coaching leaders to be coaches at eds

Coaching Leaders to Be Coaches at EDSJ ANE MORAN

As part of EDS’s recent corporate transformation,a two-pronged coaching initiative is helping leadersthink more innovatively, take inspired action, and bemore accountable. A brain-based approach providesa coaching framework for professional delivery ofone-on-one coaching and for equipping all leaderswith the skills to coach others in the organization.A coach or leader uses the four-step methodology tomove an individual through the mental stages nec-essary to alter brain patterns in a way that leads tosustainable behavior change. Coaching skills train-ing is being delivered to EDS leaders around theglobe through interactive teleconference sessions.© 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Forty-four years ago, Electronic Data Systems Cor-poration (EDS) created the information technologyoutsourcing industry, and since then EDS has growninto a $20+ billion global business. In 2004, EDS,based in Plano, Texas, embarked on a corporatetransformation designed to improve its global deliv-ery system and client engagement model, an ongoingstrategic initiative that encompasses the company’smore than 135,000 employees in 64 countries. Ahighly complex undertaking that requires change atall levels of the organization, the initiative places anincreased emphasis on effective leadership and com-munication. At its core is an objective of helpingleaders think differently, to be better able to thinkthrough complex issues and take inspired action inkey goal areas. EDS recognizes that this capabil-ity is key to successful delivery of mission-criticalapplications and systems and, ultimately, to clientsatisfaction.

What can a company do to help its leadersstrengthen their capabilities for parsing complexproblems and developing innovative solutions? Priorto the transformation, mentoring had been a corelearning and development strategy for leaders at

EDS, an activity that predominantly involved sea-soned executives sharing wisdom and experiencewith less experienced employees on topics such asimproving skills and effectiveness. But EDS GlobalLearning & Development (GL&D), the EDS cor-porate training division, saw that the transforma-tion required a mechanism even more potent thanmentoring. It believed that workplace dialogue inthe context of coaching could accelerate changeand spur innovation. EDS leaders needed to be en-gaged in effective coaching conversations that in-spire action and new thinking and facilitate positivechange, conversations that entail asking questions ina way that brings about insight and accountabilityin others.

We envisioned the following coaching frameworkthat would support the transformation and investedthe next three years in building it:

� A consistent, integrated, and inclusive approachto coaching that is widely applicable and focusedon encouraging leaders to ask questions as ameans of coming up with their own answers—arobust approach that could deliver positive im-pact to the business in an integrated and scalablemanner.

� A coaching culture, where leaders have access toa coach and also have the skills to actively coachothers as part of their daily operations—not onlyas a cost-effective way to deliver coaching but alsoas a means to infuse coaching into the toolkit ofevery leader.

A Brain-Based Approach to CoachingCoaching in many environments is based on one-way, prescriptive approaches, where “the coachknows best.” Instead, EDS sought a coaching ap-proach that would support a cultural shift in

c© 2007 Wiley Per iodicals , Inc .Publ ished onl ine in Wi ley InterScience (www.interscience.wi ley .com)

Global Business and Organizat ional Excel lence • DOI : 10.1002/ joe .20174 • September/October 2007 55

leadership, what Jim Duckels, vice president of SalesRecruiting, Acclimation, and Coaching at EDS, de-scribes as “moving from a ‘let me give you the an-swers and you execute it’ to more of an open envi-ronment of ideas exchange, in a way that increasesthe level of engagement and performance.”

An approach known as “brain-based coaching,” de-veloped by Results Coaching Systems International(RCS), was first utilized at EDS in 2004 in a smallpilot program with the objective of using coach-ing to support the advancement of high-potentialfemale leaders in the organization as part of an en-terprisewide diversity initiative. One internal coachworked one-on-one with selected female leadersfrom the United States, Asia Pacific, the UK, andEurope. Coaching sessions were conducted entirelyover the telephone over a six-month period, andfeedback was obtained at the end of each coach-ing engagement to evaluate the effectiveness of theapproach. The resulting feedback—which included93 percent of the coachees reporting being betterequipped to managed change, and 86 percent report-ing greater job satisfaction—caught the attention ofthe director of EDS Global Learning & Developmentat EDS headquarters.

The RCS approach draws on several areas of neuro-scientific study, including research on how attentionchanges the mapping processes in the brain.

The RCS approach draws on several areas of neuro-scientific study, including research on how attentionchanges the mapping processes in the brain.1 TheARIA model of awareness2 is based on the theorythat change occurs when we

1. Focus on a particular circuit in the brain—awareness (A)

2. Shift to a different perspective—reflection (R)3. See the situation in a new way—insight (I)

4. Take action (A) to embed the new connectionsmade from this “aha!” moment of breakthroughin thinking

AwarenessThe brain has significant limitations when process-ing new ideas. The “working memory” overloadseasily (therefore we often find ourselves “stuck”and overwhelmed in response to change and com-plex issues). When we are at this point we may feel“blocked,” anxious, frustrated, and other uncom-fortable emotions.

