Researchers from the Coaching Psychology Unit at the University of Sydney are embarking on the world’s first major study into the connection between managers’ abilities to engage with multiple viewpoints and workplaces where staff are productive and flourish.

The $3 million study was announced at the 3rd Australian Evidence Based Coaching Conference at Sydney University. The research will initially involve 180 leaders and managers from two industry partners - the Prince of Wales Hospital and law firm Blake Dawson Waldron.

‘Attracting, engaging and retaining talented employees are major challenges facing Australian industry, and this is particularly true of legal and health-care professionals’, says project leader Dr Michael Cavanagh.

‘The quality of the relationships between managers and employees is a key issue in staff retention and workplace stress. Our study will look at how we can develop managers’ abilities to navigate their way through complex situations and find solutions that really work.

‘Managers ability to see things from multiple perspectives - the organisation, employees and the consumer, is critical in creating solutions that work for the business, while at the same time creating work environments that are conducive to employee well-being.

‘The two workplaces we are looking at are at the cutting edge of leadership development and are highly committed to staff and clients. Blake Dawson and Waldron were voted Chambers Global ‘Australian Law Firm of the Year’. Prince of Wales Hospital is one of Australia’s leading teaching hospitals. Nevertheless, the high stress nature of their industries means that staff ‘churn and burn’ are important issues.’

Dr Cavanagh says that up until now few studies have paid attention to metacognitive abilities such as perspective taking, and the ability to be both aware of the present and solution focused. Yet these are important abilities through which managers understand the world, structure their experience and develop solutions to meet the challenges they face.

‘Workplaces are becoming increasingly complex, and while our ability to view situations through multiple perspectives usually develops as we grow older, there are techniques that can speed up the process and hone those skills’, he said.

A second key aspect of the study will look at the extent to which coaching is effective in helping managers’ develop and transfer these skills from the workshop to the workplace.

The project is already attracting significant interest from industry groups in the US, the UK and South Africa, and a second stage of the study could involve participation from other Australian workplaces.