaching community, which I loved.

What did you think of the AACT Training Programme?

I had such a positive experience with the AACT Training Programme and enjoyed being able to learn alongside such a supportive community of coaches. I enjoyed being able to learn how to structure a coaching programme and how I could better support my coachees through new tools and techniques. I have particularly liked using vision statements and reflection logs because they have allowed me to understand what my coachees want to achieve and what they have learnt about themselves in pursuit of those goals.

What have you been doing since your training?

Since my training, I have been working with my Foundation client, which has been a great opportunity and I’ve really benefited from being able to apply the frameworks that I learned throughout the course. I have also completed training in strengths coaching and am now an accredited Strengths Practitioner. Over the next year, I am looking forward to continuing to develop my coaching skills working with Masters students at the University of Edinburgh Business School, as well as defining my own coaching approach through drawing on my research in positive psychology and identifying the possible overlaps with coaching theory and practice.

What advice do you have for someone thinking of coach training?

I would encourage anyone who is thinking of Coach training to just go for it and sign up because coaching is a skill for life, and it will always serve you and those around you. The course itself is also a great opportunity for self-reflection and a chance to positively challenge your mindset and your way of thinking, which I know I really benefitted from!

About Us

ThinkEQ is a UK based executive coaching, coach training and centre for strengths and emotional intelligence. We work predominantly with organisations to help develop and empower workplaces that lead to tangible results and meaningful, measurable business results.

Client Expectations

Myeloma UK approached ThinkEQ looking for a staff development programme that would enable their team to consider their working relationships with each other as a fluid dynamic and not a static statement.

Our Approach

At ThinkEQ, our approach is always a collaborative one, looking at your current position with a view of where you want to be. We seek to ensure that our approach fits the organisational aims and values and that the tools used can measure impact.

Following a consultation with Myeloma UK, ThinkEQ suggested a programme of learning focused on strengths. Strengths within the individual, as well as strengths in a team context. We offered online strengths learning linked to the Strengths Profile tool. Learners used their report to acquire more depth and understanding as to what their realised strengths are, unrealised strengths and where they could use these more. We also worked with them to explore learned behaviours – those that exhaust and drain an individual and weaknesses, all with the purpose of dialling down these tasks or in partnering with individuals for whom these are strengths.

We delivered a strengths workshop bringing together the whole team to explore strengths at the aggregate team level. Team managers were able to see the pain points for staff and work through solutions. We worked with the team to create a team ‘brand’ and associated behaviours.

Finally, we evaluated the learning experience and asked learners how they would apply the strengths report in their roles. We documented this and put it into an action plan for the team.

Return on Expectation

“The team managers are integrating the strengths reports into their KPIs, appraisals and team meetings. What is good is that team have picked this up and moved it forward, not me”.

Challenge and our solution

ThinkEQ was appointed in Spring of 2019 to support the Leadership Academy and provide a series of EQ assessments and debriefs to 26 colleagues in leadership positions. Although the organisation was familiar with the tool and has used it previously with success, there were no qualified practitioners in-house to deliver EQ debriefs at-scale and ThinkEQ were able to step in and provide a full managed, end to end EQ debrief project. An online approach was adopted to ensure that the teams in Scotland and Romania could come together.

What we found during the debriefs

While there were many similarities between colleagues in the teams, there were some key differences are areas for development. Our findings were split by both region and job role.

The main UK sites are all located within Scotland, over 2 sites. In Europe, the have 1 site in Romania.

Similarities

Both teams exhibited well-developed EI subscales of problem solving and self-actualisation, meaning that the leaders in both teams can make decisions that are rooted in reality, objective and made without impulse. They have a particular strength in the pursuit of meaning in their roles. In the UK, stress tolerance was a better developed subscale whilst in Europe, flexibility was higher. Both areas of emotional intelligence sit within the Stress Management composite meaning that technical staff are very aware of how their emotions impact on their stress levels and can manage themselves, and change, effectively.

Differences

In UK, emotional expression was found to be a low subscale, yet this was a top EI subscale in Europe. This means that in the UK, leaders were perhaps not as able to express themselves or able to communicate their feelings constructively. Conversely, this was a strength of the colleagues in Europe which may indicate that there is more openness and/or a more psychologically safe environment. In Europe, empathy and independence were rated as being lower indicating that perhaps people prefer to work independently. Those working in technical roles such as engineering are typically high in problem solving. They have taught themselves to be very clear cut and objective to ensure speedy decisions are made. With the role not being as ‘person’ focused, the strength of empathy would not have had as much chance to develop.

Those working in professional roles (ops, admin, finance) are higher in self actualisation and have a strong sense of self regard which will provide confidence in their given roles. Their interpersonal skills however are, collectively, at the lower end, which could well signal they are not as involved in the wider company.

Again, like the UK region above, emotional expression is a key area for development along with flexibility – being open to change.

