The term and practice of coaching developed in the sports world and has been subsequently imported into the world of business. It has been argued that it is THE most important practice in which any leader can engage.
Coaching should provide motivation, structure and effective feedback. As coaches, managers believe that people can succeed, that they can contribute to their success and that they can identify what people need to be able to do to improve their performance. Whilst coaching may form part of the performance management process of an organisation, it should not be part of the disciplinary process!
It is possible for some managers to be trained counsellors or appointed mentors, but ALL leaders can be coaches (and should be!).
It is important to remember that:
An employee may approach you for coaching but it is more likely that you will wish to use coaching as part of your people management strategy. If you try to force coaching on an unwilling member, it will not be very productive for anyone!
Ideally coaching is not a one-off but a series of planned interventions where you consecrate time to your member of staff for their development and you do not cancel or change the appointment except in extreme emergency!
The basic skills you need for coaching are the basic skills you need for all people management:
Once you have the person’s agreement to participate, the coaching session follows a basic four-step process:
Establish contract
This is an important step at the beginning of your first coaching session and can be reiterated at subsequent sessions. A contract in this sense is not a formal written contract but is a way of establishing the ground rules for your sessions. It is above all the time when you can reassure your staff member that you are not using the contents of the session for appraisal purposes.
So you need to voice the purpose of the session, your role and theirs in the coaching process, the duration and the frequency of the sessions.
Explore Development Needs
The ideal way of determining development needs is by asking what the person being coached needs to learn and wishes to address. You can then together agree what is feasible to work on in one session. Do not try to force too much on the individual in one go, for they will stand little chance of achieving their goals.
Suggest alternatives
When you are exploring ways forward with your coachee, allow them time to discuss their ideas. You may wish to give them some constructive feedback on performance already achieved if this is appropriate and helpful to them. If they get stuck you may wish to suggest other alternatives; options they may not have considered or may not be aware exist.
DO NOT impose these ideas however, or you are straying out of coaching; suggest them, and ask the person what they think.
Set goals
In the final part of the session the person makes a commit to themselves (and to you) of further action.
Encourage and motivate them to set realistic targets which are clear and concise and have a time scale attached. Remind them that they will be coming back to discuss the outcome with you at the next session.
This Leadership training course is designed to help all managers and leaders develop the essential skills to influence and motivate your staff to achieve exceptional performance.
This team leadership training course covers the key skills necessary for team members to become team leaders. It is ideal for recently promoted Team Leaders or those who have not had formal training.