The Power of Coaching for Success

The Power of Coaching for Success

Unlocking Your Full Potential: The Power of Coaching for Success: A blog post exploring the benefits of coaching and how it can help individuals reach their full potential in various aspects of life. 

Managers, team leaders, and colleagues have at their disposal coaching, which is widely considered as the most effective approach to enhance performance. In this article, the concept of coaching will be defined and a recommended process for effective coaching will be presented.

Definition of Coaching

Coaching is widely regarded as the most effective technique for improving performance that managers, team leaders, and colleagues can employ.

If you aim to enhance the skills of your employees, it is essential to observe their performance and provide them with constructive feedback. As a supervisor or manager, you likely have limited time and aspire for your employees to quickly become competent and self-reliant.

To meet these objectives, Entelechy has developed the Coaching Model!

The Coaching Model is suitable for enhancing employee skills, provided that the employee is willing to improve. It is worth noting that coaching should not be seen as a softer alternative to corrective action; in case of performance issues, the Problem-Solving model should be used.

The Coaching Model is founded on several important principles:

 

1. Coaching has two main objectives:

         • Enhancing performance.
        • Assisting employees in developing self-assessment skills.

2. To ensure coachees' active participation, it is crucial to establish a structured process for coaching sessions. By sharing the coaching model with your employees beforehand, they will feel more at ease and relaxed.

3. Coaching should always be planned and not come as a surprise.

4. The manner in which the conversation is initiated sets the tone for the entire coaching session.

5. Upon opening the conversation with our initial probe, it is more effective to begin by discussing positives and save areas for improvement for later. Starting with positives serves the following purposes:

• The aim is for employees to enhance their performance. If they are not in a positive mindset, they will be less receptive to change.

• It encourages and reinforces good behavior, easing into the coaching session.

• It boosts self-esteem.

6. Concluding the coaching session with a discussion on areas for development ensures that focus is placed on those particular areas.

7. Always provide the coachee with the opportunity to self-assess before offering your insights. Encouraging self-assessment is advantageous for several reasons:

• It promotes improvement even outside coaching sessions.

• It enables you to identify why the employee may not be meeting the desired performance; they may be unaware of their mistakes.

• It enhances self-esteem.

• It increases the likelihood of behavioral changes.

8. Reinforce accurate self-assessment.

9. Redirect or defer inappropriate or incorrect self-assessment.

10. We limit coaching discussions to two strengths and two areas for development.

 Restricting the conversation ensures focus and accomplishes the following     objectives:

   - Enhances the coachee's capacity to achieve proficiency.

   - Concentrates on the primary concerns.

   - Subsequent concerns can be addressed once significant progress

     has been made on the primary concerns.

11. In the event that an employee is not recognizing the areas that you have identified (or has incorrectly identified them), employ progressively specific questions to encourage the employee to evaluate themselves if possible. This enables you to determine whether the employee lacks knowledge of expectations, lacks the necessary skill, or simply chooses not to demonstrate the skill.

The Application of the Coaching Model

Let's now shift our focus to the practical implementation of Entelechy's Coaching Model.

Step 1: Initiate the Conversation

The coach begins the conversation with a general inquiry, which helps the coach gauge the accuracy of the coachee's self-assessment. If the coachee responds with, "That was the best call ever," and you perceive the call as subpar, you will know that adjustments need to be made to the coaching conversation.

Step 2: Inquire about Achievements

The coach asks the coachee about what was particularly well done and attentively listens to their responses. By identifying successes first, a positive atmosphere for the coaching session is established. We want to ensure that the coachee continues these positive behaviors. Additionally, this shifts the responsibility of identifying superior performance to the coachee rather than the coach.

Step 2a: Redirect or Delay

Sometimes, while discussing positives, the coachee may bring up a negative aspect. In such cases, it is advisable to postpone that discussion until later in the coaching conversation. You can accomplish this by saying, "I would like to discuss that further later on. What else went particularly well?"

On other occasions, the coachee may regard something as a positive that, in your opinion, needs improvement. In such instances, it is necessary to redirect their perception by pointing out specific observations that support the conclusion that the performance was less than optimal. "Oh, really? Did you notice John's reaction when you mentioned the product's features? That's correct, he seemed to lose interest when you shifted the focus from him to us...."

Step 2b: Support and Strengthen

Begin by affirming the coachee's self-assessment when they correctly evaluate their performance, acknowledging both their strengths and areas for development by expressing agreement. Utilize their conclusions as a foundation to strengthen the validity of their self-assessment. This process serves to reinforce a valuable skill that anyone can acquire: the ability to evaluate and enhance their own performance.

Step 3:  Probing for Areas of Development:

The next step involves inquiring about what the coachee would modify if given the opportunity to do it again. It is essential to recognize that if the coachee is already aware of areas for improvement and how to enhance them, it would not be productive for you to provide the same insights. By engaging in mental rehearsal and contemplating alternative actions, the likelihood of implementing improvements is heightened.

Experts generally concur that focusing on two or three areas for development is most advantageous. Attempting to address an extensive list of changes often leads to frustration and inefficiency. Concentration should be directed toward the areas that require the most attention.

While identifying areas for development, it is possible that the coachee may not have pinpointed the one you consider most significant. In such cases, redirect their perception by highlighting what you observed and they may have overlooked, which influenced your conclusion. For example, you could say, "I agree with the two areas you identified, as they could have improved the call. However, what impact do you think your product feature presentation had on the customer? Why? What adjustments might you consider for the future...?"

Summarize and Provide Support: Step 4

Even after focusing on a few strengths and areas for development, it is beneficial to briefly summarize the discussion, particularly emphasizing the actions the coachee intends to undertake in the future. By recapitulating the key points, the most important aspects of the coaching session will remain vivid in memory. To further bolster the proposed changes, you can convey your belief that these adjustments will enhance their performance during their next call by saying, "I believe these changes will contribute to the success of your future calls."

By following these four steps, you can facilitate the growth and development of your employees and colleagues. In the upcoming issue, we will explore the techniques of delivering feedback within the coaching framework.