Definition: Competencies are identified behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities that directly and positively impact the success of the coaching process. Competencies can be objectively measured, enhanced, and improved through coaching and learning opportunities.
Definition: Coaching is the process of guiding people to improved performance. Parents need to coach children. Supervisors need to coach their staff. Managers need to coach their teams and entrepreneurs need to coach their closest people.
The importance of building a ‘coaching culture’ in an enterprise cannot be overstated. There are a dozen principles of coaching that all organizations must develop, and they are..
-
- Coaching influences: It is vital to understand how people learn differently and the part other disciplines play in coaching. For example, psychology, philosophy, adult learning theory, management theory, and consulting.
- Creating awareness of the need and direction of improvement, by asking “curious” questions and using assessment tools. You cannot change what you do not recognize.
- Authentic listening and responding with empathy: People don’t resist change.
They resist being changed. Coaching isn’t teaching. It’s about supporting others in learning to learn. Listening to the meaning behind the words. - Creating action: Coaching is about taking self-directed action. Coaches help coaches see the actions they need to take and then hold them accountable for achieving progress. Also giving feedback by identifying when the coachee is not taking action congruent with their vision and values.
- Identifying values: Values are the things that get us out of bed each day. It is vital for a coach to know their own and those of their people. Then through feedback and not opinion, show the coachee when they are not following their own values.
- Coaching presence: Is about being mindful, focused, and totally WITH your coachee. It’s about emotional intelligence so as to build trust between coaching partners.
- Perspective: Everybody has a unique lens through which they view the World. Your perspective determines how you act. A good coach understands perspective and empowers coachees to reframe their perspective to improve performance.
- Active accountability: Coaches need to embrace new definitions of old concepts such as accountability, responsibility and ownership so as to build commitment to better results.
- Building structure: Passion plus structure equals action. Coaches must help
people develop the means to act on their commitments. Structure is the bridge between goal setting and achievement. Without structural support change is often short lived. - Building strengths: Coaching is a ‘strengths-based’ approach to overcoming challenges. What are your natural strengths? How can you use them to help others achieve?
- Self-directed learning: Coaches focus on learning more than teaching. Discover how you learn best and how you can help others best learn.
- Change process: Coaching is about making the most of those ‘moments of impulse’ that we all experience. It extends them and embeds them in behavior for a lifetime of improved performance.
For additional resources, please download my white paper on Developing a Coaching Culture.
Connect with us on social media and be part of the dialog.
