Instilling a coaching culture: How the industry could change from the inside

For the last twenty years, I’ve been working to change the construction industry – tiny little bit by tiny little bit – through my work coaching leadership teams.

It works for individual businesses and projects, but it’s top down, and it’s not changing the industry.

Sometimes it seems like nothing ever will; countless initiatives over many decades have all failed to fix the problems.

Recently I’ve begun to wonder if there isn’t a way of working from the bottom up, and at scale.

About face

Of necessity, construction companies focus rigidly on the work at hand, protecting the margins of ongoing projects and winning new ones. There is no time or headspace to think about how we do what we do.

We don’t give a lot of thought to the new people coming up behind us, the people in their 20s and 30s – Millennials – who are busy building the foundations of their careers. They’re expected to just fit in with the way we do things around here.

What if companies turned 180 degrees and faced these new generations, making concentrated efforts to coach them in the skills, behaviours and attitudes we know lead to success?

I’m talking about technical skills, but also the soft skills we need – how to work collaboratively, communicate effectively, act always with professionalism, managing and fulfilling their accountabilities, spotting and managing the human causes of risk. You learn these things best through guided practice.

What if we began instilling a new coaching culture?

They’re looking to you

I’ve done some research on Millennials, and it’s clear that this is what they want.

It may be humbling to learn, but Millennials believe their main source of development comes from you, their manager, according to a global survey conducted by Harvard Business Review.

They want more help with personal development, and they want their managers to inspire them, to be “authentic”, and to surround them with great people.

You may be thinking, “Whoah, that’s a tall order”, but there’s more.

They want the company they work for to be a force for good in society, according to other studies, and they want their work to be meaningful.

They thrive better in a structured environment where their development is a priority, and where there is effective guidance and leadership.

‘You were lucky’

On top of all that, their job with you may be the first “real job” they’ve ever had, so the unwritten rules of the workplace in general, and the even more complex norms of the construction industry, may be a complete mystery to them.

When we entered the industry, we had to get by without all this support. It was sink or swim.

So it’s understandable if our reaction to Millennials’ expectations is negative and defensive, along the lines of, “We managed, you’re going to have to, too”.

But my thinking is, we could change if we wanted to.

Also, if we don’t change, talented Millennials will just go elsewhere. Where will we get new talent from?

A big idea in the making

Perhaps if we embraced them with a new coaching culture, the industry would evolve for the better from the inside.

You may be thinking, fine, but how? How do we instil this coaching culture when it’s all hands on deck just getting through this week?

I have an idea. It’s audacious and fits with what the industry needs and what millennials want.

I’m working on it. Watch this space.