Coaching and performance management is now a key competence required by managers. Research shows that organisations which have developed and embraced a coaching culture outperform organisations that have not (CMI 2016: 21st Century Leaders - Building Employability Through Higher Education). This project is about developing Managers as Coaches (MAC). Managers as Coaches (MAC) aims to develop a performance management, coaching-based methodology and a new learning tool using game-based learning to help enterprises and managers in UK, the Netherlands, Ireland, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Spain to implement performance-based coaching aimed at work-based teams and individuals. MAC will develop and test a new VET pedagogical approach placing coaching at the heart of the manager, owner, director's role, hence the project title - Managers as Coaches. MAC's objectives are: - To develop a performance management, coaching methodology for use by managers and owner/director to improve the performance of teams and individuals; - To create a new VET Curriculum and VET course called, The Manager as a Coach for managers and owner/directors and VET teacher/trainers; - To publish a new interactive, experiential educational learning game demonstrating the value of game-based learning in VET; - To publish a Handbook showcasing the MAC methodology, educational game and how MAC and game-based learning can contribute to the performance improvements and effective learning in the workplace. MAC will provide continuous professional opportunities for VET teacher/trainers; the training of managers and the development and testing of a new VET course for managers and an innovative VET tool in the form of an educational game. The aim will improve the productivity and performance of managers, teams, individuals and organisations. There will be a new resource for use by VET teacher/trainers, managers and other stakeholders in the form of the Handbook - Becoming a High Performance Manager. The course, 'The Manager as a Coach' will draw on best coaching practice, the concept of Transactional Analysis (TA), Kantor's Four Player Model and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) enabling managers to plan and implement focused, high impact coaching sessions.The centre-piece of the project is a game-based new Educational Board Game. The game will use a constructivist methodology and game theory, to create a stimulating, ‘learning by doing' learning experience. The game will develop participant’s knowledge and understanding of the role and skills of the manager as a coach. The Handbook - Become a High Performance Manager - will be a practical, "go-to guide" for VET teacher/trainers and managers explaining in layman's terms the meaning and use of Transactional Analysis (TA), Kantor's theory of Structural Dynamics and the Four Player Communication Model in the context of understanding performance work-based problems and improving the performance of teams and individuals.
Aim and Objectives: The aim of this project was to develop and test a performance management, coaching-based methodology and a new learning tool using game-based learning. Specifically, MAC sought to address four objectives: (1) To develop a performance management, coaching methodology for use by managers and owner/directors to improve the performance of teams and individuals; (2) To create a new VET Curriculum and VET course called 'The Manager as a Coach', for managers and VET teacher/trainers; (3) To publish a new interactive, experiential educational learning game demonstrating the value of game-based learning in VET; (4) To publish a Handbook showcasing the MAC methodology, educational game and how MAC and game-based learning can contribute to performance improvements and effective learning in the workplace. To achieve these objectives, partners engaged three specific target groups: (1) Target Group 1: VET teacher/trainers - partners set out to train 14 VET teacher/trainers in the use of the MAC performance coaching methodology and educational game through the delivery of a Learning, Teaching and Training event; (2) Target Group 2: Managers and owner/directors of micro and small enterprises - the target was for the 14 trained VET teacher/trainer to train 70 managers and owner/directors in the use of the MAC methodology in their own workplaces, thereby developing their coaching skills and competences; (3) Target Group 3: Other VET actors and stakeholders - the MAC project sought to share the project results and impact on relevant regional/national government agencies, VET centres and education institutes and business support agencies with responsibility for and/or an interest in management development, coaching techniques, improving the performance and productivity of managers and organisations or for developing VET policy and practice especially in the field of management and leadership. To achieve these aims and objectives, Partners developed and tested three Intellectual Outputs: - O1: MAC VET Curriculum and Course - Partners planned to create and test a new VET curriculum and course called 'The Manager as a Coach': in six European countries involving four different languages (EL, CZ, ES and NL). The proposal was to build the VET course around best coaching practices, the use of Transactional Analysis (TA) and Kantor's Four Player Model, enabling participants to be able to plan and deliver high impact coaching sessions. - O2: MAC Educational Board Game - Partners planned to design and test a game-based VET tool, based on a traditional board game concept, to create a shared learning experience whereby managers and owner/directors learn about coaching by doing. - O3: Handbook - Become a High Performance Manager - Partners wanted to capture examples of good practice coaching and to share the practical skills of coaching in the form of an e-book, enabling all of this to be shared with the three project target groups and other stakeholders. Alongside the aims and objectives above, partners also wanted to ensure the project, products and results were evaluated disseminated effectively. The purpose of the project dissemination strategy was: (1) raise awareness and use of coaching and managers as coaches and the MAC Educational game; (2) engage VET stakeholders and target groups directly and indirectly in the MAC project; (3) share with stakeholders, partners and participants the results and impact of the project; (4) extend the impact of the project beyond the primary target group, thereby enabling the effective transfer of the innovation to a wider audience (e.g. other audiences and populations nationally and throughout Europe). The plan was to deliver a set of six Multiplier Events to 130 participants to showcase the project's results and impact. Partners also planned to use an array of evaluation techniques including surveys, peer review, case studies and pilot testing to evaluate the project management processes, implementation and the quality of products. The partners planned to use a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure the extent to which the project achieved its aims and objectives.
