The Power of Coaching Leadership at Daikin
How Catharina is driving a culture shift with our team coaching training!
Daikin Belgium, a leading manufacturer of air conditioning and heating systems, has always invested in both technological and human development. Catharina Van Houtte, HR Business Partner at Daikin, has worked for 22 years with both workers and leadership teams in the production environment. Her role has evolved from purely advisory to more coaching-focused functions, partly inspired by her experiences with Coaching The Shift.
Discover more about her success story!
Magaly De Smet
Catharina Van Houtte, HR Business Partner at Daikin, has worked for 25 years with both workers and leadership teams in the production environment. Her role has evolved from purely advisory to a more coaching-focused leadership approach, partly inspired by her experiences with the Masterclass teamcoaching training from Coaching The Shift.
“Coaching gaf mij nieuwe energie en bron van inspiratie om aan de slag te gaan met leidinggevenden en teams. Het was niet alleen een evolutie in mijn rol maar ook een persoonlijke verrijking!”
Discover more about Catharina’s story and how our team coaching training contributed to a culture shift at Daikin.
Desired Shift
Daikin Europe NV, a leading manufacturer of air conditioning and heating systems, has always invested in both technological and human development. To better support leaders and teams, Catharina sought practical frameworks to work with. From this, several objectives emerged:
- Engage employees in the change process.
- Enhance collaboration within (leadership) teams.
- Integrate coaching leadership sustainably into the organisation.
The Challenge: Working With and Through Change
Daikin’s production environment presents some unique challenges, such as working in shifts. This results in limited contact moments during shift handovers, which can impact collaboration and trust between teams.
After several individual coaching sessions, the following challenges became apparent:
- Creating space for more effective communication and connection within teams.
- Building support and trust for organisational changes.
- Employees getting stuck in solution-focused thinking.
“We noticed that our current approach to change wasn’t sustainable enough. As an HR Business Partner, I was mostly focused on solving problems. Sometimes we missed the human side of the story.”
Our Approach: A Fresh Breeze Through the Factory
After participating in several individual coaching sessions with Magaly, Catharina felt inspired to start applying coaching herself. This eventually led her to a programme focused on creating connection, trust, and a positive mindset within teams.
Catharina completed a 3-day ‘Coaching Skills’ preparatory course in combination with our renowned ‘Masterclass Team Coaching’ training. She joined a group of HR and change managers to share and reflect on her development journey.
The Programme Was Full of Valuable Insights and Moments:
- Coaching Tools and Techniques: Tools such as the “walking scale” were introduced and practised to help teams reflect on their current situation and desired improvements.
- Individual Coaching: Throughout the programme, Catharina also received individual coaching, helping her discover her strengths and how to use them to coach others. This brought renewed energy and inspiration to her role.
- Peer Supervision: In addition to the training days, two peer supervision sessions were organised. These collective learning moments allowed participants to exchange insights on real-life cases and practical challenges.
"I feel that I have changed as a person through this training… I am less judgemental, which brings calmness to my interactions with individuals and teams. Take time and give time; it will move you forward faster than you think."
Achieved Shifts: Giving and Taking Time
The biggest shift came with the realisation that, as a leader or coach, you don’t always need to provide the solution. There is already so much strength within the team. This insight was the first domino that led to a new, solution-focused approach.
This approach was also positively received by the rest of the team. Reactions included: “Glad that time is being made for this”, and the impact of the coaching approach is becoming increasingly visible:
- Positive Cultural Change: The solution-focused approach, starting from what is already working well, strengthens our culture of trust and openness.
- Improved Team Collaboration: Introducing open dialogue has encouraged leaders to reflect more regularly on their collaboration and communication. This effect radiates throughout the organisation, with leaders spontaneously organising initiatives such as weekly wrap-up meetings on the shop floor to enhance engagement and information sharing.
- Intrinsic Motivation and Ownership: By asking more questions and imposing less, employees now demonstrate greater ownership of their work. They generate ideas themselves and generally adopt a more proactive attitude.
"The positive approach and mindset really work. Starting from what is already present, rather than focusing solely on problems, has had a positive impact on how teams collaborate."
Key Insights: Coaching Leadership Without Pulling or Pushing
The collaboration with Coaching The Shift and the team coaching training at Daikin has achieved more than just improved communication. By shifting from intervening to understanding, the foundation for coaching leadership and sustainable collaboration is established.
The methodology, follow-up, and personalised approach provided by Coaching The Shift ensure that changes are not merely temporary but become truly embedded in the company culture.
