What
is Coaching?
Coaching is simply a
conversation aimed at helping you improve your performance and to achieve your
goals. Usually your line manager will have coaching conversations with you, as
they will be interested in helping you perform to your best. This is not the same
as management conversations they might also have with you. Management
conversations are more directive and will be about what is expected of you, what resources are available, how success
will be measured etc, primarily from your manager’s perspective. Coaching conversations are less directive and
are about how you personally will
achieve your workplace goals in a way that suits you and draws on your own
talents and gifts. This is much more about your perspective. The intention is
always to help you maximise your own performance and deliver great results in a
way that works for you as far as possible.
The Coaching Process
Coaching is
undertaken usually as a 1:1 conversation with your line manager, both on an ad
hoc and on a regular basis, for instance at monthly 1:1 meetings. You might
also be in the position of having another person in the organisation acting as
your coach as well – someone who is trained in coaching and whom you have
selected as your coach outside of the management line. In this case, your
‘external’ coach will meet and agree with you and your line manager the key
aspects of a coaching agreement, including what the coaching should focus on,
the intended results, and aspects of confidentiality. This doesn’t mean that
your line manager will stop coaching you, but rather that you will be in the
very fortunate position of having two coaches, for free. High performers in
every field, be that in business, sports, performing arts or whatever, often
have more than two coaches, (they know the secret to great performance is in
constant improvement) and they have to pay for every one of them!
Expectations on both sides
Your coach, whether
they are your line manager or ‘external’, should be committed to your success.
You can expect your coach to help you to be clear on what you want or need to
achieve, in what timeframe, and to help you work out for yourself the best way
for you to get there. You can expect
them to ask more questions than to give you answers, and to challenge your
thinking and ideas to help you refine and clarify these. You can expect them to give you feedback on
your behaviours and performance, and help you to learn from your mistakes and
correct them so you can constantly improve. This is exactly the same process
that world champions go through to get to the top of their professions, and to
stay there.
Your coach, of
course, will have expectations of you. They will expect you to take coaching
seriously, and to embrace the opportunity that coaching presents to perform
outstandingly well. Your coach will expect you to be clear about what you want
to achieve and to show real commitment and effort to get to where you want to
be. They will expect you to keep your word, commit to actions, and be prepared
to be open to feedback in order to maximise your learning. Your coach will
expect you to be honest and open with them, and they in return will be honest and
open with you. The partnership of coach and coachee working in this highly
focussed and collaborative way is challenging, fun and extremely rewarding if
you are prepared to put in the effort to make it work.