Coaching for Success

Coaching is perhaps the most effective method of increasing performance available to managers, team leaders, and colleagues. This article defines coaching and outlines a process for effective coaching.

Coaching Defined

Coaching is perhaps the most effective method of increasing performance available to managers, team leaders, and colleagues.

If you wish to improve the skills of your employees, you must plan to observe them and provide them with feedback. If you're like most supervisors or managers, you have limited time and are looking for employees to become proficient - and independent - faster.

Entelechy's Coaching Model is designed to help you do just that!

The Coaching Model is appropriate for developing the skills of employees if the employee is willing to improve. Coaching should not be used as a softer, gentler version of corrective action; if a performance problem occurs, you will want to use the Problem Solving model.

The Coaching Model is based on several important principles:

  • There are two primary goals to coaching:

    • To improve performance.

    • To help employees gain the ability to self-assess.

  • It is important that the coaching sessions follow a predictable process. This will help the coachees feel more comfortable and relaxed, which will help to ensure they actively participate in these sessions. It is for this reason that we suggest that you share the coaching model with your employees prior to coaching.

  • Coaching is a planned development process and should not be a surprise.

  • The way you open the conversation sets the tone for what will follow.

  • After we open the conversation using our initial probe, we discuss positives first and areas for improvement last. Beginning with positives first is motivational and accomplishes the following:

    • The goal is to have employees increase their performance. If they are not in a positive frame of mind, they will not be open to this change.

    • Reinforces good behavior and ease into the coaching session.

    • Builds self-esteem.

  • Ending the coaching session with a discussion of areas for development ensures that they are focusing on those areas.

  • Always give the coachee a chance to self-assess before you offer your insights. Encouraging self-assessment is positive for several reasons:

    • It encourages improvement even when you are not coaching.

    • It allows you to determine why the employee may not be performing as desired; they may not know that they're doing something incorrectly.

    • It builds self-esteem.

    • It increases the chances that behavior will change.

  • Reinforce correct self-assessment.

  • Defer or redirect inappropriate or incorrect self-assessment.

  • We focus coaching on only two strengths and two areas for development. Limiting the discussion is important and accomplishes the following:

    • Increases the coachee's ability to reach proficiency.

    • Focuses on the most important issues.

    • Other issues can be addressed after some progress has been made on the most important issues first.

  • If an employee is not identifying areas that you identified (or has identified them incorrectly), use increasingly specific questions to allow the employee to self-assess if possible. This allows you to determine if the employee doesn't know what's expected, doesn't have the skill, or simply chooses not to demonstrate the skill.

    The Coaching Model at Work

    Now let's turn our attention to Entelechy's Coaching Model in practice.

    Step 1: Open the Conversation

    The coach opens the conversation with a general question; this helps the coach get a sense for the accuracy of the coachee's self-assessment. If the coachee responds with, "that was the best call ever" and you thought that the call was poor, you know that you'll have to adjust your coaching conversation.

    Step 2: Probe for What Went Well

    The coach asks the coachee what went particularly well and listens for the responses. By identifying what went well first, a positive tone for the coaching session is set. We want to make sure that the coachee continues doing these things. This also forces the coachee - NOT THE COACH - to identify superior performance.

    Step 2a: Redirect or Defer

    Sometimes the coachee will bring up a negative when you're discussing positives. You will want to defer that discussion until later in the coaching conversation by saying, "I'd like to talk about that more later. What else went particularly well?"

    Other times, the coachee will claim something as a positive that - in your opinion - was an area that needs development. You will want to redirect their perception by pointing out what you saw that helped you conclude that it was less than desirable. "Oh, really? Did you happen to see John's face when you discussed the product's features? That's right, he seemed to lose interest when you started talking about us rather than about him...."

    Step 2b: Support and Build

    When the coachee correctly assesses his performance - both strengths and areas for development - support the assessment by saying, "I agree." Build from their conclusions to reinforce the accuracy of their self-assessment. In this way, you are reinforcing one of the most valuable skills anyone can acquire: the ability to assess and improve their own performance.

    Step 3: Probe for Areas for Development

    The third step is to ask the coachee what he would change if he could do it again. Obviously, if the coachee knows what could be improved and knows how to improve it, he won't benefit from YOU telling him! And by mentally rehearsing what he will do differently, the likelihood of him actually carrying out the improvement is increased.

    Most experts agree that two or three areas for development are enough for anyone to work on. Working on a laundry list of things to change is frustrating and futile. Focus on the areas of greatest need.

    When identifying areas for development, the coachee may not have identified the one that you thought was most important. Again, you can redirect their perception by identifying what you saw that they might not have that allowed you to come to your conclusion. "I agree that the two areas that you identified would definitely had made the call go better. What do you think the effect of your product feature presentation was on the customer? Why? What might you do differently the next time...?"

    Step 4: Summarize and Support

    Even though you may have limited the coaching to a few strengths and a couple areas for development, you will want to briefly summarize the discussion, especially what the coachee will do differently the next time. This recap will cause the most important things to remain fresh in memory. You will also want to support the changes by saying something like, "I think those changes will make your next call go even better."

