“The whole process – from intake survey to coach matching to adding our own questions to the surveys – from start to finish, Optify is seamless.”
Challenge
Lyft had hundreds of leaders in director roles, and among those leaders, there was a diverse mix of backgrounds and experiences. As in much of tech, many leaders had been promoted quickly and hadn’t benefited from rigorous (or any!) leadership training despite reaching Director-level positions, while other leaders had decades of experience and extensive training.
Lyft’s leadership development team was striving to close the leadership gap and ensure Directors were on the same leadership playing field. To do so effectively, they required a coaching solution that was both scalable and would provide a personalized experience for every leader.
In the past, Lyft had used a number of different coaching vendors, but found that:
- Larger platforms and tools had good technology but poor-quality coaches.
- Boutique coaching services couldn’t provide the scalability needed to reach all the identified leaders.
Solution
Lyft piloted three new solutions, including Optify. The directors involved in the pilot were extremely impressed with the quality of Optify’s coaches. Lyft carefully monitored leaders’ feedback, which rated Optify more favorably than other solutions when considering elements such as whether they felt psychologically safe with their coach and whether they were making progress on their goals.
Lyft implemented Optify as it received the best user feedback, and the team found it simple to oversee coaching programs. Dashboards give a clear view of the overall impact coaching is having on teams across the business, and they have total visibility into the dates of each completed coaching meeting while the content of the meeting remains confidential.
With Optify on board, Lyft’s leadership team can provide more Directors with high-quality coaching than ever before. Alexandra Warbasse, Head of Coaching and Executive Development at Lyft, says, “I love Optify because they offer high quality coaching with the perfect blend of customization and scalability. Working with them has enabled us to create a comprehensive, custom and scalable coaching solution.”
Impact
Leadership:
- By providing more leaders with 1-1 coaching, Lyft is helping its leaders to develop the skills needed to grow within the organization.
Wellbeing:
- Directors that have received coaching from Optify’s coaches report lower symptoms of burnout and feel more supported and engaged.
- In fact, some of Lyft’s leaders have even decided to pay out of their own pockets to continue working with their Optify coach once the budget allocated to them by Lyft has run out.
Operational:
- By giving Directors time to focus on what it means to be a leader, Lyft’s leadership team has noticed a real shift towards a more proactive, strategic culture within the company.
- Lyft’s talent development team can easily and efficiently track the progress of their leadership coaching programs.
Inclusivity:
- With Optify in place, Lyft can provide coaching to even more leaders, which is particularly useful to those who have never received formal coaching before.
Could your leaders benefit from high-quality, scalable coaching? Talk to our team about how Optify can help your business today.
“It’s important to me to work with a coaching company that’s founded and run by coaches themselves – Optify just has a much deeper understanding of the intricacies of coaching and how it can impact and help people, and they have designed their platform accordingly.”
“We’ve even had leaders who have paid out of their own pockets to continue with their Optify coach after our budget has run out”
