Studies of leadership consistently report that leadership ability is directly linked to subordinate performance, behaviors, and reactions including job satisfaction, positive mood, affective commitment to the organization, reduced turnover, reduced withdrawal behaviors, improved work performance, pursuit of more challenging goals, goal attainment, perseverance, higher resistance to stress, and value of progress Furthermore, subordinate reactions to inept leadership have been found to include turnover, malingering, insubordination, and industrial sabotage the links between leadership and auxiliary responses make a convincing argument for the need for more than empirical associations, but a deeper theoretical understanding of the leader Leadership Developmental Level (LDL) is examined as a predictor of leader performance. Also, this study is an attempt to understand what unique contribution the use of constructive-developmental theory and coaching may add to our current understanding of leadership and coaching culture. To do this, the predictive ability of constructive-developmental theory is compared to that of a known predictor of leader performance: Big Five Personality. This comparison allows us to answer the question, “Can LDL tell us anything about a leader’s performance that we couldn’t find out through a test of personality?” Only after answering this question can we begin to understand and measure those qualities that make leadership distinct from other constructs such as personality.

Changing the culture of an organization is a daunting task. The respondents – 80% of who were senior leaders – were asked how a series of coaching and mentoring activities could best contribute to achieving a coaching culture. Accurately, the respondents were presented with ten activities and asked to select the five that would most contribute to achieving a coaching culture. These results are shown in five themes emerged

From their responses:

1. “Seed,” the organization with leaders and managers who can role model coaching approaches.

Developing strategies to change a company’s culture soon leads to confronting the issue of scale. Specifically, how can a sufficient number of people in the organization gain the learning experiences they need to initiate, grow, and sustain culture change? The key to addressing this issue of scale is to select the right people, invest in their development, and position them as role models for the new coaching culture. In turn, as these people coach others, those who are coached will place special emphasis on utilizing and improving their coaching capabilities. The respondents recommended creating a cascading effect by using leaders as role models for coaching (75% selecting this activity) and providing them with coaching skills training 69%. The key is to make this training available on a selected basis, and not necessarily to offer coaching skills training to all employees 21%. This approach effectively deals with the issue of scale. Training all employees would be time-consuming and expensive. Whereas focusing the practice on leaders and selected managers and then having them be role models and cascade coaching behaviors throughout the organization ensures maximum return on investment and leverages scale to an advantage. About one-third, 35% of the respondents selected individual coaching for leaders and managers as a top-five activity. It seems that the respondents much preferred training leaders and managers to be coaches rather than being coached.

2. Link coaching outcomes to the business.

Linking coaching culture outcomes to business goals was recommended by half 51% of the respondents. This finding reinforces what we learned earlier about the gap between the importance and effectiveness of demonstrating the business value of coaching and linking coaching outcomes to business outcomes. While it is viewed as extremely important to do so, 97% of the respondents’ organizations were not viewed as being effective at doing so. This gap represents a significant opportunity for those who desire to create coaching cultures. One respondent suggested that “strategic goals and tactics are developed around coaching and specific performance metrics be developed for coaching behaviors,” as might be found in a competency model, thus further linking business outcomes to individual coaching outcomes.

3. Coach senior leadership teams in creating culture change.

Almost half 46% of the respondents recommended having their leadership teams receive coaching on how to create culture change. Earlier, we learned that only 20% of the respondents indicated that team or group coaching was being done. Aforementioned may represent another potential gap in what is needed to create culture change vs. what is currently being done. Closing this gap is vital because teams whose members focus on providing each other timely feedback, learning together and building upon their interdependent strengths typically show a higher capacity to achieve organizational improvement than organizations who do not follow these practices.

4. Recognize and reward coaching-culture behaviors.

Once the behavior changes kicks in, it is vital to reinforce the shift to increase its sustainability. Forty-three percent of the respondents ranked this activity among their top five choices.

5. Integrate coaching with other people-management processes.

Institutionalizing the change is critical for sustainability. Coaching approaches and behaviors must be integrated with the appropriate people processes so that these become a natural way of doing business. The respondents felt it was essential to incorporate coaching approaches into learning and development 43%, job-competency models 39% and talent-management processes 32%.

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Creating an Innovative Home Environment

A solid education begins in the home. Before a child attends school and throughout the educational process, learning must be nurtured at home as well as in the classroom. To develop a child’s love of learning and foster creativity, parents need to create a home environment that supports problem-solving, idea development, and a sense of individuality. The first step in creating an innovative home environment is to realize that learning is a social practice. Children learn by interacting. Whether it’s with parents, siblings, friends, or other family members, children need to be able to freely work, play, and in general interact with others regularly. An interactive approach is a key to providing a solid foundation for learning at home. To build on that foundation, parents should implement the following ideas and activities.

•    Focus on Concepts Instead of Facts – Facts are essential, and children need to have a certain amount of knowledge regarding facts but understanding and applying concepts will allow them to soar beyond basic facts.

•    Look for Learning Opportunities Everywhere – Reading with children and helping them with schoolwork are distinct activities parents should engage in, but there are so many other ways to promote innovation and learning while at home. Parents should invite kids to cook with them and try out new recipes. What can be added or taken away to make it taste better? Ask children to help with age-appropriate home repairs. If a family is able, they should plant a garden or take care of a pet. Many learning opportunities exist beyond the computer and a stack of books.

