| LovelandPolitics.com |
| McWhinney's "Company Coach" Benefit or Orwellian Nightmare For Employees? |
Loveland - March 13, 2008
The "Office Shrink"
The increased use of an “office shrink” has come to Northern Colorado as public officials and local companies have
used therapists or unlicensed therapists called “coaches” to presumably assist employees and even elected officials (see
sidebar: bottom right) overcome personality differences and even make management decisions.
McWhinney Enterprises of Loveland was an early adopter in Northern Colorado of using the title “company coach” to
describe a Senior Vice-President of People Services. This is because the McWhinney brothers, Troy and Chad,
elevated their personal life coach (previously a consultant for 25 years) to an even higher level of authority back in 2003
as a senior executive employee of their company. They changed the culture of their small company but also to some
extent how business is done in Northern Colorado by jumping onto a trend that may have already run its course.
McWhinney also gained national attention by HR Magazine last year and earned a place on the list of the nation's top
50 small and medium size companies to work in, in part, for offering "coaching" for their employees. The McWhinney's
now regularly turn phrases that some believe to be little more than psycho-babble about the office and practice the
pseudo science of "change management" -- the once popular trend appears to have lost its luster and appeal to many.
There are not mistakes just “mis-takes” and employees are regularly referred to as passengers on a bus (trolley is
probably too sensitive a metaphor to use) and are asked to pretend what it would feel like to be sitting somewhere else
on the bus.
What once made McWhinney a trend setter in Northern Colorado business, however, may today make it a less
desirable place to work as employees become weary of the "company shrink" and a business environment that is
chalked full of catchy once trend-setting word-phrases instead of old fashion business acumen.
Back in 2004, U.S. News & World Report reporter, Marci McDonald, described the trend in the following way; link
to original article
“Across the country, tales of wannabe corporate gurus dispensing psycho- babble or cultlike techniques have tarnished
one of the nation's hottest growth industries. Over the past five years, coaching has mushroomed from a sideline on the
motivational and consulting circuits to an expected perk in virtually every executive suite.”
McWhinney's company coach made that journey from consultant and motivational speaker to company executive,
Johnna Bavoso, who is now Senior Vice President of "People Services" at McWhinney Enterprises. Working
previously as the personal life “coach” and unlicensed counselor for Troy and Chad McWhinney, Johnna Bavoso, was
hired full-time in 2003 and is called pejoratively by some current and former employees at McWhinney and Centerra as
the “company shrink” according to one source. However, not every McWhinney employee appears to have been
asking for the perk of the near ubiquitous "team-builder" and self-esteem guru, especially since she is close to their boss
and participates in senior personnel decisions.
Bavoso, a juvenile probation officer who has a background in fund raising for non-profit organizations (not apparently
licensed in the State of Colorado as a therapist) regularly dispenses advice on corporate culture, personality and team
building as a senior employee of McWhinney Enterprises.
Bavoso, an active contributor to community organizations like the local chambers of commerce in Ft. Collins and
Loveland also contributed hundreds of dollars to Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign.
Bavoso, the consultant, taught a course called "Successfully Riding the Winds of Change" in a program with the United
Way. With terms like "the crisis of change is opportunity riding a dangerous wind" and the trademarked term
"ChangeBuilder" used by she and her husband's consulting firm called, The People Business Inc., it is easy to see why
some might find her advice too closely approximating either spiritual guidance or therapy. Among the topics she has
taught is "find out about the anger cycle in order to deal with anger affectively." Thus the informal title of "company
shrink."
The concern expressed to LovelandPolitics regarding a “company shrink” asking probing questions and trying to get
inside employee’s heads is their loyalty with the employer and not the patient as in traditional licensed therapy. In other
words, Bavoso could assist Troy and Chad McWhinney in confronting life’s problems because they own the company
and sought out her assistance of their own accord. When it comes to employees it is a different matter and the topic
can be discomforting as one recent possible recruit from Poag & McEwen discovered last week when spending time in
the new "culture" according to a source who wishes to remain anonymous.
A licensed therapist cannot share an employee’s view of his or her employer without violating patient confidentiality
rules of the profession. A member of the clergy is also unlikely to communicate any confidential information a person
shares about one's employer; especially when the feelings are negative. What makes the "company coach" such an
Orwellian concept in general is that your "coach" is really working for the company which makes the role closer to a
"Big Brother" in the Orwellian model instead of an independent member of the clergy or a licensed therapist.
Bavoso, however, is not a licensed therapist in the traditional sense nor clergy (to our knowledge )and uses her
“counseling” sessions to assist the McWhinney brothers in making personnel decisions.
According to a July 2007 HR Magazine article, “Bavoso helped Chad understand who he needed -- and didn’t need --
in the organization to take it to the next level.” In other words, Bavoso is in direct line of management and asking
probing questions of employees whose answers may impact their next raise, promotion or even whether they can retain
their current position at the company.
Normally this kind of power is reserved for human resource professionals or managers with many years of experience
leading and managing large groups of employees. At McWhinney, the “company shrink” coming to your office may be
more frightening than the traditional call into your boss’s office since in some ways this company coach is also your
boss's conscience.
