Coaching for Leaders at Microsoft

Coaching for Leaders at Microsoft
A master class for veteran leaders

"Undoubtedly, the most valuable experience that any company ever invested in."              A coaching leader in Boise
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled."        Plutarch
"This program has reconnected me to my mission with both my team and my customers." A coaching leader at Microsoft
"Management is about coping with complexity. Leadership is about coping with change." Jon Kotter
"I'm beginning to recognize the signal through the noise." A coaching leader at Microsoft
“Coaching is the pro-biotic in the belly of the beast."    Jennifer Winick
"This is the first ever training where I wish we'd gone longer than ten months! More please."   A member of CFL 5

You've probably heard that phrase, and that aspiration, a lot lately.
We've noticed through recent years that when companies foster coaching cultures
they attend to three key ingredients:

They use external coaches strategically,
Their C-Suite leaders are enthusiastic sponsors, and
They give time and resources to the education and development of internal coaching leaders.

Far more than a brief "tips, techniques and tools" workshop, Coaching for Leaders (CFL) is a master class that will change how you think. It is designed to transform the leadership of veteran executives on the inside of great companies, developing them to both "do the craft and be the coach" as internal coaching leaders.

Patty had a question for some CFL graduates: "Do you think Microsoft will make more money, have more fun, and do more good because you guys have invested this time in becoming coaching leaders?"

(They all spoke at once)
"We'll listen better and take better risks.”
“We'll ask better questions and be more innovative.”
“We'll course correct faster.”
“We'll argue about the right things, but more kindly.”
“We'll probably stay around longer."

(Then someone dropped a mic.)

2021: Coaching for Leaders Cohort #5 at Microsoft

Photo by Mark Meadows

(Click on the photo for Patty's bio)

My name is Patricia Burgin and I'm a leadership and communication coach for talented people and their teams, and author of The Essential Coaching Leader.

Visionary leaders today understand that the nature of work has changed. Their most talented employees are looking for two key elements:

Work that matters—a sense of purpose and service, and
Opportunities at work for personal and professional development

And if both elements are not present, those employees are more likely to change companies than they are to simply change jobs. And, as always, the determining factors are the company culture and its managers.

And Click here to review Q & A between Patty and CFL Participants about the path to international certification.

Click here to review our rich and growing SeattleCoach Book list.

A little history of CFL at Microsoft . . .

These are the transformative graduates of of "Coaching for Leaders" (on-ramp #4 below) at Microsoft. Together, they are changing the leadership culture at Microsoft to "Model. Coach. Care."

CFL 3, 2019

CFL 1, 2017

CFL 4, 2020-2021

CFL 2, 2018

And these are a few of our "Triad Coaches." These graduates of CFL meet with small groups of participants for six hours of peer coaching and practice between each of our offsites.
Spectacular human beings.

The Five On-Ramps
for Developing Coaching Leaders--and a Coaching Culture

1	*Executive Coaching for Leaders*. We begin with several coaching sessions with a team leader to work on their personal, tactical and strategic outcomes. This initial collaboration with the team leader uncovers the next steps in the process and development of both the leader and their team.

2

3

Team Meetings. The leader shares his or her vision for the coming period of growth, and the team works together with the leader and the coach to process both key agreed-upon content along with ground-rules and expectations. Everyone leaves with enthusiasm, a next step and some shared accountability. On-ramp #2 is often repeated quarterly as the team attends to their process and to their shared deliverables. Some examples: Ground rules for new and renewing teams; managing conflict; coaching skills to improve feedback; meeting strategies; consistently getting everyone's best; working with accountability; performance improvement and career development; a leader's personal presence. What does your team need more of? less of?

Introduction to Coaching for Leaders. As clarity grows about the nature and payoffs of coaching skills and presence, this on-ramp brings a fast-paced and interactive 4-hour workshop for up to 50 key leaders and people managers. In this day together, we introduce everyone to the key concepts and vocabulary of coaching as a people manager. Everyone leaves with some enthusiasm, a next step and some shared accountability. Every time we teach one of these workshops, a handful of leaders ask for more.

4

Coaching for Leaders, aka, CFL. A Master Class, not a "tips and tools" training. We select up to thirty-five seasoned leaders, meet for four quarterly off-sites, provide customized training in coaching skills and presence, along with on-going peer groups. The result is a little magic. SeattleCoach is a recognized training provider by the International Coach Federation (ICF), so at the close of CFL, each participant receives documentation for 48 hours of coach-specific training.

5

Our Full SeattleCoach Professional Credentialing Track. A Master Class. Taught by our internationally credentialed SeattleCoach faculty members. We launch two Cohorts in Seattle each Fall, and two more each Spring. Carefully selected mid-career professionals from various backgrounds and organizations come together for a life-changing eight months. This too is a master class that includes 75 hours of coach-specific training that are recognized by the ICF. (Click here for more info.)

Our evaluations from the members of previous CFLs

"I’ve found that this Coaching for Leaders program has not only helped me to be a more effective and in-tune leader,
but is also helping me bring a deeper sense of soul and purpose to my work at Microsoft.
Thank you for guiding us through an incredible learning journey."

From CFL2 (2018)

From CFL3 (2019)

Click here to read Patricia Burgin's article, What Happens When Your Leaders Learn to Coach?
And here for some compelling research from Matthew Lieberman at HBR

These are our areas of focus:

Developing a coaching culture in which employees become people of greater substance, capacity, engagement and confidence,
The neuroscience of how human brains organize to engage with others and to metabolize change,
The personal presence and subsequent influence of each coaching leader (no blaming, shaming or reactivity required),
The ability to recognize "coaching moments" with individuals, groups and teams and then,
Partnering on actionable experiments each time we meet, and always,
Some fun.

Click on the photo to the right to listen to an interview with Patty's pal & frequent collaborator, Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and author of the Brain Rules books. The SeattleCoach faculty team knows what great coaching looks like, when to use it and how it works. Dr. Medina brings us a steady and entertaining flow of research about why brains like it.

Patty presenting with pal Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules.

"Coaching has a proven impact: add coaching to an initiative and people will focus on that initiative more. Add coaching to training and people learn more, up to 6 times as much in some cases. Coaches are like midwives for change: they know when change is coming, when it’s here, when it needs a nudge, and when it’s happening too fast. As change catalysts, coaches assist with managing the speed of change and smooth transition through change. With our understanding of how the brain works - there is an inbuilt resistance to change, and minimising the stress response, and error detection of the amygdala through actions like naming and normalising – we can make this process less painful. Change can be deeply challenging and emotional change required in organizational transition requires hardwiring of new learning through insight and action. Coaches are the perfect people to have around to facilitate this process." David Rock, Driving Organizational Change with Internal Coaching Programs