3 years ago I was hired as a coach and mentor for a UX Strategy and Design team at an agency. I had never worked in this role before, but had relevant experience. I had worked as a creative director, UX strategist, designer and information architect for almost 20 years. I had the same background as those I was coaching. I had navigated the bumpy road from novice to expert and felt ready to share back.
So what has it been like? I’ve found that coaching is 90% listening and asking questions. As we each go through our tasks at work, a lot of times we just want to know that we’re approaching things in the right way. It’s nice to have someone assure us that we’re on the right path. Much of the time the advice, support and guidance I provide manifests as simply caring.
The people I get to coach are all smart, savvy creatives who have good instincts. My role is often less about providing answers and more about asking questions. The individuals often already have the solutions, but I work to empower them to trust themselves. Of course, we may also spend our time discussing project tactics and processes.
A new team structure
When I was hired by this agency, they were looking to try something new. Their Creative Director had left and they weren’t sure if they needed to replace the position. The team was strong. Each person was a self-starter. There wasn’t a major need for a manager or director to lead them. But the company’s leadership didn’t want the team to feel abandoned. They knew that was a risk. So they hired me as an experiment and a stop-gap measure. They wanted to see if having a coach and mentor was enough to add a bit of glue to the team and help people feel supported.
The initial contract was only supposed to last 3 months. It has now been over 3 years. During that time, I’ve seen remarkable individual growth and increased team cohesion. It’s been a total joy to be part of this unconventional team structure and bear witness its success.
I’ve heard many times that the team appreciates that I’m outside of the organization. That separation provides a valuable point of view for the team. For example, I can provide an external perspective for how other teams manage projects and run their companies. This can put those I coach at ease knowing that they’re doing things like others in our industry (or often better).
Immense value for nominal cost
I meet with each team member every 2 weeks for 30 minutes. I also attend weekly UX team meetings and meet with someone in leadership every 2 weeks. The team has grown from 5 to 9 people in 3 years. With these numbers, the company pays me a fraction of what they’d pay for a director level position. It’s a more cost effective solution for the company and very valuable to the team.
Because I’m a consultant, I have no competing goals or motivations: I’m nobody’s boss. Every time I meet with a team member, my only goal is to support them, see them succeed and thrive. This sets the stage for genuine and authentic exchanges where individuals feel supported and safe.
This novel team structure has produced tremendous results. The team is engaged, happy, and supports each other. Most importantly, people feel empowered to craft their career goals, set boundaries, and solve problems.
An agile company structure
The agency in this story began moving to an Agile flat management structure at about the same time I was hired. Meaning, it relied on individuals to figure things out on a project and situational basis. While this has created some growing pains, I’ve seen it have a positive impact. Specifically, people are more engaged and empowered.
Empowerment is key. Individuals are encouraged to figure things out for themselves. They’re encouraged to propose solutions for problems at hand. While this sounds easy, it’s a learned behavior, and one that goes against ingrained habits we all have. To foster this change in behavior, individuals need coaching and support. They need frequent feedback that they’re doing things in the “right” way. Once they get that support, the result is a more engaged workforce. I've seen people become more fulfilled because they have more say in their day to day lives.
A structure to copy and experiment with
Does this new model sound interesting to you? If so, copy it!
Some of the following ingredients may be necessary for success:
Must align with company culture
Leadership must endorse the experiment
Teams need to be the right size. For example, how would this scale to a team of 50? Currently I'm coaching a team of 9, and feel like I could double that number and still be successful. But I expect that if it were to grow beyond that number, the structure would need to be modified. Multiple coaches maybe?
I’m looking to expand this offering to other teams who recognize the benefits and want to try something new. If you’re interested in discussing coaching or have any questions or comments, please get in touch.