How counseling, mentoring and coaching can help managers at their work: a case study
Introduction
The core focus of this article is on the guiding methods, i.e., work counseling, coaching, and mentoring, influenced on leadership and management in a case organization. The aim was to examine how these guiding methods have supported leadership and management.
The research questions where:
- What were the most important factors (3-5), how work counseling, coaching, and mentoring have supported leadership and management?
- How have work counseling, coaching, and mentoring improved leaders’ and managers’ professional identity?
- How have work counseling, coaching, and mentoring developed leaders’ and managers’ leadership and management skills?
The goal for a qualitative analysis is to understand the researched phenomenon, i.e., to understand its meaning or sense. The aim is to get as deep and holistic perception as possible of the research object (Eskola et al., 2000, pp. 13-15). Qualitative research reports are highly descriptive reflecting the voices of the participants (Klenke et al., 2016, pp. 9-10). However, when using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, triangulation can be challenging to do properly (Myers, 2013, pp. 9-11).
There are several ways of analyzing the research data. In this study discussion/conversation analysis, coding and themes were used. Coding is one of the simplest ways of analyzing qualitative data. A code is, for example, a word that is used to describe or summarize a sentence, a paragraph, or a piece of text, like an interview. The researcher identifies the themes from the text or derives them from the literature. After that, the researcher organizes a list of codes, many times in hierarchies, and gives them definitions. Models are constructed by identifying the links between themes, concepts, beliefs, and behaviors. Codes can be, for example, descriptive, interpretive, theoretical or pattern (Myers, 2013, pp. 167-168).
Research Methods in This Case Study
In the study, the data was collected two ways. Firstly, by using two (2) Webropol-questionnaires/surveys with both structured questions and questions with open answers. One questionnaire was sent virtually to leaders and managers and their teams and another to work counselors, mentors and coaches who had counseled them. With open questions, the data was analyzed according to coding and themes. Secondly, the data was gathered by five semi-structured interviews using Microsoft Teams. Triangulation was made as using several ways of gathering data. The collected research data was analyzed according to coding, themes, and discussion analysis.
What are counseling, coaching and mentoring at work
The purpose of work counseling is to offer a chance for professional growth and building professional identity. In work counseling the work counselor is responsible for creating such circumstances where an employee can observe and explore him/herself and his/her work, to be able to understand better him/herself, his/her choices, and actions from the professional point of view. In a successful work counseling a client is supported to become aware of his/her strengths and to face his/her faults, as well as to have ideas of how chance the course, if needed (Siltala, 2004, pp. 242).
Figure 1 shows a chart of guiding methods, defining what kind of role a counselor has and how open or closed a process is. From these, we concentrate here on work counseling, mentoring, and coaching. Work counseling and mentoring are both open processes, but in mentoring a mentor’s role is much more guiding and that of an expert than in work counseling. Coaching, however, is more of a closed process compared to mentoring and work counseling. On the other hand, in coaching counselor’s guiding role is almost as strong as in mentoring.
Figure 1. A chart of guiding methods for leadership and management development (Räsänen, 2007).
Work counseling can be seen as a reflective learning process. It is important for a work counselor to be able to create a secure, benevolent, and exciting communicational environment, as well as to challenge clients to set critical questions concerning their own work. Learning new things is based on person’s previous experiences. It is also important for a work counselor to monitor, what are the most relevant issues for clients, where their mind is focused (Alhanen et al., 2011, pp. 35-43).
There are differences between individual, team, and group work counseling. In individual work counseling the focus is on a work counselor-client -relationship. Teamwork counseling is a process for the whole work community or some part of it. It helps a team to fulfill its core tasks and its members at working with each other. Teamwork counseling can clarify goals for everyday work, develop supporting work structures and proceed professional communication inside a work community (Alhanen et al., 2011, pp. 127; 137; 155).
For many executive leaders and managers personal coaching can be helpful in developing resources, own leadership style, skills for leading oneself, and increase well-being at work. Coaching has always a connection to organization’s strategy. Personal coaching can also be connected to group consulting or other leadership and management development processes. Coaching can be especially helpful for leaders and managers in the middle of organizational changes, due to natural resistance to change inside a work community. When developing his/her own ways of working a leader or a manager can develop his/her own actions and at the same time the actions of the whole team (Jylhä, 2005, pp. 27-28).
A good mentoring relationship is a core issue for a successful mentoring process. Mentoring can be guiding, coaching or dialogical in nature and it is based on the following elements: an actor’s will for development, utilizing a mentor’s experiences (knowledge and experiences), goal-directive mentoring and combining expectations, mutual understanding of the mentor’s and actor’s roles, time, framework and other external requirements, clear and joint rules, and regulations, as well as smooth guiding of a mentoring process (Kupias & Salo, 2014, pp. 120-121).
The case organization
The research was a case study for Helsinki parish union. The parish union consists of 17 Finnish speaking and 3 Swedish speaking Evangelical Lutheran parishes. The union is led by a CEO together with an executive board. Parishes are independent units lead by a vicar and a church council elected every four years. The parish union takes care of the total economy of the parishes, HR, unit’s administration, properties, cemeteries, member register, IT, and communications. Common activities, for example, family counseling, hospital counseling, education and so on are coordinated by the parish union (Helsinki parish union website, 2021a).
In Helsinki parishes there were altogether 1128 employees, 698 working in parishes and 430 in the parish union at the end of 2021 (S. Riekkinen, personal communication, October 22, 2021). Although there are changes coming for the next years due to decreasing funding. Change negotiations were organized between the spring and fall of 2022. Within three years, the cuts will be 4,8 Million Euros, also meaning reducing 45 employee working years (Helsinki parish union website, 2022).
