NEDBANK: Coaching Capabilities for Growth Strategy 1

Synopsis
To become a leader is a challenge in itself. The challenges of leaderships can internal
which can be stemming from within the leader himself; external, coming from external factors
includes peoples, situations from outside environment. One of major challenges faced by
Nedbank was human resources and less trained employees which was the major issue for
the company. They were facing difficulties to get high skilled employees. The bank was
growing rapidly in their different part of the Africa and to get high-skilled employee become the
major problem which holds the company growth. On other hand its difficulties to retain the
employee in company environment. At the time of initial phase the company has no such a
programme which can coach leadership skill to their employees.

Coaching and mentoring for leadership development

Recent researches present that the leadership traits have a significant impact on the
growth strategy of the organizations. And as presented by Solaja, Idowu and James (2016, p
100) an individual must demonstrate certain abilities and qualities aligned with the
organizational values and vision which will ensure the leadership position and their success.
Leaders in the organization are the one who lead their sub-ordinates and direct them
towards individual and organization success but leaders themselves at times needs proper
coaching and mentoring. Coaching has become an important part of the organization
looking to function at peak performance. Organizations are now realizing the benefits of
developing leaders through coaching and mentoring programs. These programs wrap the value
of internal employee resources to develop others, save time and cost, enhance employee
satisfaction.
In the case of Nedbank, their management understood that they needed to attract, retain
and develop talents, therefore, they laughed a coaching program and it was a strong initiative to
develop organizational capability and reward dynamic people with qualities, visions and values
aligned with the organizational growth. In this way, the Nedbank’s leadership established an
excellent participation in the program to inspire all individuals throughout the
organization and showed the involvement of the leadership team to promote changes and
improve the individual capability. Nedbank’s coaching idea originated from their workshop
program “Leading for Deep Green” under the supervision of Tom Boardman. They later started
a program called Coaching for Growth” especially for young graduates to make them aware of
the corporate environment. The effects of these programs were positive and Nedbank realized
the importance of coaching their leaders. In 2009 Nedbank started their first coaching forum to
establish coaching framework in the bank. Through these initiatives Nedbank created a coaching
culture within the organization. Leaders were getting coaching and were passing the same to
their sub-ordinates which eventually create a whole coaching and mentoring environment within
the organization. Nedbank used different methods of coaching and mentoring for their leaders
and sub-ordinates which includes one-to-one coaching, executive coaching, team coaching and
one-to-one monitoring.

1. One-to-one coaching: One –to-one coaching is one of the most effective coaching
methods to train employees personally. It gives them clear feedback about their problems
and weaknesses. Some people feel hesitate in group coaching; therefore, personal
training gives them opportunity to fully express their problem with their coach and find
the solution to overcome their weaknesses. Also some people need more details in
particular topic or subject which they cannot do while on group coaching,
2. Executive Coaching: Executive coaching is one-to-one designed professional coaching
between coach and main contributor who has powerful position in the organization.
Executive Coaching provides development that is specific to the individual leader and
NEDBANK: Coaching Capabilities for Growth Strategy 2

their unique needs. Top level management is considered as executive of the organization
and they also need training time to time to run the organization towards growth. The
essence of executive coaching is helping leaders to resolve their problem and assist them
to transfer their learning into overall performance of the organization
3. Team Coaching: Team coaching is also one of the important coaching methods. It
allows coach and followers to create a learning environment. Team coaching offers an
opportunity to the employees to learn from each other, it encourage sharing and increase
interaction between team members.
4. One-to-one mentoring: One-to-one mentoring is a mentoring program which is for the
longer period of time. One mentor is assigned to the one particular employee. In one to
one mentorship program, employee gets personal feedback from the mentor about the
performance and special attention for improvement of the weaknesses. It is usually for
more than 12 months. It goes until the employee achieve his goals and objectives
Sustainability
In this way, Corvellec (2016, p 384) presents that sustainability objectives contains not
only an agreement to diminish the harmful impact on the environment by human activities, but
also the use of substitute instead of conventional artefacts and change of behavior which will
promote the sustainability of the planet and a better future.
The top three Nedbank’s cultural values, which are accountability, client satisfaction and
brand reputation, are demonstrations of leadership with high competencies level. Not only
this values are aligned with the leadership competencies presented by Herrmann et al. (2011, p
3) but also they are evidences that the organization has a key differentiator to promote
organizational growth. Beyond the values, Nedbank has a strong leadership philosophy based on
the Four “E” s - execution, engagement, embodiment and environment - which was created
grounded on the understanding of the connection among the environmental, societal and
economic sustainability. Nedbank perceived the growth opportunities through the
restrictions of renewable resources and opened the first bank branch which is powered by
renewable energy utilizing wind energy.
Recommendations

There are certain methods which Nedbank can plan and develop for leadership skills.
One of the best methods is 360 feedback which helps organization to understand the exact
position in strategic management and leadership skills. It helps understand the progress of the
organization.
Some of the different plans for the development of leadership skills including meeting,
training courses, seminars, self-help, all these methods are very useful to plan the development
of leadership skills.
Another method which leaders recommend is doing exchange visits. This will help most
individuals of the organization in developing leadership skills. Visits can be intra-organizational
or inter-organizational which provides a platform for all employees to learn with greater
perspective.
Nedbank can sponsor their top executives and employees to enroll for higher education
program for a better future of the company, hence allowing more skilled and experienced people
working for the development of its leadership and better management.