In the RCS approach, the coach—or any leader see-ing an opportunity to help another work through adifficult situation—uses questioning to help the indi-vidual simplify complex challenges down to smallerones, and to then focus attention and thinking onthe primary issue.

ReflectionResearch is showing that to make a new connectionin the brain, the individual must quietly reflect onthe solution to the challenge she or he faces ratherthan giving more attention to the problem. In thisphase of a coaching conversation, the coach asksthe types of questions that get the coachee to focusattention on the possible solutions available, whichmoves the coachee to apply a high quality and deeplevel of thinking.

InsightInsights are the energizing buzz that a person expe-riences when having a breakthrough in thinking—this is literally making new neural connections in thebrain. Such insights can be overlooked if the coachis focused on his or her own agenda rather than thecoachee’s. In the ARIA model, the coach’s role inthis phase is to recognize when a coachee has aninsight, and to focus the coachee on the insight—what has just been realized or discovered. Attentionwill strengthen the associated new connections beingmade in the brain.

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ActionThis fourth phase represents the relatively short timeperiod during which the coachee is inspired to takesome action based on the insight or new break-through in thinking made in the Insight phase. Therole of the coach is to challenge the coachee to makecommitments to act upon new insights. The coachalso requests to follow up with the coachee—andthen does so—to see how she or he is progressingwith the commitments to make changes or do thingsin new and improved ways.

The role of the coach is to challenge the coachee tomake commitments to act upon new insights.

The ARIA Model in ActionAs an example of the RCS approach to coaching,consider the case of an HR leader—let’s call herKaren—who received a visit from an employee—let’s call him Bob—who came to her seeking a payraise.

Awareness. Karen applied the first phase of the coach-ing model to help Bob to obtain greater clarity onthe exact nature of his dissatisfaction with pay. Sheprobed using questions that focused Bob on his cur-rent thinking about the issue—as opposed to justwhat the problems were. This enabled him to noticewhere he was at in his current thinking, and thenspecifically what was the underlying core issue—which he realized was actually a desire for greatertrust from his manager and an opportunity to builda career with the company.

Reflection. To build on Bob’s new insight into his is-sue, further questions from Karen encouraged Bobto reflect on what greater trust and career oppor-tunities would look and feel like to him. Bob envi-sioned his manager letting him play a larger role onprojects, even giving him the lead on a portion of animportant client project, and asking him to partici-

pate in sales meetings with potential clients—all ofwhich would result in Bob being better positionedfor promotion to a project manager role.

Insight. Karen acknowledged Bob for sharing his de-sired ideal state with her, and then asked Bob ques-tions that encouraged him to identify all of the pos-sible scenarios and different activities that he couldpossibly initiate that would move him closer towardshis desired goal. He identified several options, andKaren noticed that he was particularly enthusiasticabout one of them: presenting his manager with anew idea for managing a key project with an im-portant client. Further questions from Karen helpedBob identify and vocalize his desire to take action inorder to make this presentation happen.

Action. Seeing that Bob was motivated to own thistask as a first step toward achieving his desired ca-reer opportunities and trust, Karen asked him whathe was specifically prepared to commit to as a nextstep. Bob said that he felt he now wanted to blockout some time over the next two days to plan his pre-sentation, and to request time to present to his man-ager next week. Karen asked if she could follow upwith him in a week’s time, to see how he had done indelivering the presentation. Bob agreed, and thankedher for helping him come up with “solution” to hisproblem. Two weeks later, Karen checked in withBob again to see if he was on track with making hisdesired changes, and he reported much greater jobsatisfaction and an increased level of involvementwith the project on which he had presented. Onspeaking to Bob’s leader, Karen learned that therewas a visible improvement in Bob’s all-round per-formance and engagement.

By helping leaders understand the phases that thebrain moves through as a person tries on a newidea and then takes action, leaders can develop anddirect their skills in coaching to improve their ca-pacity to drive change, and to work with anotherperson’s desire to take action rather than against itby telling them what to do. The practical, inclusive,

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and respectful structure for productive dialogue inthe RCS approach is exactly what EDS was lookingfor in a coaching solution, and in 2005 EDS pilotedthe first global corporate coaching program, usingthe RCS coaching methodology with 35 EDS leadersaround the world.