There is an agreement between the Evangelical Lutheran Church and church related organizations of work counseling without commission. Helsinki parish union also has a full-time position for a work counselor, who coordinates work counseling, coaching, and mentoring inside the organization.
The results of the case study
In questionnaires leaders and managers expressed that the most important advantages were reflective discussion and points of views how to solve to challenging cases. According to leaders and managers, for some, there had been development in one’s professional identity. Work counselors, coaches and mentors thought that work counseling, coaching, and mentoring could be felt ineffective, if there is the lack of confidence or commitment in the process or sometimes a problem can be too big to be solved in the coaching context. It was seen as a challenge if a counselor was from inside the organization.
There were five (5) interviews, and all interviewees were women. Some told that there were no accurate goals set in the work counseling. If the goals were set, they were connected to supporting leadership and management, well-being at work, development in leadership skills and dealing with difficult emotions, setting clear goals to one’s own work and through that increased motivation for work, balance between work and spare time, growth in professional self-esteem, better listening to employees, making boundaries to work, and applying for additional education.
For leaders and managers, the most important influences were development as leader, leading competence, self-management, and well-being at work. For work counselors, well-being at work was seen as the most important issue. There was seen difference between the expertise in the profession and the identity as a leader or manager. For new leaders and managers work counseling had given understanding. It had helped leaders and managers to take responsibility and make decisions as well as react in a professional manner also to negative feedback.
Work counselors thought that the change had happened in leader’s or manager’s behavior in managing one’s own feelings and better ability for dialogue and understanding as well as raising different opinions, which led to better behavior and better communication for all in organization.
Leaders and managers thought that confidence, positive attitude, and emotional intelligence had grown during the process. Interviewees named as other processes figuring out one’s own path in life and professional pondering. Some interviewees had discussed spiritual questions in their work counseling, related to a calling, and it was seen important that work counselor had knowledge about work in the church.
Interviewees thought that work counseling could be felt ineffective if there were different expectations for counselor and client. The counselor might not have taken leadership and given too much space for some participant. Sometimes the process just did not go forward. There could also be too big structural challenges in the organization and culture not to talk about difficult matters. Counseling was based on trust and sometimes counselor and client did not find shared language or trust.
It was seen crucial to have full-time work counselor, who also can coordinate work counseling, coaching, and mentoring in the Helsinki parish union, and that there is a strong structure for work counseling inside the organization.
Questionnaire as a way of gathering data can cause misunderstandings, if used terms are not accurate. Therefore, it was explained, for example, what was meant by the term professional identity. Some open answers, however, showed, that all the questions were not specific enough for all respondents. Based on the data, all-over conclusions in the big picture cannot be made. If there had been a possibility to have more answers to the questionnaires and make more interviews, the data could have offered more deeper insights to the research questions. After all, it can be said that the research offers results at an adequate level.
Effects of Coaching and Mentoring
The answers were mostly based on work counseling. Only few respondents had experience of coaching and mentoring. So, in the research, it was not possible to separate the latter two as their own subjects, but to handle all supporting methods at the same. The same concerned division between individual and team or group processes. In answers the meaning of peer support was raised.
Coaching and mentoring could give support for leaders and managers and help their development in leadership and management, also in different ways than work counseling. In coaching it is possible to focus more on client’s personal development, life as whole and career path.
Finding one’s own career path and personal development have come more essential. Mentoring on the other hand can strengthen the client’s leadership and management skills – especially for new leaders and managers, by having a more experienced colleague specialized in the same professional field to support and guide the way.
The most important factors, in which leadership and management were supported were depending on the respondent’s role. For all they were self-management and development as a leader, leading competence, and well-being at work.
It was also acknowledged, that work counseling, coaching, and mentoring had a larger impact in an organization than just developing leader’s or manager’s own skills. The changes had happened in team spirit, cooperation skills, openness to discuss difficult matters inside an organization and all-over well-being at work.
Requirements for effective work counseling, coaching and mentoring
Work counseling, coaching, and mentoring were in almost all cases seen useful, but it needed commitment, trust, and realistic expectations. In some cases, the process was not seen useful, due to, for example, lack of motivation or resources, or if there are too big structural problems and culture of silence concerning difficulties inside an organization.
Professional identity was, however, seen mostly to be strong even in the beginning. Work counseling had influence on clients’ professional self-esteem leading to improved professional identity. It had helped leaders and managers to take responsibility and make decisions as well as react in a professional manner also to negative feedback.
Leaders and managers themselves estimated their leadership and management skills, including confidence, positive attitude, and emotional intelligence, to be on a high level. Work counselors thought that development had happened especially in dealing with emotions and through that in leadership skills. Work counseling, coaching, and mentoring was seen as the most important while feeling insecure. As other processes connected to work counseling, coaching, and mentoring were seen being depending on client’s personal situation as well as situation at work. It must be noted that respondents in general had a long career and most of them were middle-aged women. Does it tell that for women in general it is easier and more important to discuss and reflect about leadership and management with another person? However, for the process to be successful, a leader or a manager needs to be motivated and committed into it and find a counselor, coach, or a mentor, to whom he/she can trust.
Becoming more and more pressured, it would be important for leaders and managers to have peer support and a place where to reflect difficult situations. In the future it will be even more important to have a possibility for a counselor in the Helsinki parish union. Guidance should be focused on supporting well-being as well as in developing competence and this should also be included in the budget. In all, possibility for work counseling, coaching, and mentoring should be kept in the frame as much as possible. It is also important to have a professional coordinator – in the Helsinki parish union – a full-time counselor, who can find suitable work counselors, coaches and mentors for leaders, managers, and employees. If responsibility is left to themselves, usually a counselor is not found, and the process does not start at all.
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