What is ISO 9000?
ISO 9000 is the internationally recognised standard for an organisation’s internal Quality Management. The term "quality" refers to all those features of a product or service which are required by the customer.

An organisation's "Quality Management" refers to an organisation's actions to ensure that its products or services satisfy its customers' quality requirements and complies with any regulations applicable to those products or services.

The concept is based on Peter's experience of working as a management consultant within the oil industry. Peter took the lessons he had learned and established a repeatable process that allows others to create an immediate performance improvement in their own organisations. The process can be applied to any organisation in any sector.

Breaking the Mould focuses on changing how people feel about what they do. It concentrates on creating ownership in individuals and teams, and the amazing results that this can produce. Breaking the Mould removes the demotivators that frustrate staff, and gives people back pride in their skills and their ability.

The performance improvement can be measured in: actual savings, increased profitability, improved personnel retention and recovery of morale.

So how do we actually achieve this performance improvement?

The first step would be to appoint a performance coach to work with the team towards creating a culture of empowerment. The performance coach would gain the trust of the team and work towards understanding the barriers to performance, and collecting ideas for improvements. These ideas would then be implemented by the team and reviewed, with regular feedback on progress and successes.

The performance coach could be an internal employee or external to the organisation. They need to have a mixture of skills and qualities including analytical skills, empathy, and the ability to gain credibility and trust in a short timeframe.

In partnership with Peter A Hunter, Eglinton have created a 3 day workshop to train and support potential performance coaches. This workshop covers:

• The concept and history behind Breaking the Mould and stories of its success
• Identification by the participant of an organisational improvement needed
• How the process of Breaking the Mould works
• How to create the right conditions for success
• Practical tools for performance coaches
• How to identify barriers to success and performance facilitators
• Exploring the skills and capabilities of a performance coach

So, who should attend?

• Managers or team leaders who need to get more out of their teams
• Managers and/or team leaders who have exhausted their existing repertoire of tools and techniques and still not achieved their desired results
• HR or Training people who want to understand more about changing performance for the better
• Project Managers who want to increase their skill and knowledge base in introducing changes
• Those who are interested in people performance at work and care about making a difference

If you fall into any of the above categories or are merely curious, we'd be delighted to discuss the programme further with you. Please contact Willie Maltman at Eglinton on 0131-623-2343 or email at wmaltman@eglinton.co.uk.

Interview Questions – Sue Dawe, Audit Director, Ernst & Young

How did you become aware of coaching as a means of development?
Our learning and development team had worked with Eglinton before and suggested that I could really benefit from coaching to compliment the other means of personal development that we were using.

What was it that appealed to you about having a coach?
Having a coach seemed a unique approach to personal development. I felt that issues that were specific to me could be addressed more easily and therefore help to accelerate my own personal development programme.

Why did you choose Eglinton?
Our previous work with Eglinton and their track record for success made them the obvious choice.

What were you looking for in a coach?
It was very important to me that the coach was someone I could trust, who could easily identify my development needs and be prepared to work with me to address them.

What do you think you have gained from the experience?
A lot! Coaching has really helped me to play to my strengths and overcome things I previous saw as barriers to my progress.

How does coaching fit in with other forms of learning & development that you do?
It works well as you tend to use your coaching experience in other training forums, helping you to get more from that training. Your coach can help you identify for example, training courses that may be useful to your development and that you can link to your coaching experience.

What is next for you with your coaching?
We can all continue to develop further so whilst the focus of the coaching may change I think it will continue to play an important role in my development.

Any lessons for others seeking a coach?
Don’t be afraid to try this as something new. The personal nature of the coaching may at first seem daunting but it can make such a difference to how to how you deal with things day to day when you align the coaching to your own personal development plan.