The EDS Coaching ApproachEDS never set out to have professionals coach everyleader in the organization; rather, the goal was forleaders to learn to coach other leaders in order tobring about systemic positive change in the work-force. To achieve this, EDS GL&D staff developeda corporate approach, with the RCS methodology atits core, that made both coaching skills training andone-on-one coaching readily available to leaders—an approach that also met the following objectives:

EDS never set out to have professionals coach ev-ery leader in the organization; rather, the goal wasfor leaders to learn to coach other leaders in or-der to bring about systemic positive change in theworkforce.

� A consistent approach to one-on-one coachingand coaching skills training. This meant a com-mon language leaders and professionals alikewould use to talk about and experience coach-ing as a practice, to ensure consistency and highquality in all coaching conversations.

� A simple methodology requiring skills that couldbe easily taught and quickly added to a leader’sexisting tool kit for being effective and produc-tive. The RCS approach came with several advan-tages: the science is simple, the models practical,and the coaching and training sessions are highlyexperiential and delivered in digestible “pieces.”

� A global program, integrated and scalable for de-livery to a highly dispersed and culturally richglobal workforce. The RCS curriculum relies

upon highly structured and intensive teleconfer-ence training classes and “over the phone” coach-ing sessions, enabling a small team of coaches andcoaching instructors to deliver services and train-ing to diverse audiences in numerous geographiclocations.

� A good fit with the EDS culture. The RCSmethodology utilized models and language thatwere practical and palatable to a busy and highlyanalytical professional workforce, and that hadwidespread usefulness and impact for a broadrange of leaders—from technical specialists andprogram managers to HR professionals and clientdelivery executives. Demonstrating the link be-tween brain functioning and effective coachinghas helped EDS validate the value of coaching inthe logical minds of its leaders, thus maximizingthe practical application and impact of coachingacross the organization.

� An outcome-focused approach. In the RCSmethodology, the coachee is kept accountable forachieving specific deliverables. In this way the in-vestment in coaching continuously demonstratestangible outcomes and positive business impact.

The resulting EDS “portfolio of coaching services”entails two core programs: Transformational Lead-ership Coaching (TLC), in which internal profes-sionals provide one-on-one coaching to leaders se-lected for the program, and Coaching Skills forLeaders (CSL), an intensive training workshop forimparting practical coaching skills to a critical massof geographically dispersed leaders.

Transformational Leadership Coaching (TLC)Through the Transformational Leadership Coach-ing program, a global team of internal coaches, eachtrained in the RCS approach, work one-on-one witha leader (coachee) over 12 coaching sessions to bringabout:

� Positive change and accountability at both indi-vidual and team levels


� Greater ability to drive account intensity (increas-ing the amount of business from a given client)

� A re-energized focus on the most desired businessand individual commitments

� Enhanced thinking around opportunities for in-creasing core effectiveness

� Increased productivity, innovation, and goal at-tainment

� Inspired individual ownership and accountabilityfor results

To date, the target audience for the one-on-onecoaching has included leaders critical to key areasof the business, with priority given to leaders onkey accounts and high performers in a stretch as-signment or critical position. We are also receivingincreasing requests for coaching in support of lead-ers participating in rotational assignments, training,and leadership development programs. Because thisis a limited resource in high demand, a waiting listfor internal coaching services currently exists in ev-ery geographic region of EDS operations.

One important feature of the TLC program is thateach coachee works with her or his coach to identifyand achieve three well-defined goals or targets.

One important feature of the TLC program is thateach coachee works with her or his coach to identifyand achieve three well-defined goals or targets. AsStephen Chambers, an EDS Management Associatein Texas, explains, “In my experiences as a coacheeI have found the ‘pure focus’ that it brings is a signif-icant benefit. As part of the coaching process, truegoal clarity is one of the first steps. As a result, Iend up creating a means of evaluating every actionI take.”

This focus on outcomes also directly supportsGL&D’s ability to provide feedback on the impactthat both goal attainment and improved thinking

can bring. In a survey of EDS leaders who had par-ticipated in the TLC program during 2006, 97.5 per-cent stated that they have accelerated results in areasimportant to them, and 91 percent reported beinga more effective leader as a result of their coachingexperience.

Coaching Skills for Leaders (CSL)Coaching Skills for Leaders (CSL), the second keycoaching offering using the RCS approach, is a train-ing workshop that provides leaders with a set ofcoaching tools to assist others in

� Gaining insights� Solving business problems� Making decisions� Providing effective feedback� Promoting ownership and accountability

The target audience includes leaders of key accountsand critical projects, and even entire leadershipteams, and also extends to any leader who wishesto improve her or his ability to have more effectiveconversations that encourage others to think in newways and be more accountable for driving change.The course is also a platform for EDS coaches, train-ers, and facilitators to build on their existing exper-tise by training as a CSL instructor.

