Building a team to change the world: Wave wins PRISM Award

At Wave, we care about our customers, but we also care deeply about our employees and invest in their future growth and development.

That’s why we’re proud to announce that, on February 27, we were awarded the InternationalCoach Federation Toronto PRISM Award, which recognizes organizations who use coaching to improve organizational effectiveness.

This award is a reflection of our commitment to building an engaged team truly capable of changing the world. Wave is proudly one of few organizations who have a full-time, certified coach on staff dedicated to developing great leaders at all levels.

Propelled by coaching in combination with organizational strategy, nearly 45% of employees at Wave were promoted or changed roles as a result of participating in one of our coaching programs in 2018. And the average satisfaction rate of those participating in our coaching programs is 95%.

We believe in building a culture where everyone can thrive, and where the best tech talent in North America can come to do the best work of their careers.

Fabricio Avila, an Associate Certified Coach and a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, leads our coaching initiatives. Fab is one of the most genuine people you will ever meet—a true leader who is passionate about helping others transform the way they learn and lead.

Get to know Fab

What led you to shift from a career in engineering to organizational effectiveness?

I often describe that shift as a journey of self-discovery and self-realization.

Engineering is part of who I am and an essential component of the journey that brought me to where I am today. When I was leading engineering, I knew that I was on the right path as I saw people on my team experience personal and professional growth.

It didn’t take long for that to expand beyond my team to other departments in the organization. I remember that at some point, people would often joke about me going from debugging javascript to debugging the human javascript.

That prompted me to dig deeper into my own potential. I hired a coach. And session after session, the more I discovered, the more I knew that was the path to my fulfillment.

Fast forward a few years, and I now have the honor and privilege to work in an organization that values and promotes personal and professional growth—and this effort is being recognized by the PRISM Award.

What is the benefit of having a certified coach on staff?

Coaching has gained considerable momentum within organizations. As with most certifications, one of the biggest benefits of having a certified coach on staff is that it provides the organization with a higher degree of service and assurance that the coach abides by the code of ethics and upholds the code of conduct of the profession.

Having a coach on staff is paramount to the success of a business, as it directly impacts the growth and engagement of employees.

What is the first thing someone should do when they’re stuck and unable to resolve an issue?

One thing you should do is strip away any built-in judgement you have of the situation to formulate the perspective you’re currently holding. You can start by asking yourself these three questions:

• If I strip away any preconceived notion of this situation, what would be left?
• From what is left, what do I see now that I didn’t see before?
• Based on this newly gained awareness, what is my perspective when looking at this situation?

Once you become more aware of the perspective you are currently holding, you are able to start exploring different ones more aligned with the outcome that you ultimately want to have on a situation.

A perspective that remains unchallenged becomes reality, is what I usually say.

Want to know more about our initiatives at Wave? Visit our Life at Wave page to learn more about some of our training and development programs.