Explaining the purpose of coaching
At this stage of coaching, you should consider having an overall plan to address the coaching need.
Explaining the purpose of the coaching session will enable you to focus on your learners’ needs and help eliminate any unforeseen difficulties.
Whilst you may know all about the task you will be coaching, this is not true for the learner. Whether a simple or complicated procedure, the learner needs to have it explained to them clearly and logically.
In order to assist you in explaining the purpose:
➢ Ensure you fully understand the task to be
coached
➢ Break tasks into manageable chunks of learning
➢ Determine what training and support materials
are required
➢ Prepare a set of clearly stated objectives for the learner.
When preparing objectives, the coachee and the coach need to identify precisely what has to be done in order to reach the purpose of the coaching. These specific objectives then provide a focus for both the learning and the coaching.
A specific objective for a coaching session tells the coachee what they are aiming to achieve by the end of that session. A well-constructed objective is a statement used to guide the purpose.
Types of coaching
There are different types of coaching, including:
➢ Skills coaching – Coaching about specific skills, such as customer service skills, presenting skills or financial skills. The coach needs expertise in that specific skill as well as being able to recognise and improve the coach’s proficiency.
➢ Performance coaching – Coaching linked to acquiring or improving skills or behaviours the coachee has. Often used in coaching to improve an individual’s organisational role.
➢ Developmental coaching – Coaching focused on reflective learning. The aim is to give the coachee increased awareness and perspective. The coach needs to be able to give insight and help the individual to examine themselves within the context of the given goal, such as skills, motivation or organisational processes.
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For each type of coaching, the coachee needs to know:
➢ What their responsibilities are
➢ Any changes to job role or structure that require coaching
➢ How their performance be evaluated and by whom.
➢ New skills they will need to learn
➢ How they can benefit from the coaching
➢ The structure of the coaching session
➢ How it will make them more marketable in the future.
Meeting expectations, setting goals and working together
Your role within coaching is extremely important, but it is also important for person that you coach to understand what their roles and responsibilities are and how it relates to their role. How best can you serve them to ensure they are successful? You can help change perceptions, and set the goals and expectations of the coachee to achieve success.
Identify the goal
It is extremely important to help establish the coachees vision and/or goal. When coaching, you must set a clear goal to which you can work towards together. A clearly defined goal articulated to the coachee in such a way that they understand will motivate them and ensure commitment to the goal and each other.
Once the goal has been clearly defined and clearly articulated, you must keep the vision and goal alive. Obstacles, tension, and problems such as a lack of resources may arise that can distract or discourage away from it. You should continually focus on reinforcing and renewing the goal.
Create a healthy environment
With the identification of a goal, one of the most important contributions you can make is to let them know they can speak up about issues that would prevent their expectations and goals from being met. In order to do this, you should facilitate an environment of trust, communication and openness. Coachees must be able to speak honestly. They must be able to deal openly with real obstacles, problems, and opportunities in a way that promotes listening, understanding of differing perspectives, and constructively working towards solutions.
Set responsibilities
It is your responsibility to help shape the expectations and responsibilities of the coachee. When the expectations, direction and priorities are clear they are more likely to commit to the session and goal. Clear expectations mean there no ambiguity or question of what is expected, whether it is the aim, behaviour, time taken, etc. Having personalised expressions of belief in individuals by giving them clear and meaningful responsibility helps build their confidence and establish their trust.
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Let them work
Once you have identified coachee needs, accommodated them and given them a way to achieve their goal, your role is to not interfere in their pursuit of achievement. Once they know what they are working towards, tasks have been clearly defined, expectations are clearly set and relationships of trust and communication are set, the coach needs to only step in when required, and not “problem solve” on the coaches behalf or micromanage. Let individuals be smart and informed about key issues and facts related to their tasks and goal. Trust individuals by providing sufficient autonomy, which will in turn build their confidence.
Ultimately, your aim should be to add value to the learner’s skills and knowledge. This can be done by defining a clear vision and goal, shaping a healthy environment, setting clear expectations and responsibilities, and providing them with enough autonomy, with guidance where necessary, to work towards their goals with full commitment and confidence.
The principles of training
Coaching will include training individuals to attain certain skills and/or knowledge. To train efficiently, the following training principles can help to provide a consistent approach.
The key principles of training are:
➢ Explanation – providing clear messages and detailed information to support individual development
➢ Demonstration – use of practical demonstrations to allow individuals to learn kinaesthetically
➢ Review – assessing the progress and stages of learning to determine how an individual is doing and what they need to fulfil their learning
➢ Listening to trainee explanation – this gives you an insight into opinions and thoughts (enabling you to respond accordingly to needs)
➢ Observing and evaluating trainee demonstration – making sure that individuals are understanding and retaining knowledge and skills
➢ Providing feedback – constructive feedback lets individuals know how successful they
are and which areas may need further work.
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Activity 2A
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2.2 – Explain and demonstrate specific skills.
2.4 – Advise organisational procedures for completing workplace tasks.
Explaining and demonstrating
In this step, you will need to demonstrate and explain the task whilst learners listen and observe you.
You should:
➢ Determine the prior knowledge of the learner by asking them if they have performed the task before
➢ Clarify any queries the learner has about the task
➢ Put the task into the context of the bigger picture
➢ Demonstrate the task.
Coaching others in the workplace often involves showing them how to do a task. As a coach you may have the necessary on-the-job experience to explain and demonstrate the task yourself or you may arrange for the coachee to spend time with a suitably qualified colleague. The combination of listening and watching makes demonstrating a powerful way of helping the coachee, particularly when it is followed up by practice.
When you are explaining the process, provide the rationale and discuss supporting work procedures and related issues. When you are demonstrating, be sure to pace it according to the needs of the coachee.
You can check coachee understanding by:
➢ Pausing to check they understand each step before continuing to the next
➢ Ask questions to clarify understanding
➢ Giving opportunities to ask questions and perhaps take notes
➢ Listening and acting on coachee feedback
➢ Volunteering to repeat steps or explanations
➢ Offering to vary your approach if the coachee is having difficulty.
During a demonstration the coachee observes the process. It is essential that learners get a chance to see a skill completed and receive the information about how to complete the process themselves. It is essential to clearly signal the start of a demonstration so learners can focus on it lets the person know that something important is about to happen. To help take advantage of the workplace learning, it may be necessary for both the coacher and coachee to “change gears” for the purpose of the demonstration.
In order to signal demonstration, you can say things like:
➢ “This looks like a good time to show you something new…”
➢ “Let’s take a few minutes and go through this…”
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Before starting a demonstration, remember to:
➢ Tell the person the objective (what you want to accomplish)
➢ Break down the task into smaller operational steps
➢ Tell the person how the demonstration links to the overall job.
Advising organisational procedures
Following correct organisational procedures and policies helps to maintain consistency and high standards in working practice. It improves efficiency and effective work practice whilst ensuring the rules for health and safety requirements and standards are followed.
By advising organisational procedures during coaching, it:
➢ Compares the prior knowledge of the learners by letting them see how it differs to what they were doing before
➢ Puts the procedure into the context of the working environment
➢ Ensure the tasks are done as they should be, such as tasks involving safety and operational factors
➢ Ensures policies, practices and procedures are seen as part of the process and not optional.
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