The EDS team of RCS-trained coaching skills in-structors delivers the CSL course over six telecon-ference sessions in a highly interactive format thatrequires full participation and gives practical as-signments between all sessions. Using teleconferencedelivery has enabled widespread reach across theglobal workforce, with a large majority (90.7 per-cent) of CSL participants agreeing that teleconfer-ence capability is suitable for this training.

Participants leave the six training sessions with sim-ple and useful tools for helping others to thinkthrough issues, increase the productivity of meetingsand workplace dialogue, and increase the focus on


innovative solutions to problems. “One of my mostfavorite things to do,” says Colette Dempster, EDS’sMentoring & Coaching Portfolio Leader who alsoserves as a CSL instructor, “is to follow up with lead-ers about a month after they have been through theCoaching Skills for Leaders Workshop. I have heardwonderful stories of how they are having more ef-fective performance conversations, improving clientrelationships, and even feeling better about them-selves as leaders.”

One senior leader described the impact of learn-ing this practical coaching approach as “liberating.”Prior to the CSL workshop, her strategy for estab-lishing credibility was to make sure she was wellbriefed on every issue by doing lots of research be-fore meetings and then offering her own suggestionsat the meetings. The coaching skills training helpedher to recognize that she did not need to know ev-erything; rather, she could establish credibility byhelping others to find their own solutions withouthaving to understand every problem herself. Thisalso improved her time management now that sheno longer felt the need for as much preparation be-fore every meeting. Another CSL participant foundthat by using the coaching models he was able toreduce his time in meetings by 50 percent, with pos-itive impact on his team—who now perceived hismeetings to be much more focused and productive—and with the client—who commented that meetingswere now “achieving much more in less time.”

One senior leader described the impact of learningthis practical coaching approach as “liberating.”

Jim Duckels, the VP of Sales Recruiting, Acclima-tion, and Coaching, has used both the one-on-onecoaching, and coaching skills training to support hisrole in acquiring sales talent and acclimating themto EDS sales methodologies and procedures. “It isjust a better way, to have a structure in mind forhaving a coaching conversation that helps people to

come up with resolutions and next steps. You don’thave to be an expert in everything to help people tocome up with solutions.”

The latest CSL Self-Efficacy Survey, which is usedto regularly assess and track the effectiveness of thetraining across each geographic region, revealed thatparticipants have experienced a higher level of pre-paredness to engage in critical activities, including:

� Leading effective performance conversations� Building high-performance teams� Conducting constructive, results-oriented dia-

logue

The July 2006 survey report states, “In summary,over 82 percent of the participants believe the work-shop had good or high relevance to their role, and75 percent believe that it had good or high value tothem.”

Building an Internal Coaching CapabilityBy the end of 2007, EDS will have provided morethan 3,000 leaders in 36 countries with professionalcoaching skills training and 500 leaders with accessto their own internal coach. This dynamic trainingand expertise is being provided on every continentby a relatively small internal team of passionate andhighly trained coaches and instructors committedto supporting leaders to facilitate positive changeand deliver high-impact results. The Coaching Skillsfor Leaders curriculum is taught by a global EDSteam of RCS-trained instructors: 8 in the Asia Pa-cific region, 5 in India, 9 in Europe, 15 in NorthAmerica, and 6 in Latin America. The Transforma-tional Leadership Coaching is done by a team of24 internal professional coaches who were drawnfrom a broad cross-section of the organization, ap-proximately half of them employed full-time in anon–HR-related role.

According to Colette Dempster, who is respon-sible for all corporate coaching initiatives and


training and knows firsthand what it takes toestablish a high-performing internal coaching capa-bility, “When we looked at the talent at EDS, wefound that there were many employees who had a‘calling’ for coaching and had even invested in theirown development in this area. Exposing these in-dividuals to the RCS methodology gave them all acommon language and set of models to have pow-erful coaching conversations in the company. It alsoprovided GL&D with a start-up team of highly mo-tivated coaches and instructors.”

In response to the demand for one-on-one coachingacross the organization, EDS successfully piloted itsown Internal Coach Training (ICT) program at theTexas headquarters in March 2007 and in Londonin May 2007. Further pilots are also scheduled inother regions later in the year. By the end of 2007,the number of professionally trained EDS internalcoaches will have tripled, and there is a waiting listfor classes starting in 2008.

