The Power of Coaching: A spotlight on Leaders in Partnership Copy
The Power of Coaching: A spotlight on Leaders in Partnership
Written by Abbey Lew, Community Development Project Manager, Evolve Project
Volunteer coaching is a powerful and impactful way to support community leaders and managers working in the third sector. By focusing on strengthening the leadership of third sector organisations, coaching contributes to organisational development while supporting the professional development of both community leaders and volunteer coaches.
Professional coaching is an expensive service and resource that is often inaccessible to many leaders working for charities and other small community organisations. To address this and increase community access to coaching, ELBA has been running coaching programmes to support community leaders in East London’s third sector and facilitates around 60 coaching partnerships per year.
For over 18 years, ELBA has run the Leaders in Partnership programme, aimed at strengthening the leadership of the charity sector through one to one coaching-style partnerships between community leaders and their peers in the corporate world. The programme runs for 10 months and enables leaders to share their expertise and experiences with other leaders across sectors. The programme offers free leadership support and development for busy community leaders by giving them the opportunity to set goals, tackle challenges and explore opportunities and strategies alongside a supportive coach.
Based on programme feedback, 100% of community partners who have participated in the programme have reported an increase in at least one of the five main leadership areas: decision-making, managing change and transformation, problem solving, confidence and influencing, and strategic thinking and planning. One community leader who participated in last year’s programme shared:
“My coach gave me the confidence in sound boarding ideas that I had and reassured some of my previous worries or doubts… So I think I’ve found ways to trust myself and have confidence in my ideas and approach more.”
Both community leaders and coaches mutually benefit from this coaching-style partnership and the majority of coaches have reported that they have significantly improved their coaching skills and knowledge of the third sector. One volunteer coach shared:
“The programme is very rewarding, as it allows you to meet people from a different sector, with different experiences, who are usually very inspiring. It also makes you think outside of the box and actively listen, and to be able to ask the right questions and find the right tools that are helpful for your partner.”
Some partnerships have continued beyond the 10 months and have led to meaningful personal relationships and continued support. ELBA is preparing to launch two more Leaders in Partnership cohorts next month and will continue to make coaching more accessible to East London community leaders for years to come.
For more information about ELBA’s community coaching programmes, please contact community@elba-1.org.uk.
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