    Follow these four steps to help your employees and colleagues increase their performance.

    (This information comes from Coaching for Performance, a module in Entelechy's High Performance Management program. Check out this module as well as our 40 other modules, training tools, and eGuides at www.unlockit.com)

    I have a diagram jpg or Word drawing of the coaching model that would illustrate the process better than words. I also have this available in Word format.

    About The Author

    Terence R. Traut is the president of Entelechy, Inc., a company that helps organizations unlock the potential of their people through customized training programs in the areas of sales, management, customer service, and training. Check out our 40 customizable modules, training tools, and eGuides at www.unlockit.com. Terence can be reached at 603-424-1237 or ttraut@unlockit.com

    • More Resources

    Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

    More Coaching Information:

    Related Articles

    Choosing The Right Coach
    Coaching has become a very popular way for people to get the ongoing support they need to accomplish their goals. However, choosing a coach can be tricky.
    What I Would Include In A Coaching Book
    A coach is an essential figure in providing direction and leadership to his/her team. In sports, coaches are sometimes evaluated on the number of wins they can produce.
    Some Business Coaches are in Error
    Many business coaches deny the power of suggestion while using it. For instance a corporate inner circle will be told that they have inner conflicts with ethical practice due to the stockholders coming first, the customers coming second and employees coming third.
    Growing On G.R.O.W - A More Specific Coaching Model For Busy Managers
    The effective coaching of employees by their line managers is fast becoming an expectation from both senior management and from the employees themselves. Many managers are now being taught how best to coach their employees by employing the standard coaching model called G.
    Encourage Personality Testing
    I was asked the other day : "Kate, is personality testing novelty, frivolity, or common sense?"The answer is: It depends on whether or not you utilize them properly.I highly recommend them for anyone who is in a relationship of any kind: business, friendships, family, etc.
    The Value of Career Coaching and Its Effect on Productivity
    Athletes the world over have coaches. Yet, workers whose very livelihood depends on their ability to perform well on the job are often unaware of the merits of a career coach.
    Addiction to Worry
    Carole started counseling with me because she was depressed. She had been ill with chronic fatigue syndrome for a long time and believed her depression was due to this.
    The Fastest Way to Ruin Yourself
    I don't know many people who would admit to wanting to ruin themselves, but there are a lot of people who are doing everything they can to accomplish that very goal. They certainly don't see it that way, but if you look at the way they live, you can see it happening.
    The Biggest Loser
    I am a "Loser". You're gonna learn from this writing today the reason why you too must be a "Loser".
    Friends?
    I met my friend when we were in graduate school, and we enjoyed hanging out together outside of classes. After receiving our degrees, we both left school to live in different states.
    Personal Power
    All of us would love to have personal power - the power to manifest our dreams, the power to remain calm and loving in the face of fear, the power to stay centered in ourselves in the face of attack.Our society often confuses personal power - "power within" - with "power over," which is about controlling others.
    That Little Bit Of Extra
    The "little bit extra" is a very powerful concept to put into practice today in every aspect of your life. The difference between being ordinary and being extraordinary is that little bit EXTRA.
    Executive Coaching - Finding a Coach and Understanding the Process
    Nobody in business can fail to have noticed the recent rise in the number of coaches and consultants offering their services. But how do you go about finding a coach who will give you a return on your investment? Executive coaching might be an option for you if you are running your own business or are in an employed management role, and have aspirations to achieve more.
    How to Slow Your Spinning Mind
    Have you ever laid in bed trying to fall asleep, but your mind keeps spinning with all the things you need to do? Your thoughts just keep ticking?We wind ourselves up like a motor when we pile on more things than can possibly get done in the time frame have. When we rush to appointments, speed in the car, load up on coffee, smoke on our breaks and make it to places "just in time", it's no wonder some of us can have a hard settling in for the night.
    Dont Settle
    Settling is about not embracing what is best for you, and accepting what you really don't want. When you settle, you accept less than you deserve.
    Ch-Ch-Chain of Hearts: Cranking Up Compassion
    Can you hear your compassion? It's time to crank it up.One of the most difficult challenges we face in our quest to be compassionate is dealing with conflict.
    Tips For Singles On Celebrating The New Year
    It's four weeks away and you don't have any plans. Many of your friends will be away or out with their significant others.
    Coaching is Asking the Right Questions
    Have you ever known anyone who asked themselves "Why me?" over and over every time something happened they didn't like? Or how about, "What did I do to deserve this?" And my favorite, "Whose fault was that?" Perhaps, these questions have popped into your head once or twice before.When we ask ourselves questions, our brain hunts for the answer.
    Unhook From The Perpetual Progress Grid
    I have been a member of a group called the Women in BusinessConnection (WIBC for short) in Cambridge, MA for about fouryears. We get together for lunch meetings once a month.
    Its Not What You Think
    My work in organizations involves dropping habitual ways of perceiving in order to contact a fresh and subtle perceiving "under the surface" of what is going on. That deeper sense of perceiving allows the emergence of what I call the Engaging Leader, or the genuine expression of myself and the collective.