The mission

In order to inspire and promote coaching competence in their people leaders, Janssen UK appointed Firefly as mentor coach partner for a Courageous Coaching Masterclass series. In 2021, in partnership with Janssen, we designed and delivered a programme for 18 leaders which included three hours of one-to-one coaching from a Firefly coach, in addition to mentor coaching for a further 24 people. The programme culminated in a Coaching Excellence Day, in which participants undertook live coaching and received feedback from their Firefly mentor coach against the Janssen coaching competencies.  The Coaching Excellence Day has now become a regular event and over 80 people leaders have received growth-oriented feedback to strengthen their coaching capability. 

What we delivered 

• 2021 - Three half-day coaching masterclasses for a total of 18  participants, co-designed and co-delivered with Janssen faculty.

• 2021 - Mentor coaching for 24 people leaders, in which individuals were observed in their coaching practice and provided with personalised, growth-oriented feedback from their Firefly mentor coach. 

• 2021- One-to-one coaching for each programme participant, which included a 15 minute debrief section at the end of each coaching session. Participants were encouraged to explore their coaching experience through the lens of coaching skills, tools and competencies.  

• Since 2021 the Coaching Excellence Day has been delivered a further three times with over 80 people leaders providing real-life coaching to over 40 employees whilst observed by a Firefly Mentor Coach.

The impact 

The programme was extremely successful and as a result, the organisation is now working towards embedding coaching skills more deeply into the general management population. The Courageous Coaching Masterclass programme has been amalgamated into a wider Johnson & Johnson coaching skills development programme and, in partnership with Firefly, the Coaching Excellence Day continues twice a year at a UK level.

Positive outcomes included:

• An increase in confidence in coaching skills and competences among programme participants. 

• Better understanding of the potential uses and impact of coaching, based on real-time experience and feedback. 

• Programme participants were able to experience international-standard coaching, and to debrief in the context of developing their own coaching skills.  

Insights 

Our collaborative approach - involving co-facilitation with key team members from Janssen - helped to ensure long-term sustainability of the skills we were teaching, whilst our use of real-life examples and scenarios further embedded fundamental coaching principles. The commitment of wider stakeholders, including colleagues and people leaders, was extremely beneficial for raising the profile of coaching and increasing the appetite for CPD (continuous professional development) in the organisation as a whole. Overall, the programme had a deep impact on those involved and, subsequently, the management structure of the organisation.