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Bartercard
Bartercard offer financial flexibility to businesses through exchanging goods and services without the need for cash. Since their 1991 inception, with three founders and one employee, Bartercard have experienced enormous growth - some organic and some through mergers and acquisitions. They now operate in 16 countries and have a global membership exceeding 55,000 businesses.
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Why Coaching?
In 2002, Bartercard acquired their second largest competitor. As the organization moved to merge the two cultures and create a unified executive team, the merging GM suggested coaching for their executives. Bartercard GM, Susan Minnekeer doubted coaching's validity.
I'd read Dale Carnegie and Stephen Covey, but I thought coaching was just motivational - a bit of Rah! Rah! without the pom-poms. I thought it would be a complete waste of time. I was very negative, very skeptical.
Still, Susan knew that exceptional human resources were pivotal to Bartercard's success. Given the positive comments by her colleague, she agreed to trial the TCC coaching.
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Leadership Coaching
As part of her Leadership Coaching conversation, Susan completed the Intercept® Report. This unique TCC report allows coachees to benchmark their approach against 36 key areas that impact business success and underpin leadership qualities.
I've done profiles like Myer-Briggs before, so the Intercept Report seemed like more profiling. Yet the Report was very powerful. Where a Myer-Briggs tells you what you are, the Intercept® Report really gets to the core of what makes you tick, how you make decisions and what makes you, you. It shows you areas where you are over-compensating and those you might need to strengthen. I was very impressed and suitably surprised.
Susan discussed the "insights" from this report with her coach; an experience that proved enlightening and offered a new approach to her leadership and business management methods.
It was perhaps the first time in my life I've sat and talked with someone about me. It was like looking in a mirror and really understanding where the thought processes come from and how I really am.
The most powerful realization for Susan was that she had earned the right to focus only on things that were important to the business and allow others to take on responsibilities.
It was very liberating, not only for me, but for the staff under me. It's all common sense when you put it out on the table, but really difficult in practice. It's about being empowering and assertive, not aggressive.
Initially, four top executives participated in one group coaching session and then the Intercept� program. Subsequently one moved to Bartercard's franchise department and another left the company (though this was not due to the coaching). The result is a strong core group of executives that know they want to be with the company.
Bartercard's aspiring senior managers are chosen for Talent Development coaching. This program allows staff to benchmark their current approach and identify any areas for improvement for their career development.
In a continuation of this process of staff development, Bartercard is moving towards structured succession planning.
As the business grows and staff move into more challenging roles, they need more than enthusiasm. They need better personal skills and more developed core strengths to cope with the changes that new positions bring - especially their new relationships with staff and finding a work-home balance.
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Sustainable Results
For Susan, TCC's Leadership Coaching has allowed her to reward herself. She can now relax and enjoy all the roles that life expects of her.
As a manager you have a somewhat autocratic facade. You don't drop the guard - ever. Now I'm showing a more human face and I've become a real person. There used to be two me's, the me at work and the me socially. Now the two are merging.
The coaching has allowed Bartercard staff to recognize what is important to them. Generally, staff are happier, more productive and more assertive.
We've changed the title for our new "HR Manager" to People Development Manager. We want to be an employer of choice. We want succession plans and we want to choose the right people and nurture and develop them. We'll be involving TCC in developing and implementing this concept.
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