Coachability: The missing piece of the coaching dynamic and key to maximizing learning & development cultures

April 13, 2022

About This Session

Does your organization employ coaching practices to accelerate employee development and elevate performance?

Many organizations, to foster continuous improvement, unlock employee potential, enhance agility, and boost performance in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, invest in and implement coaching practices and cultures. However, current practice – and research – typically views coaching in isolation, focusing almost exclusively on the role of the coach. This begs the question: how can organizations truly maximize the success of their coaching investments without equally focusing on the individual receiving coaching (i.e., the coachee)?

The key is through the critical concept of employee coachability – the “missing half” of the coaching equation. During this session, Coachability Consultants will introduce the evidence-based concept of employee coachability, detail the value of elevating employees’ coachability to “highly coachable” levels, and discuss the overall impact of building and sustaining strong cultures centered around coaching and coachability.

Furthermore, in this interactive session, we will preview two foundational coachability concepts: (1) feedback mindsets & motives and (2) the skill of proactively and effectively seeking feedback and coaching. More specifically, in the feedback mindsets and motives discussion, we aim to understand why individuals do or do not proactively solicit feedback, as well as what they hear, or how receptive they are, when provided with developmental information. In the following discussion, we will shift focus to the skill of proactively seeking feedback, presenting and applying four critical features that enable employees to more effectively capture targeted, impactful, and actionable feedback to enhance development and elevate performance.

Our Presenter(s)

Jake Weiss, Ph.D. is an I-O Psychologist and President & CEO of Coachability Consultants, Inc (CCI). CCI, a global, evidence-based company, partners with organizations across industries to elevate employees’ coachability, maximize coaching practices, and develop strong, feedback-rich coaching cultures that drive results. Passionate about bridging the scientist-practitioner gap, his research focuses on coaching, employee coachability, and organizational cultures. Recent peer-reviewed publications include an article titled “Employee Coachability: New insights to optimize organizational coaching practices and elevate employee adaptability, performance, and promotability,” located in the International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring. Prior to his current role, he served as a Senior Consultant and the Research Lead at Inteflex, Inc., where he conducted innovative research to inform the development of its advanced managerial coaching development and sales force effectiveness workshops for Fortune 100 and 500 companies. He earned his Ph.D. in I-O Psychology, specializing in organizational coaching and coachability, from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

Lauren Zervos, M.A., is an I-O Psychologist and Head of Learning and Innovation at Coachability Consultants, Inc. Lauren’s research focuses on diversity in the workplace, organizational coaching, and employee coachability. Her recent academic publications include a chapter within The Handbook of Research on Gender and Negotiation (2020) titled “Role Salience and Context: The Example of Negotiation Dyad Gender Composition.” Prior to her current role, Lauren served as a change management consultant at Daniels Consulting Group, where she implemented research-backed initiatives to drive the successful adoption and execution of key change initiatives across a variety of industries. She earned her Master’s in I-O Psychology from DePaul University in 2020 and will complete her Ph.D. in early 2022. Her Ph.D. dissertation focuses on diversity and coachability in organizations.