The value of coaching

02 September

New jobs are emerging all the time, coaching is one of them. Leveraging coaching will drive an organisation to success.

Coaches occupy a very special role in an organisation. Coaches stand “outside” the working teams, the chains of command, information hierarchies and reporting lines; so they are able to observe the whole of the system as well as focus on the specifics of the activities. Coaches become the difference between maintaining the status quo and making a great leap forward in organisational success and customer satisfaction.

Coaches work with teams or specific clients to identify goals and outcomes collaboratively, then the coach builds a structured approach to growing their clients to achieve these goals and outcomes. Coaches work to grow, enhance and maximise the impact of their client’s or team’s work on their goals. Coaches are a way that organisations can multiply the impact of work being done, almost exponentially, by working smarter and optimising the “system of work” for maximum results.

Coaches have the skills to decompose target conditions/goals/outcomes into their component activities and then analyse these activities to identify opportunities for optimisation. Taken even further, great coaches look into the elements of each activity while looking at the whole system to understand the system, the impacts of change, and how to maximise the value of any changes.

Coaches know that there is marginal value in opinions or hearsay; so they build meaningful systems of metrics that can then be used as mirrors for the clients or teams to reflect their behaviours and identify options for change. These mirrors are designed to reflect the truth, from many angles, so that teams and clients can have multiple dimensions of information to choose from.

Coaches have the courage, and the aptitude, to ask powerful questions. These aren’t just “hard” questions, they are powerful as they help clients and teams focus on the key areas; understand the rationale behind behaviours; and emerge opportunities for growth.

Coaches don’t try to be the smartest people in the room, coaches focus on making their teams and clients the smartest, most enabled people in the room. Coaches focus on emerging knowledge and solutions from their clients, not giving them the answers. Coaches know that they are not the experts at the work being done, they are the experts at coaching, so they focus on making their teams and clients the experts!

Coaches are focused on moving their clients and teams towards empowerment and ownership. Coaches encourage teams and clients to recognise the need for change, ways to approach the change and then activating these cycles of change. Coaches encourage self-growth within a team or client.

Coaches are catalysts and should only be provoking meaningful and useful interactions and reactions; not being used up by them. A coach should always be looking for ways to help the team or client coach themselves.

Coaches focus on making themselves redundant. Coaching is a skill that can be transferred to the team or client. Coaches should focus on how they can transfer their insights and approaches to the team or client being coached. Coaching is not a secret art but should be a widely shared skill. A coach should show their teams and clients the way coaching is done, the tools and techniques, and the mindset of the coach so that teams and clients can ultimately coach themselves.

"There is something you should understand about the way I work. When you need me but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go. It’s rather sad, really, but there it is." — Nanny McFee.

 

Posted by Sharon Robson.


Read more on the topic: Coaches work to grow

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