Walking the TalkPart of the success of EDS’s coaching programscan be attributed to the coaches’ and instructors’commitment to “walking the talk” when it comesto applying the RCS coaching methodology. PhilLangstaff, EDS coach and training instructor in theUK, explains:

Part of the success of EDS’s coaching programscan be attributed to the coaches’ and instructors’commitment to “walking the talk” when it comes toapplying the RCS coaching methodology.

I am conscious that I adopt a coaching approach tocommunication much more widely these days, andthat has been noticed by colleagues. I am askingpermission a lot more and generally start a plannedtelephone conversation with, “Is this still a goodtime to talk about . . . ,” and unplanned ones with,“Have you got a few minutes to talk about . . . ,”

or something similar. The results have been quiteamazing because it gives people permission to say,“Well actually something has cropped up that needsmy immediate attention. Can we reschedule?” So in-stead of having conversations where I only have 50percent of the other person’s attention, I am hav-ing much more focused discussions when the timeis right for both of us.

Finding the Right Coach or MentorEDS employees can seek either a coach or mentor ina wide area of specializations by registering in ourcorporate Relationship Matching tool. This central-ized database contains the details of internal coachesand mentors and provides a consistent and efficientmeans of initiating effective learning partnerships.

When Coaching Is Not the SolutionGenerally speaking, the Mentoring & Coachingteam in the GL&D organization knows that coach-ing alone is not the solution to workforce engage-ment and productivity but instead an essential pieceof a larger, complex puzzle. In the experience ofteam members, one-on-one coaching engagementsor coaching skills training programs do not delivermaximum impact in the following circumstances:

� When individuals are told by their leader thatthey must work with a coach

� When coaching is seen as a remedial “fix-it” in-tervention for critical underperformance

� When someone comes to coaching expecting tobe mentored or counseled

� When individuals are told, rather than invited orasked, to enroll in coaching skills training

Individuals seeking a more directive solution—anexpert to give advice on how to do things—are en-couraged to seek out a mentor in the required field.Those seeking new skills are invited to investigateEDS’s extensive training offerings listed in the com-pany’s Learning Catalogue. As an internal coach-ing capability, team members are skilled at askingpeople questions to help them identify what theirtrue goals and development needs are in a way that


encourages them to identify the best approach tofinding a solution, and to take ownership for resolv-ing it.

Coaching as a Systemic ApproachA steadily increasing number of leaders within theorganization are now actively coaching other leadersas part of their existing roles as a result of coachingskills training and/or working with a coach them-selves. Furthermore, EDS’s coaching offerings werepurposefully selected and designed to be relevantenough to support various levels of leadership, andscalable and robust enough to be incorporated intomultiple domains, locations, and initiatives acrossthe organization. Given the proven success of ourinternal coaching capability, GL&D is now begin-ning to focus on projects that leverage that coachingexpertise to support specific internal business andworkforce requirements and initiatives, including

� Acclimation of graduates and transitioned leaders� Career development� Talent management� Work-life balance workshops� Diversity networks� High-performance team coaching

Also high on the agenda is the formal develop-ment of a coaching curriculum and career paththat enables professional coaches at EDS to pro-vide appropriate coaching across the various levelsof leadership.

Three years after embarking on a coaching initiativein support of its global transformation, EDS is nowrecognized internally and externally for its globalcoaching offerings and capabilities. In March 2007,EDS was awarded the International Coach Federa-

tion (ICF) Prism Award for excellence in coachingby the ICF North Dallas chapter and will be in therunning for the global award later this year.

ConclusionIn a highly diverse global workforce, where produc-tivity is ever increasing, a leader’s ability to empowerand assist others to come up with solutions is a criti-cal competency for organizational success. Coachingprovides a common framework, and in many cases aspringboard, for every leader and employee to thinkand communicate in new ways that bring about in-novative solutions and deliver high-impact results.EDS will continue to systemically embed coachingin the way leaders operate throughout the organiza-tion. This has the capacity to promote a leadershipand performance culture that further inspires theworkforce to fully engage and achieve EDS’s busi-ness objectives.

Notes1. Ideas and models pertaining to a “brain-based” approachto coaching are owned by Results Coaching Systems Interna-tional, headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

2. First published in A brain-based approach to coaching, byD. Rock, based on an interview with J.M. Schwartz, Inter-national Journal of Coaching in Organizations, 4(2), 2006,32–43.

Jane Moran is the global program manager for Transfor-mational Leadership Coaching at Electronic Data SystemsCorporation, as well as a Coaching Skills instructor and pro-fessional coach trainer. She established the first global coach-ing initiative at EDS and went on to play an instrumentalrole in establishing the EDS Global Learning & Develop-ment Mentoring & Coaching Portfolio. She can be contactedat [email protected].


coaching leaders to be coaches at eds

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