Coaching is about improving the value, efficiency and effectiveness of your team members by increasing their skills and ability to do the job. The coaching process typically lasts for a relatively short period.

See also this guide to mentoring

Characteristics of coaching:

• It focuses on improving performance and developing individuals’ skills.
• Personal issues may be discussed but the emphasis is on performance at work.
• It provides people with feedback on both their strengths and their weaknesses.
• Line managers can successfully act as a coach to junior staff if they understand and follow basic coaching procedures.
  
  

 Benefits to you, the Coach

• Coaching sessions should boost your team's ability, efficiency, success and spirit.
• You will get more time to do your job better, as you have a stronger team to which you can delegate.
• Coaching helps develop your managerial and interpersonal skills, as well as leadership qualities.
• You gain respect as the coaching team leader.

 Benefits to the learner/trainee

• The learner develops existing skills and learns new ones. 
• This then enhances their ability to do the job, which leads to greater confidence, competence and ultimately promotion and increased salary.

The Coaching process

What to clarify with the learner

• That the coaching programme is NOT about evaluation.
• That everyone in the company has weaknesses.

  And that the coaching programme is simply about dealing with theirs.

When to Coach

• Agree whether the learner is a morning or evening person.
• Then agree a regular programme (say 8.30 to 9.00am every Tuesday and Thursday).
• Add plenty of ‘Just-in-time’ sessions that are pertinent to the task about to be performed (e.g. presentation skills, document writing, Google Ads, or whatever).

  (On average 87% of what someone learns is forgotten within twelve weeks so the closer the training is to the task the better)

Starting the process

• Review the learner’s last appraisal for guidance on areas to concentrate on.
• Agree whether it is a lack of skill or confidence - or even a lack of will – (or all three) that needs to be addressed by the training sessions.
• Review the learner’s perceived weaknesses.
• Set objectives for the coaching process that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, results-driven and timely).

  For this, see the questions section at the end of this document.

The skills of an effective Coach

An effective coach:

1. Provides a focus for learning.
2. Gives the learner their full attention during sessions.
3. Allows the learner to set their own agenda – and so ensures their commitment to it.
4. Always checks that the learner fully understands what’s being taught.
5. Uses open and penetrating questions in the session – rather than giving what are believed to be the answers.
6. Has great listening skills (the learner should do most of the talking).
7. Tries to ensure that learnt skills from the coaching sessions are put into practice as soon as possible.
8. Offers help – not judgement. 
9. Gives regular ad hoc considered and constructive feedback.
10. Makes the sessions a positive (ideally fun) experience.

Three coaching techniques to practice

1. Coaching process ‘AID’ - constructive feedback in three parts:
   
   
   • Replay the Action taken. For example, ‘What parts of the presentation today worked best? What worked least well?
   • Discuss the Impact. For example, ‘What do you think was the likely reaction to our presentation style?’
   • Sugges a Desired outcome. ‘What might be a good way to practice presentation skills so that next time we can better demonstrate our understanding of the subject?’
     
     
2. Coaching process ‘AIP’ - delivering praise/positive feedback.
   
   
   • Highlight the Action taken.
   • Discuss the Impact.
   • Giving Praise/Positive feedback.
     
     
3. The Coaching process – ‘GROW’

   Ideally get the learner (or team) to do most of the talking in the session, with you, the coach, keeping the session on track by asking pertinent questions.

   • Goals. Agree on the topic for discussion – and the objectives of the session.

     Ideally also establish a goal, for example, for the learner to present the next set of Creative concepts at next week’s Status Meeting.

   • Reality. Review the learner’s current skill in the area (of, say, presentation skills) and establish strengths and weaknesses. Get them to do their own self-assessment.
   • Options. Ask what they believe might be the best way forward.

     Agree an approach. What are the alternatives? Who could help? Are there any obstacles?

     By stimulating the learner to come up with their ideal (but jointly agreed) approach, they will be more motivated to implement it.

   • Wrap-up. The coach helps the learner to commit to an action and a time scale. What is to be done, by whom, how and when.
     
     

Common 'SMART' questions used while coaching

Specific

• So what are you looking to achieve here?
• Is this an end goal or a performance goal?
• If it is an end goal, what performance goals need to be achieved first?
  
  

Measurable

• How might you be able to measure success?
• What are the milestones/key points on the way to achieving this?
  
  

Achievable

• Will achieving it stretch you?
• What support and resources do you need?
• What are the constraints to achieving your goal?
• How can these constraints be reduced?
• What other options are there?
• If you had unlimited resources to achieve this, what would you do?
• Is your goal linked to an internal issue?
  
  

Results-driven

• Can you control the result?  What don’t you have control over?
• What have you done so far and what has been achieved?
  
  

Timely

• How will you know when you’ve achieved your goal?
• When do you want to achieve it by?
  
  

“Success comes from experience and experience comes from making mistakes” Anon