The initial motivations for applying for this project included: (1) A previous Erasmus+ project called ‘Fit4BusinessGrowth’ coordinated by ETA which developed a coach-based approach for helping SMEs to implement growth plans. The project highlighted a lack of coaching skills within two groups: managers in enterprises and VET teacher/trainer and coaches and a lack of understanding of the potential of work-based coaching. (2) Research conducted by the Chartered Management Institute including the reports "21st Century Leaders - Building Employability through Higher Education" and "Management Insights" demonstrated that the role managers have and will have in the future is changing, requiring more involvement in skills development in the workplace. CMI has estimated that poor management costs the UK alone £84bn in lost productivity a year and 400bn Euros across Europe. (3) Other research such as "The Contribution of Management to Economic Growth: A Review" (Warwick Business School) has pointed out that economic growth relies upon enterprises driving innovation and productivity and that the development of managers who understand the role of performance management and coaching is now becoming an imperative for enterprises. Through further research and consultation with potential project partners, ETA concluded that the need for work-based coaching and the upskilling of managers was common in most European countries, meriting a transnational approach. To increase the number of VET teacher/trainers able to deliver coaching skills training to managers and owner/directors of smaller enterprises, partners decided to create a new, practical skills course called ‘Managers as Coaches’, to train them in its delivery and then to support them in delivering it to managers and owners of smaller enterprises. Having identified this need, it was necessary to first develop the skills and competences of VET teacher/trainers within the partner organisations. This was necessary because coaching as a management and training discipline is more established and developed in some countries (e.g. UK) than in other countries (e.g. Spain and the Czech Republic). This need was met through the development of Intellectual Output 1 (MAC VET Curriculum and Course) enabling both VET teacher/trainers and later, managers, to complete the three learning modules about how to plan and deliver coaching in the workplace. The skills and competences of 13 VET teacher/trainers were further developed through the development and delivery of the C1 event lead by ETA. On completion of the C1 event, the VET teacher/trainers were able to plan and deliver their own VET course to meet the needs of managers within their own countries. To meet the need for managers and owner/directors to develop coaching skills, partners also facilitated the development of the coaching skills and competences using a traditional board game concept (IO2 – MAC Board Game). This enabled VET trainer/teachers to understand how play can be used to facilitate learning and for managers to practise using key coaching skills and techniques and to use it with managers and owner/directors. The third main need addressed by the project was to raise awareness of the importance and the need for managers to be trained as coaches – this need involved not only the two main target groups but also other stakeholders such as Chambers of Commerce, VET and education centres and Government Agencies and professional associations. To meet this need and to widen access to the MAC methodology and benefits of managers as coaches, partners prepared a Handbook (IO3). The Handbook was distributed to over 1000 people including participants at the Multiplier Events and other stakeholders. To increase the awareness of the potential and value of coaching and ‘Managers as Coaches’ and to promote the results of the MAC project, partners also implemented a large-scale dissemination strategy involving over 43K people. The completion of the project has created a legacy enabling the partners (and others) to promote and implement work-based coaching activities to improve individual, team and organisational productivity and performance. The MAC project developed and tested a new coaching methodology which will help to develop a coaching culture in enterprises thereby contributing to the economic wealth and growth of the European economy over time. Note: A selection of the project's results have been uploaded (see annex) - many of the results (e.g. IO1, IO2 and IO3) are also available in other partner languages as set out in the project application (available on request and via the Erasmus Results Platform).