CASE STUDY:
P&G Improves Coaching — By Listening
LEAD Groups
The focus of the Band 3 College was to increase innovation. One component, LEAD Groups, was designed to build lasting relationships. These relationships are expected to increase long-term networking, which in turn has historically led to R&D innovation at P&G. The focus of the LEAD Group instruction and activity was on coaching and listening skills. The final design of LEAD groups had additional benefits in that these groups helped participants:
- Realize the complexities of current work issues
- Accept the senior management expectation that they are responsible for developing others
- Realize that they can best develop others by helping them solve their own complex work issues
- Accept the need to recognize and address emotions and intense feeling associated with workplace concerns
These skills are so important that six hours were freed up in a tight College schedule for LEAD Groups. The program starts with a 45 minute introduction to the LEAD process, followed by an icebreaker dinner with the LEAD group facilitator, after which the groups retreat to a hotel suite for in-depth listening sessions.
MacKenzie (1996) noted that, in the later stages of his Hallmark career, when others consulted with him and he tried to fix their predicament or fix them, it never worked. He started to read Eastern authors and developed “compassionate emptiness” or a state of nonjudgmental receiving. He then began to listen in silence. Interestingly, when he stopped interfering with their process, many of his colleagues would come up with solutions of their own, and “each of us would be the better for the experience.”
Listening is the high point of coaching like it is for diagnosis in health care and in business organizations. Therefore listening is central in developing coaching.
LEAD Group Instructions
About four weeks before attending the R&D University Band 3 College, each participant, hereafter called the seeker, wrote a 200-250-word description of a current unresolved issue. They where told that writing up a case serves a number of purposes: explaining a issue in more personal terms; seeing the difficulty of getting a balanced view of the work situation; and experiencing a new way of thinking about issues. When analyzing the case they were asked to consider the following: what does it mean for the writer, what feelings are involved, is it a new issue or one that has been around for a long time, is the writer free to change, and is it solvable? This exercise is designed to help people learn to be more aware of feelings when helping someone else. The exercise should aid in identifying strengths and weaknesses as a participant and an observer.
LEAD Group Structure
People were divided into 6-person groups. Participants were asked to volunteer for two roles, Helper and Observer. Each member of the group was assigned to the Seeker role for one of the six LEAD Group sessions that would be conducted during the week. For about 20 minutes the Helper interviews the Seeker about his or her issue, based on what was written prior to the College. There will be a 20-25 minute discussion of what was observed and learned from the interview. This procedure will be followed until all LEAD Group members have a chance to address their issue. This event is not intended to solve the concern presented in the case. The emphasis will be on asking and listening and an awareness of powerful emotions in the exchange between Helper and Seeker.
