Coaching
(KOH-cheen)
LIQUID
What is Coaching?
Coaching is the pairing of individuals in a formal relationship in which a coach will facilitate conversation through open dialogue and questions to identify and draw out answers and strategies that may lie within the coach to achieve specific goals.
Other Common Names
Other common names for coaching include:
- Mentoring
- Career coaching
- Life coaching
Key Properties of Coaching
In the context of our periodic table and in an effort to maximize the effectiveness of learning experiences, the element coaching is very different from these experiences. Coaching is a supportive relationship in which the coach serves as a guide, offering structure to a coachee, with the belief that the coachee will be able to identify solutions to their own challenges.
Key properties of the coaching element include:
- one-on-one relationship
- structured conversations at a regular interval
- specific goal(s) are identified
- coach provides guidance, not answers
Resources From The Train Like a Champion Blog
The Layout of Your Job Aids Matters (So Does Coaching)
Coach Brian's Insights on Coaching
- "The term “coaching” can evoke a lot of emotions for a lot of people. Some don’t like the concept because of a poor experience they had with a high school or college athletic coach who pushed them too far. Some may recoil at the concept because when they are referred for “coaching” at their company it means they’re being taken into their supervisor’s office for remediation or discipline."
- "The ultimate goals for coaching include personal growth and professional development, and can be a powerful supplement to formal training programs. Some areas a coach focuses on are simple and straight forward, which allows a productive resolution to arrive quickly. In many areas, however, a coaching relationship will be ongoing as the coach and coachee engage in conversations that require focus and patience. With this in mind, there are some instances in which coaching is appropriate, but other situations in which it should absolutely not be incorporated into a learning program."
Blowing the whistle on Elements that Bond with Coaching
Keep in mind that while coaching may bring about deeper-level conversations, it should never be confused with counseling or therapy. In creating a bond between coaching and the following elements, you may find ways to strengthen the effectiveness of both technical and soft skill training initiatives:
Supervisor Support
Assuming supervisors have been adequately trained in proper coaching techniques (which often means they’re using a specific coaching model), they can super-charge the impact of a learning program through additional, structured conversations. Coaching can also change the dynamic between an employee and their boss, taking a relationship in which the boss is expected to give answers to one in which the boss serves as a sort of guide on the side, empowering direct reports to find their own solutions while continuing to hold them accountable for results.
Spaced Learning
Whether the coach turns out to be a supervisor, another internal resource, or someone contracted from outside the organization, providing ongoing coaching following a learning experience will encourage the participant to recall content and skills learned and use them during discussions or coaching-based assignments.
Virtual Meeting
The best person to take on a coaching role may be located in another office that is half a world away. Leveraging technology such as virtual meeting platforms so participants are able to engage with the most appropriate coach can be something to consider as you’re designing your program.
Virtual MeetingGoal Setting
Pairing someone up for coaching will only yield results if the conversations are focused. Identifying and setting goals to be achieved during each coaching encounter is fundamental to a productive and narrowly targeted interaction.
Other Sources of Information on Coaching
Books on Coaching
Mike Komola of FitwellHR said that It’s the Manager “gives lots of real, longitudinal research on how incredibly important the role of the people manager is in the success of an organization. And in fact, you know, the statistic that jumps out is: from their findings, 70% of the variance in engagement in employees is solely and directly attributed to the role of the people manager. So it’s huge. And so I use that one as a, you know– if you doubt your value, look at the data.”
The Coaching Habit focuses on seven essential coaching questions that empower managers to get more by saying less.