Systemic Coaching for Organizational Impact

The August SIOP Work Smart Series virtual workshop – The Ripple Effect: Systemic Leadership Coaching for Organizational Impact – was well received by an audience including SIOP members and non-members, experienced and novice coaches, and HR professionals and organizational leaders eager to discover how coaching can extend beyond individual development to create broader organizational transformation. The workshop was co-created and facilitated by Jean Stetz-Puchalski and Megan VanHoy, who were joined by industry experts Dr. Brodie Riordan (Ocular, Inc) Dr. Gavan O’Shea (HumRRO), Robert Garcia (ICF, Coaching in Organizations), and Lucy Widdowson (Performance Edge) for an exploration of coaching as a systemic intervention that creates expanding circles of influence throughout organizations.

The workshop introduced the innovative “ripple effect” framework, using the metaphor of concentric rings created when dropping a pebble in water to illustrate how coaching impact can expand from individual (1:1) to group (1:many) to broader organizational transformation. This framework provided participants with a clear structure for understanding and implementing coaching strategies that maximize systemic impact.
The three-hour interactive workshop was strategically designed to build understanding progressively. The workshop began with Brodie addressing a critical challenge in the field: the term “coaching” is often used to describe many different practices, leading to confusion and inconsistent application. Brodie then presented a comprehensive “ecosystem” of coaching, clarifying distinctions between coaching and related practices such as consulting, advising, feedback delivery, and mentoring. She also highlighted the differences between coaching as a skill set and coaching as a profession. Participants engaged in practical application through breakout sessions where they practiced core coaching skills in pairs, experiencing brief coaching rounds with role rotations. This hands-on experience reinforced the fundamental coaching competencies of listening, asking powerful questions, and maintaining appropriate focus.

In the second hour, Gavan guided participants through the next concentric rings of the ripple effect, exploring how coaching approaches can be scaled to work with groups and teams. The workshop distinguished between group coaching (retaining elements of individual coaching while broadening impact) and team coaching (where the team itself becomes the client). Gavan shared recent research into the development of core team coaching competencies and provided participants the opportunity to practice powerful questions to promote a team’s ownership of the coaching dialogue, processes, and outcomes.

The workshop concluded with a moderated fireside chat, where Brodie and Gavan were joined by Robert Garcia (ICF, Coaching in Organizations) and Lucy Widdowson (Performance Edge), who addressed questions from the participants including how to manage common challenges in coaching (e.g., one team member not fully engaging).

Participant responses to the workshop were overwhelmingly positive. 100% of respondents indicated that the workshop fulfilled its learning objectives. Each presenter was acknowledged by the participants as an expert and agreed that speakers created a welcoming environment supportive of learning. Some example participant comments include: “The session was excellent; I felt like it was the right balance between practice and pulling in research.”; “I’m ready to rock and roll with the info you provided!”; “It’s not easy to cater to a wide array of experience and expertise on the part of audience members. Well done, everyone!”

You can still register to access the workshop recording, all the materials that were shared, and additional resources on the SIOP Work Smart Resources webpage. (Please note that breakout sessions were not recorded). And even if you were able to attend, this is a workshop you will benefit from revisiting!

Thank you to Brodie and Gavan for so graciously sharing their time and expertise during this dynamic workshop and to our special guests Robert and Lucy.

For more information about sponsoring this SIOP learning channel, please contact Susan Rogers at srogers@siop.org. If you have questions or ideas for the Work Smart Series Team, please email WorkSmart@siop.org.

Save the Date:
The next Work Smart experience will focus on Future-Proofing Careers for the AI Era with a focus on individual implications of AI approaches. We look forward to learning from experts 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, November 12. Please register even if you cannot attend live; all registrants will have access to the workshop recording and resource package. Our following Work Smart Series workshop coming on February 4 will expand the discussion to consider systemic processes and implications of AI in organizations.