| Everybody is talking about coaching these days, | | | | an important part of what it is to manage. |
| but what does it mean? Isn't it what football | | | | "Developing a person's skills and knowledge so |
| managers do? Well it might be, but these days | | | | that their job performance improves, hopefully |
| football managers seem to have an army of | | | | leading to achievement of organizational |
| separate defense coaches goalkeeping coaches | | | | objectives. It targets high performance and |
| and so on, so that's not a helpful comparison. | | | | improvement at work, although it may have an |
| Perhaps you've seen a Life Coach on daytime TV | | | | impact on an individual's private life. It usually lasts |
| or read a life coaching, self-help type book. There | | | | for a short period and focuses on specific skills |
| might be a useful definition to be extrapolated | | | | and goals." Jessica Jarvis |
| from life coaching, but in a business context | | | | Some definitions suggest that coaching is purely |
| we've rarely the time or the expertise to delve | | | | the support and guidance provided for individuals |
| into personal, lifestyle issues. Becoming a manager | | | | to enable them to apply their existing skills more |
| who coaches must require us to use coaching in a | | | | effectively and thus improve their job |
| very different context. | | | | performance at work, but most include the |
| Before we can begin to acquire coaching skills we | | | | learning theme by suggesting that coaching aims |
| must have a clear understanding of precisely | | | | to enhance the performance and learning ability of |
| what coaching is, but this is harder than it may | | | | people at the same time. A good number of |
| seem. Coaching is an emerging area of Human | | | | definitions cite techniques such as motivation, |
| Resource Development (HRD), it draws upon a | | | | effective questioning and deliberately matching our |
| very wide range of influences from | | | | management style to the coachee's (person being |
| psychotherapy to sport and is continually evolving. | | | | coached) readiness to perform a particular task. |
| We must construct a working definition that helps | | | | We can conclude that coaching is based on helping |
| you to recognize exactly what coaching is and | | | | coachees to help themselves, but that it does not |
| what it is not and shows how you can absorb | | | | rely on a one-way flow of telling and instructing. |
| coaching into your existing set of management | | | | It appears that coaching is a means of |
| skills. | | | | systematically increasing the capability and |
| I will not be inviting you to discard what you | | | | performance of people at work by exposing |
| already know about managing people, but I do | | | | them to work based tasks or experiences that |
| hope to offer concepts and techniques that give | | | | will provide relevant learning opportunities, and |
| you fresh options and new ideas when things | | | | ensuring that this learning is available to them later |
| seem difficult or the going gets tough. Equally I | | | | on. It is about performing and learning. |
| hope to show you the way to take your team's | | | | As far as the learning part is concerned coaching |
| development to new heights, in the words of one | | | | is very different from teaching or instructing. The |
| of my course participants: | | | | coach encourages people to learn for themselves; |
| "I've turned to coaching because I've taught them | | | | the coach usually takes a 'back seat' role, while still |
| all I know, but I know they're still capable of | | | | being able to give guidance and help when people |
| more." | | | | really need it. Coaches help their teams to |
| Coaching defined | | | | regularly review experiences so that they |
| My little Collins English Dictionary defines the verb | | | | understand what has been learned. |
| to coach as 'to instruct by private tutoring, to | | | | It seems there is no universally accepted definition |
| instruct and train, to act as a coach'. This is too | | | | of the term coaching and, as described below, |
| loose a definition to be useful, and is contaminated | | | | when it is placed alongside other ways of |
| by references to training and instructing which | | | | developing people an exact definition becomes |
| might prove confusing as we'll see later on. | | | | even trickier. |
| Let's instead turn to a couple of well known | | | | However, a synthesis of the numerous definitions |
| writers in the coaching field for their views: | | | | out there identifies three elements that can |
| "Unlocking a person's potential to maximise their | | | | constitute a working definition for further |
| performance." John Whitmore | | | | exploration: |
| From this definition we can see that coaching is an | | | | Coach and coachee establish a relationship based |
| activity designed to help improve someone else's | | | | on trust that has the intention of improving the |
| performance. A comparison can be drawn with | | | | coachee's performance at work |
| the world of sport, where coaches try to get the | | | | Coaching thus becomes a process that is |
| best out of their team without actually being on | | | | centered on the coachee but focused on |
| the field of play. In modern organizations, coaching | | | | performance |
| must also involve turning work situations into | | | | Coaching is a learnt skill and an essential element |
| learning opportunities as this is increasingly seen as | | | | of the managerial role in these changing times. |