“Coaching is not about giving advice or telling people the answers. Coaching is about empowering the coachee to find their inner confidence, help them to grow and come up with their own solutions. Advice is often not as effective because everyone is different, and we bring our own style to the role of leader. If I offer advice to others born out of my own experiences it is possible that my advice won’t be as successful, my approach may not suit their style and abilities. GOOD COACHES DO NOT TRY TO CREATE MINI ME’s.
Coaching can be an informal relationship, where the leader uses a situation to identify possible avenues for development and growth, gives real-time feedback, challenges the persons assumptions, and/or provides affirmation for new behaviours.
Alternatively, coaching can be a formal process that entails a series of conversations or collaborative dialogues in which the leader works with a coachee to evaluate a given situation, agree on new behaviours, develop an action plan and follows up to keep the coachee accountable and provide affirmation.
At the heart of coaching is the ability to ask the right questions. Questions help the coachee to reflect deeply, to cut to the heart of the problem and understand how they are feeling about it. Great questioning should help a coachee identify what is at risk if they do nothing, or if they choose a particular response or strategy. A coach provokes a coachee to brainstorm solutions, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each possibility. A coach assists the coachee to recognise their preferred solution and encourages them to take action.
An effective coach rarely, if ever, suggest solutions. They listen carefully. They help the person understand and articulate how they are feeling. They help the person understand themselves better and to see the situation from a different perspective. They also encourage the coachee to find their own inner strength, courage and confidence, and to believe in themselves”.