Coaching - Is It For You ?
A recent survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 63 % of UK organisations used coaching as a learning and development tool - yet it was unclear whether these efforts were linked to business goals!
It is my belief that coaching has a role to play in helping both individuals and organisations achieve their goals and objectives. However a frequently unasked question is - can everybody be a coach? Or to put it another way - Is it for you?
Let us imagine you are considering coaching someone: Do you naturally Ask or Tell?
This is actually a spectrum that you will need to be able to slide along Do you believe Feedback should be honest and to the point?
Good feedback should be clear, explicit and with the intention of the coachee feeling helped Do you think coaching is just about listening and nodding in the right places Most effective coaching sessions use a form of the GROW model (agree Goal, specific examples from Reality , examine Options and finally Wrap-up through agreeing a commitment to action) Do you use coaching to address a skills gap?
This is fine (given the appropriate skill) and also consider any Will issues (is there desire to achieve) so you can adopt relevant coaching approach Do you agree with some key do and don't?
Don't - behave like a psychologist (unless you are!), try to be nice (unless you are), ramble on , try and solve everything at once
Do - focus on specifics, be business-like, deal with bite sized chunks I believe (because it has been my experience in different roles) that Coaching can be useful when it is focussed on outcomes, has a meaningful understood structure and is done in a way that fits the style of the two participants.
IS IT FOR YOU?