•    Encourage Self-Reliance – Being responsible and having to depend on oneself will help children become natural problem solvers. Even being responsible for simple chores will promote creativity and encourage kids to find better, more efficient ways of accomplishing tasks.

•    Take Advantage of Resources – Utilize the services of the public library, visit museums and parks, and take advantage of classes, concerts, and other free community events. Being able to see the world from different vantage points while incorporating the abundant resources most communities have to offer will help children understand everything they learn from a broader perspective.

Problems in the Current Public-School System

While establishing an innovative home environment that nurtures individuality and creativity is extremely important, tackling the issues in the public-school system is essential. The intense focus on standardized testing is one of the significant problems with the current educational system. This emphasis on tests and scores takes the focus off of the children and the activities that are specifically centered on their learning needs. While a system of accountability should be in place, the current method of measuring success through standardized testing discourages creativity and innovation in several ways.

•    Preparing for tests as well as taking tests is time-consuming. Aforementioned ultimately takes away from other meaningful projects and activities that children could be engaged in.

•    The stress of testing is creating a crisis among many educators. Many feel compelled to teach to the test to keep their jobs.

•    Standardized testing doesn’t necessarily do a good job of measuring what a student has learned. These types of tests usually are a one-size-fits-all approach to measuring learning. Students learn and demonstrate how they’ve learned in many ways that go beyond the methods used in standard tests.

Besides standardized testing, there are several other ways most public schools stifle innovation and creative learning. Sticking rigidly to grade levels keeps many students from reaching their full potential while putting pressure on others to accomplish academically what they are not ready for. Any physician will state that all ten-year-old are not expected to be the same height or weight. A wide range of physical sizes and characteristics at this age is perfectly normal. Why then do schools expect all ten-year-old’s to academically and intellectually be at the same level? Finally, in too many schools, teachers are tied to a precise curriculum. If three teachers are teaching fourth grade at the same school, often the administration expects each teacher to be on the same chapter, in the same unit, all at the same time throughout the school year. This may provide a certain amount of convenience, but it certainly doesn’t promote innovation and creativity.

Re-thinking the Current Educational System

Incorporating innovation in education means being willing to think outside of the box and take a new approach to teach and learning in the classroom. Training should be geared toward teaching children to think in ways that lead to innovation. Forming attitudes that are constructive to learning instead of test taking should be the goal of every school and the educational system. There are several steps schools can take to incorporate innovation into the educational process daily. The following are ways administration can help teachers create an environment that is open to change in the classroom.

•    Set Aside Time to Plan – Even if it’s just 10 or 15 minutes after a weekly staff meeting, allow teachers the time to brainstorm about everything from lesson planning to how to make group projects more hands-on for the students.

•    Allow Teachers to Help Select Professional Development – It’s a waste of time and money to send teachers to professional development they have no interest in or don’t feel will have any practical application in the classroom. Teachers are in the trenches every day and have a good idea of what they need help with and the types of tools that will assist them when teaching their students. Teachers should at least be part of the process when it comes to selecting the types of workshops and in-services they’ll attend.

•    Model and Reward Risk Taking – Teachers need the freedom to try new lessons and provide unique learning opportunities for their students without fear. If teachers are afraid that if new ideas fail in the classroom, they will receive a poor evaluation, they’ll be less likely to take risks and try new things. The administration must be willing to encourage and model risk-taking.

•    Create a Team Environment – Teachers should be colleagues, not competitors. Working together to share ideas and learn from one another should happen regularly in every school. Being able to do this successfully will then help the teachers to bring this sort of teamwork to their classrooms for their students to engage in.

Once teachers feel comfortable working together to create an atmosphere of innovation in their classrooms, there are several things they can do to pass on the same attitude to their students.

•    Create a Safe Place to Fail – It’s usually necessary to do things many times and try several approaches when inventing or creating anything new. Thus, failure is one of the best tools for learning. If children don’t feel they can fail in a supportive, nurturing environment, they are likely to give up on projects after the initial try.

•    Give Students a Voice – Children will feel more empowered if they are given an active role in the classroom. They should be given the ability to oversee projects and make decisions whenever appropriate. This also includes allowing them to debate and disagree among themselves. Teachers can help guide these discussions to ensure they are done properly and respectfully.

•    Don’t Impose Limitations – Teachers should try to give assignments that are open-ended and not surrounded by constraints. Instead of saying, “Write a four-page paper on elephants,” a teacher could say, “Write, say, and show me everything you can find out about elephants.”

•    Reward Attitude Not Just Results – In a classroom environment learning HOW to do things can be just as important as the results. Oftentimes-real life is more about attitude than actual ability. Perseverance, honesty, and staying positive should be encouraged and rewarded as well as effective results.

•    Allow Children to Get Messy – This not only means allowing a certain amount of real mess in a classroom but noise and confusion as well. This goes along with allowing failure, promoting creativity, and giving them room to find their method in the madness.

•    Promote Interdisciplinary Study – In real life, math is not separate from science, and history is not different from reading. Subjects are interrelated and build on one another. Dividing learning into neat subjects and categories is not the best way to promote a three-dimensional, diverse approach to learning.

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