Developing Coaching Skills in the Workplace free essay sample

Skills’ coaching focuses on the core skills that an individual/team needs to perform in their role. Skills’ coaching provides an adaptable and flexible approach to skills development for business and individual needs. It focuses on what the person is lacking in, in order to get them up to standard. Performance coaching is a tool used for a more one to one session focusing on the individuals needs whether it is within the work place or work-life balance. It is aimed at enhancing the individuals performance needs to increase their effectiveness and productivity. Non-directive coaching is coaching where the coach asks questions to allow people to find their own solutions. A non-directive coach will not offer advice and rarely even give suggestions, although through skillful questioning they will help someone to see their situation from a different perspective, gain clarity, uncover options, challenge inconsistencies and hold them accountable to their actions. Directive coaching is where the coach offers solutions, tools and techniques for moving forward. Sometimes it may be useful to offer solutions, however the danger is that the solution may not be quite appropriate for the situation and consequently people may not feel fully committed to the solution provided. Coaching is not to be confused with other development methods such as mentoring or counselling. Coaching is a teaching, training or development process via which an individual is supported while achieving a specific personal or professional goal. Mentoring is a personal development relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. Counselling is a highly skilled intervention focussed on helping individuals address underlying psychological problems. Coaching can be used to help organisational objectives as it can assist performance management, it can help to prepare and support people in leadership roles and also help to support learning and development. The Role of the Coach Initiates the partnering conversation regarding the pace and direction of the sessions, which is based on the coachees desired outcomes from the coaching relationship †¢Encourages the coachees thinking and actions toward forward movement †¢Consciously uses the coachees responses to develop powerful questions and observations that may be relevant to the coachees creation of forward movement †¢Holds coachee accountable for his/her own progress and does not own the actions †¢Links the session by session outcomes to the overall goals of the coachee The Role of the Coachee Commits to and trusts in the coaching process †¢Takes ownership for his/her progress †¢Is open and honest with the coach †¢Shares information with the coach †¢Listens to the coachs observations, determines how to use them, or determines to disregard them †¢Makes commitments to action †¢Follows through on commitments †¢Is accountable for his/her own actions, growth, and progress †¢Is dedicated and committed to taking both small and large steps to achieve the agreed upon outcomes †¢Cooperates fully in the coaching process or discusses why cooperation is not possible The benefits for the individual can be: †¢increased motivation and commitment †¢clearer goals and objectives †¢improved ability to deal with change As far as the organisation is concerned, there are obvious advantages in having motivated employees, committed to achieving clear goals and improving performance. There should be greater productivity and more self – reliance amongst the employees, with less need for regular supervision by management. This can be particularly helpful in organisations where employees are dispersed over a number of offices or site and need to be able to work independently and to be self – motivating. The following options can help establish a corporate coaching culture: External personal coaching Companies intuitively recognize that it is desirable for senior managers to have an external coach but companies don’t extend this consideration to mid and junior level managers, and that is a mistake. Managers at all levels benefit in exactly the same way from discrete, private and confidential coaching that allows the exploration of sensitive personal and professional material Team leadership coaching Team leadership coaching is less expensive than private coaching but can be equally powerful. This involves a group of managers who work collectively with one coach or a limited team of coaches for a combination of group and individual sessions. The use of clinically trained team leadership coaches allows subsequent coaching to become part of a longer-term personal and professional development that is integrated into the larger organizational system and strategic direction. A popular trend in executive coaching is the development of a team of coaches within the organisation. Aside from being less expensive than external coaches, internal coaches have the advantage of already understanding the organisation’s business issues and internal dynamics. Also, if they have leadership experience in the organisation, they may find it easier to gain the respect of the executive and build rapport. On the other hand, internal coaches usually have less coaching and feedback experience than external coaches, with fewer opportunities to practice and maintain their coaching skills. They may lack a cross? organisational perspective that would allow them to put the executive’s behaviour in the context of what is normal and healthy in other organisations (the internal coach may be â€Å"blinded† by their experience in the company).