There is no doubt that Bavoso’s influence over the McWhinney brothers in recent years is considerable. The same HR
Magazine article stated about Chad McWhinney, “…..now he is a true convert who rattles off aphorisms like 'getting
the right people in the right seats on the bus' and 'first who, then what........'"
Some terms used in modern-day coaching come right out of the 1980's cult leader The Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's
vocabulary when he guided a cult in Oregon that bilked wealthy but spiritually lost people out of millions of dollars.
Bagwan is seen as an inspiration to some in the industry who use his guidance in their life coaching practice. Jean
Gilhead, for example, is a life coach who quotes The Bhagwan by using his saying, ""Be realistic: plan for a miracle!" on
her website. Other life coaches may practice the cult leader's "self-realization" exercises or mind games to assist their
clients or in the case of the Bagwan's cult to control their clients. In reality, the "coaching" industry is vast and
unregulated and varies from the traditional motivational types to strange metaphysical religious like healers. Many
organizations offer "life coaching" certificates to anyone willing to pay the seminar fees and attend a lecture.
LovelandPolitics has been informed that the “cultlike” culture Bavoso has promoted through her team building programs
at McWhinney may have contributed to the recent exodus of senior talent like Vice Presidents of Marketing and
Leasing, Finance and head of Grand Station. However, we were unable to confirm this directly with those former
employees of McWhinney on the record. Nonetheless, not everyone wants to play team building games directed by a
self-help guru but instead prefer to do business in the office and keep their personal feelings at home.
LovelandPolitics reported in early February that McWhinney was in crisis and had either lost or let-go a number of key
senior employees. That article was followed by a press release by McWhinney explaining some of the changes in the
organization as a reorganization or what a "coach" or "change-management" guru might call just changing seats on the
bus. The reality, however, is quite different as their large project of Grand Station appears to be delayed indefinitely.
The press release did confirm McWhinney's intention to grow outside Loveland by investing in new projects in
Broomfield, Colorado and Garden Grove, California (which was first reported here).
The company is now recruiting for some of the very positions it lost, like in finance and a Director of Leasing, which are
positions essential to most real estate development companies. Whether these new employees will embrace what
Bavoso likes to refer to as the "culture" at McWhinney remains to be seen.
The "Office Shrink"
The increased use of an “office shrink” has come to Northern Colorado as public officials and local companies have
used therapists or unlicensed therapists called “coaches” to presumably assist employees and even elected officials (see
sidebar: bottom right) overcome personality differences and even make management decisions.
McWhinney Enterprises of Loveland was an early adopter in Northern Colorado of using the title “company coach” to
describe a Senior Vice-President of People Services. This is because the McWhinney brothers, Troy and Chad,
elevated their personal life coach (previously a consultant for 25 years) to an even higher level of authority back in 2003
as a senior executive employee of their company. They changed the culture of their small company but also to some
extent how business is done in Northern Colorado by jumping onto a trend that may have already run its course.
McWhinney also gained national attention by HR Magazine last year and earned a place on the list of the nation's top
50 small and medium size companies to work in, in part, for offering "coaching" for their employees. The McWhinney's
now regularly turn phrases that some believe to be little more than psycho-babble about the office and practice the
pseudo science of "change management" -- the once popular trend appears to have lost its luster and appeal to many.
There are not mistakes just “mis-takes” and employees are regularly referred to as passengers on a bus (trolley is
probably too sensitive a metaphor to use) and are asked to pretend what it would feel like to be sitting somewhere else
on the bus.
What once made McWhinney a trend setter in Northern Colorado business, however, may today make it a less
desirable place to work as employees become weary of the "company shrink" and a business environment that is
chalked full of catchy once trend-setting word-phrases instead of old fashion business acumen.
Back in 2004, U.S. News & World Report reporter, Marci McDonald, described the trend in the following way; link
to original article
“Across the country, tales of wannabe corporate gurus dispensing psycho- babble or cultlike techniques have tarnished
one of the nation's hottest growth industries. Over the past five years, coaching has mushroomed from a sideline on the
motivational and consulting circuits to an expected perk in virtually every executive suite.”
McWhinney's company coach made that journey from consultant and motivational speaker to company executive,
Johnna Bavoso, who is now Senior Vice President of "People Services" at McWhinney Enterprises. Working
previously as the personal life “coach” and unlicensed counselor for Troy and Chad McWhinney, Johnna Bavoso, was
hired full-time in 2003 and is called pejoratively by some current and former employees at McWhinney and Centerra as
the “company shrink” according to one source. However, not every McWhinney employee appears to have been
asking for the perk of the near ubiquitous "team-builder" and self-esteem guru, especially since she is close to their boss
and participates in senior personnel decisions.
Bavoso, a juvenile probation officer who has a background in fund raising for non-profit organizations (not apparently
licensed in the State of Colorado as a therapist) regularly dispenses advice on corporate culture, personality and team
building as a senior employee of McWhinney Enterprises.