A common strength in leaders in both professional and technical roles was stress tolerance. This is a key leadership trait however a point to note is more junior member of the team or other leaders who have lower stress tolerance might need more support and a conversation about the role stress has in the workplace. It can be daunting if they believe you never experience stress.

Overall themes emerging from the data are of a strong and confident team, who enjoy what they do (self-actualisation). There are development areas around emotional expression and empathy, which are subscales that are closely linked and work well when balanced.

Self-actualisation is one of the only 15 subscales that appears in each of the 4 pillars of leadership potential. There were no obvious leadership derailers for this group.

The overall EQ from the Leadership Academy is very high, and in line with the leadership bar.

What the data tells us is the organisation’s recruitment and promotion strategy is working well. The right people appear to be in the right roles. The recruitment and selection of leaders for the Leadership Academy is also working well. Although there are some areas for targeted development, potential leaders are being identified well.

Our Recommendations

In our aggregated report back to the client, based on their collective results, we were able to make specific recommendations for further development of their existing and newly appointed leaders.

We suggested:

• Harnessing the emotional intelligence skills of the team members to act as role models, providing mentoring to more junior team members.
• Implementing targeted and bespoke development on listening skills and empathy in the workplace. We also advised looking at stress tolerance to start the conversation around what stress in the workplace looks like and how it manifests to help the team build coping strategies and techniques.
• ‘Manager as Coach’ training to support leaders in finding coachable moments in the workplace to develop future leaders using their EI strengths.
• Colleague engagement using a workplace mood survey

Our Impact

Upon following up with the organisation several months later, we were delighted to learn that they had taken our recommendations on board and added them to their ‘People Plan’ for the following year. Specifically, they had conducted a colleague engagement survey to gauge the mood of the organisation. From there, they would be able to, in conjunction with our recommendations, plan a series of bespoke and tailored development opportunities to help build a more emotionally intelligent culture.

Who was involved?

This case study examines the introduction and outcomes of the Think EQ Curious Conversations programme in higher education and public sector organisations between 2023 and 2024.

Unique to Think EQ, Curious Conversations is designed to introduce the concepts of coaching, how to embed coaching-style conversations into every day development programmes and ultimately create workplace cultures where peer coaching is the norm. 

(Some names have been changed)

Lauren, Student Adviser:

Lauren, a Student Adviser, was recommended the Curious Conversations training by her manager as part of professional development for all staff members. She sought to incorporate coaching into her role to empower students with decision-making skills. While she partially met her goals, Lauren looks forward to facilitating students in identifying their support needs and reducing reliance on advice-giving.

Lori, Student Adviser:

Lori, another Student Adviser, participated in the training as part of her employer’s initiative to implement a Coaching Culture within the Business School. With prior experience in career coaching, Lori aimed to empower students and promote positive outlooks. She found the training beneficial in increasing confidence in structuring meetings with students and plans to integrate coaching questions into her interactions.

Fiona, Delivery Partner:

Fiona, a Delivery Partner, recognised the potential of coaching to enhance team collaboration and solution-focused approaches. The training aligned well with her team’s goal of building capacity and fostering effective communication both internally and externally. Fiona intends to apply the coaching methods in exploring issues with external partner organisations and colleagues, aiming to empower them in their delivery journey.

Rachel, Delivery Partner:

Rachel and her team participated in the Curious Conversations training to improve stakeholder support and promote a coaching approach to their work. While Rachel had prior exposure to coaching methods, she found the training valuable in refining her skills and reducing advice-giving tendencies. She plans to incorporate coaching skills into her daily work to better support stakeholders and facilitate team collaboration.

What did participants learn from Curious Conversations?

Overwhelmingly, participants agreed that this was the right level for them. The sweet spot between basic coaching skills and a fully accredited programme, equipping them with the tools necessary to come at colleague development from a listening angle as opposed to an instructive one. 

Participants indicated that having an opportunity to practise their new skills under the supervision of an experienced coach and facilitator was very helpful. Feedback and observations were useful in reinforcing skills. 

Through the Curious Conversations programme, participants had the opportunity to learn about: 

• The Coaching Mindset
• Peer Coaching
• Levels of Listening
• What is a question?
• 7 Magic Coaching Questions
• Giving Feedback
• The Role of Empathy
• The Advice Monster
• Support and Encouragement

Evaluation and Impact 

Participants unanimously recommended Curious Conversations for its practicality, effectiveness, and applicability to diverse workplace contexts. They commended the trainers for their expertise and complimented the training programme itself for its structured approach and emphasis on practical application.

Participants expressed varying levels readiness to implement coaching skills in their respective roles. While some noted immediate improvements in confidence and communication, others highlighted challenges in immediate application due to the nature of their work or readiness of their clients/students. 

Conclusion

Overall, the Curious Conversations training programme has provided participants with valuable insights and tools to enhance workplace conversations and problem-solving approaches. By fostering a culture of coaching, organisations can empower their employees to facilitate positive change and achieve collective goals. 

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