Coaching has been my preferred mode of leading throughout my career. I repeatedly got trained as a coach within and outside the organization. With a keen interest, I have always been exploring key aspects & styles of coaching.
The term ‘Coaching’, mostly associated with sports, originated in the late 1880s. Since then, it has kept evolving as an important discipline for developing people and enhancing their performance.
W. Timothy Gallwey, through his seminal book, ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’, shared the art & science of coaching. Though he started with tennis, he took the same philosophy forward to lay the foundations of professional coaching.
Coaching can play a significant role across age groups and spheres, especially in the corporates. Based on my intensive training and extensive experience, I am sharing What, Why, How, When & Who of Coaching.
COACHING: THE WHAT
In the corporate world, coaching gets talked, but a lot still needs to be done for better awareness and understanding. There are several developmental activities. Let us see how coaching differs from them-
Teaching: Knowledge & understanding enhancement; Training: Skill & competency improvement; Mentoring: Development & growth guidance; Counselling: Emotional & behavioral intervention. So, what is coaching?
“ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity, and leadership.”*
We can see, Coaching is a partnership in which the Coach works along with the Coachee to maximize their inherent potential.
“Coaching optimizes on Inner Resources and the Answers Within. Finding them through a coach facilitated self-exploration and reflection can bring about required clarity & confidence to chart a path to the desired future.”
Coaching has developed into different types/forms: Life, Wellbeing, Business, Executive, Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Performance, Team, etc.
COACHING: THE WHY
“Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out. Sometimes, they need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching, and great things can happen.” — Pete Carroll**.
We need coaching to tap into the enormous possibilities that lie within. While people strive to do their best, they need someone to help explore the same.
It is a question of self-belief. What they can do is not always clear to them and they may end up below par. A coach can trigger change, resulting in bettering even their ‘best’.
Many successful people, after attaining a level of success, feel plateaued and if this period extends, it may cause boredom & decline. And then, there are some who are facing failure and cannot achieve a breakthrough.
A Coach can unlock the next level of success for the successful and the way forward for those who are not so successful.
COACHING: THE HOW
As with all other disciplines, various Frameworks, Models and Tools of Coaching have developed over a period, and this field continues to evolve.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), GROW, SCORE, Strength-Based…. Be it the framework or model or tools, the list is long & all have their own value.
Applied Psychology and Behavioral Science have given a lot of attention to Coaching as an important discipline and Coach as a profession.
While there are various ways of conducting coaching, the most fundamental is — “Asking the right questions”.
Goal is to Unlock Inherent Potential; Ignite Inner Resourcefulness and Generate Answers Within. Right Questions and Active Listening can create Positive Breakthroughs.
It is also important that the Coach is neither getting influenced by his own thinking about the individual or the situation, nor asking leading questions towards what he/she feels are the right answers.
The person getting coached, facilitated through by right questions, goes into exploration mode, building self-awareness, seeking The Answers Within.
COACHING: THE WHEN
Ric Charlesworth said, “The interesting thing about coaching is that you have to trouble the comfortable and comfort the troubled”.***
A Coaching intervention is essentially there to take someone from current state to the desired state. It can be of value when someone is not succeeding, as much as when someone is succeeding.
Coaching need not be a troubleshooting or failure addressing intervention. Coach can take individuals or teams from good to great. Coaching can facilitate, discover, and optimize the dormant opportunities.
American Management Association puts it nicely “Coaching is a dialogue that leads to awareness and action. When an employee has the skills and ability to complete the task at hand, but for some reason is struggling with the confidence, focus, motivation, drive, or bandwidth to be at their best, coaching can help.”****
The ongoing pandemic has unfortunately created huge disruptions in the corporate world. Many careers have been adversely affected, coaching can be of great help.
COACHING: THE WHO
Coaching has its application and relevance throughout the corporate hierarchy. Be it by Front Line Manager to the Customer facing Sales Force or Head-Business to Functional Heads.
Coaching as a mode of leadership is developmental for the one getting coached and even for the one who is coaching. Recommendation is to build a strong coaching culture within the organization.
It is equally prudent that the organizations engage external coaches to develop leaders & teams. This can facilitate individual/collective change. Outside-in intervention can be a tremendous developmental value.
Aspiring young or mid-level professionals need not wait for the organization to provide them a coach. They can approach and hire one for themselves at an individual level. Coach can mean a valuable input for Career Development.
Those already in the leadership role need it even more. Higher one is in the hierarchy more is the need to have a Coach. When you are on the top, finding the next level of success or growth is even more difficult.
Coaching can unlock new perspectives for self, as a leader, as well as for the organization one is leading.
COACHING, MY FINAL TAKE
“Coaching is the art and science of Inner Resource optimization; needed to trigger Positive Change and Transformation; by Right Questions and Self-exploration; through success as well as failure and for all across age-group and hierarchy at individual or at team level.”
Let’s Be a Coach or Get a Coach!!
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REFERENCES:
* https://coachingfederation.org/about
** https://www.brainyquote.com
*** https://coachmeyertribute.com
**** https://www.amanet.org