Bavoso, an active contributor to community organizations like the local chambers of commerce in Ft. Collins and
Loveland also contributed hundreds of dollars to Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign.
Bavoso, the consultant, taught a course called "Successfully Riding the Winds of Change" in a program with the United
Way. With terms like "the crisis of change is opportunity riding a dangerous wind" and the trademarked term
"ChangeBuilder" used by she and her husband's consulting firm called, The People Business Inc., it is easy to see why
some might find her advice too closely approximating either spiritual guidance or therapy. Among the topics she has
taught is "find out about the anger cycle in order to deal with anger affectively." Thus the informal title of "company
shrink."
The concern expressed to LovelandPolitics regarding a “company shrink” asking probing questions and trying to get
inside employee’s heads is their loyalty with the employer and not the patient as in traditional licensed therapy. In other
words, Bavoso could assist Troy and Chad McWhinney in confronting life’s problems because they own the company
and sought out her assistance of their own accord. When it comes to employees it is a different matter and the topic
can be discomforting as one recent possible recruit from Poag & McEwen discovered last week when spending time in
the new "culture" according to a source who wishes to remain anonymous.
A licensed therapist cannot share an employee’s view of his or her employer without violating patient confidentiality
rules of the profession. A member of the clergy is also unlikely to communicate any confidential information a person
shares about one's employer; especially when the feelings are negative. What makes the "company coach" such an
Orwellian concept in general is that your "coach" is really working for the company which makes the role closer to a
"Big Brother" in the Orwellian model instead of an independent member of the clergy or a licensed therapist.
Bavoso, however, is not a licensed therapist in the traditional sense nor clergy (to our knowledge )and uses her
“counseling” sessions to assist the McWhinney brothers in making personnel decisions.
According to a July 2007 HR Magazine article, “Bavoso helped Chad understand who he needed -- and didn’t need --
in the organization to take it to the next level.” In other words, Bavoso is in direct line of management and asking
probing questions of employees whose answers may impact their next raise, promotion or even whether they can retain
their current position at the company.
Normally this kind of power is reserved for human resource professionals or managers with many years of experience
leading and managing large groups of employees. At McWhinney, the “company shrink” coming to your office may be
more frightening than the traditional call into your boss’s office since in some ways this company coach is also your
boss's conscience.
There is no doubt that Bavoso’s influence over the McWhinney brothers in recent years is considerable. The same HR
Magazine article stated about Chad McWhinney, “…..now he is a true convert who rattles off aphorisms like 'getting
the right people in the right seats on the bus' and 'first who, then what........'"
Some terms used in modern-day coaching come right out of the 1980's cult leader The Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's
vocabulary when he guided a cult in Oregon that bilked wealthy but spiritually lost people out of millions of dollars.
Bagwan is seen as an inspiration to some in the industry who use his guidance in their life coaching practice. Jean
Gilhead, for example, is a life coach who quotes The Bhagwan by using his saying, ""Be realistic: plan for a miracle!" on
her website. Other life coaches may practice the cult leader's "self-realization" exercises or mind games to assist their
clients or in the case of the Bagwan's cult to control their clients. In reality, the "coaching" industry is vast and
unregulated and varies from the traditional motivational types to strange metaphysical religious like healers. Many
organizations offer "life coaching" certificates to anyone willing to pay the seminar fees and attend a lecture.
LovelandPolitics has been informed that the “cultlike” culture Bavoso has promoted through her team building programs
at McWhinney may have contributed to the recent exodus of senior talent like Vice Presidents of Marketing and
Leasing, Finance and head of Grand Station. However, we were unable to confirm this directly with those former
employees of McWhinney on the record. Nonetheless, not everyone wants to play team building games directed by a
self-help guru but instead prefer to do business in the office and keep their personal feelings at home.
LovelandPolitics reported in early February that McWhinney was in crisis and had either lost or let-go a number of key
senior employees. That article was followed by a press release by McWhinney explaining some of the changes in the
organization as a reorganization or what a "coach" or "change-management" guru might call just changing seats on the
bus. The reality, however, is quite different as their large project of Grand Station appears to be delayed indefinitely.
The press release did confirm McWhinney's intention to grow outside Loveland by investing in new projects in
Broomfield, Colorado and Garden Grove, California (which was first reported here).
The company is now recruiting for some of the very positions it lost, like in finance and a Director of Leasing, which are
positions essential to most real estate development companies. Whether these new employees will embrace what
Bavoso likes to refer to as the "culture" at McWhinney remains to be seen.
| Did You Know? Larimer County spent over $2,000 in 2005 to hire a facilitator/coach to provide one-on-one counseling help to County Commissioners (Kathay Rennels, Glenn Gibson and Karen Wagner)? They were supposed to learn how to sit together in the same room without resorting to personal insults, bickering and other destructive behavior that was hampering progress in making decisions. This intervention was apparently unsuccessful since Commissioner Wagner eventually resigned her office citing high stress levels in dealing with her colleague Commissioner Gibson even after the taxpayer "coaching" sessions were concluded.. |
| Confiding personal information or impressions about your company to a "company coach" may not be advisable. |