These days, it seems that almost everyone is either being coached or being a coach.  So, what’s it all about and what are some simple and effective things managers can do when coaching their staff?

What is coaching?

Many definitions abound, but to put it simply, coaching involves a planned approach to helping someone do something better.  It is a genuine attempt to foster the development of another person and to unlock their potential.

The coach is not necessarily a problem-solver, a teacher or an expert in the field of the coachee.  Rather, the coach may act as a facilitator or a sounding board, and might also offer advice on a range of things including how to work through problems and provide feedback to people in a variety of settings.

Whether a manager is coaching staff in order to agree performance expectations, to help an individual solve problems, or to review their progress, some key skills demonstrated by the coach should help build awareness and responsibility in the individual – awareness of the issues to be addressed and responsibility for bringing about desired changes.

The following skills may sound familiar, but doing them well could be the difference between being an average coach and a great coach.

1. Effective questioning techniques

Ask open and relevant questions.  These questions typically start with words such as what, when, where, who.  They cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.  Open questions allow the individual to express their point of view, allow discussion to develop and encourage the individual to come up with their own solutions.

Also ask probing questions to gain more understanding about the issue being discussed.  Probing is continuing a line of questioning to get down to specifics.

2. Effective listening skills

Listening enables you to understand the individual’s point of view and hence coach more effectively.

Attend – do not distract the person talking.  Pay attention and show an interest in the conversation.  Keep an open body posture and maintain eye contact with the person.

Follow – acknowledge the person’s contributions using non-verbal encouragement such as nodding, smiling, pausing and verbal encouragement such as “ah-ha’s”, “really”, etc.

Reflect – paraphrase your understanding of the conversation and summarise the key points.  This shows the individual that you have understood what they have said and helps to reinforce agreements made.

3. Skills in giving feedback

To keep an individual’s performance on track, give praise or confirming feedback when something is done well, and constructive feedback when something needs to be improved.

When giving feedback, make sure that it is:

• clear and specific
• free of labels or judgements
• factual
• given with eye contact
• timely
• focused on behaviours

Of course, there’s a bit more to coaching than asking questions and listening, but developing or refining these basic skills is a good start.