coaching

A company can do an exceptional job in developing plans, products, and services, but ultimately it is up to individuals, working alone or in groups/teams, to perform specific roles that bring everything into fruition.  

We provide customized coaching processes for individuals and teams to improve their ability to do their jobs well.

Purpose:

What is coaching? The coaching process helps an individual to explore and understand how they think about the world and how their beliefs affect their behaviors. We recognize that real change begins this way. Attempts to change behaviors usually do not produce long term change, because all action flows first from what we believe. Without a shift in the belief structure, an individual will continue to fall into old habits and ways of acting that have proven to be counterproductive.

In our experience, coaching is a mutually agreed upon relationship, based in trust, that enables the person being coached to more effectively understand and shift their structure of interpretation (their belief structure) and as a result their behaviors to achieve desired outcomes. 

"Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to
maximise their own performance. It is helping
them to learn rather then teaching them."
John Whitmore, Coaching for Performance

Coaching Model: 
We draw on a model, created by James Flaherty (with a little tweaking from us) of New Ventures West http://www.newventureswest.com*, that we believe provides a meaningful framework for the practice of coaching. This is the model we have used in our coaching practices for the last 20 years since James shared it with us.

Some detail:
The most effective way to stimulate client behaviors (4) is to encourage them to shift their structure of interpretation (3) through practices. An example of a practice might be to have a client strengthen their awareness by observing the self-talk of others at work, in restaurants, etc. without interfering, just observing. Questions the client would be holding during these observations are: Is the language positive or negative in regard to those being observed?
How is it being expressed (words, body language, etc.)? Once the client has sufficiently practiced this and has increased their own awareness of what’s being expressed externally, then having them effectively observe their own self-talk (internally and externally) and how that may be affecting their behavior comes more easily. High levels of self-awareness tied to effective practices can lead to numerous new possibilities (5). That’s one of thousands of practices a good coach will be able provide.

Results of Coaching:
It is important to address the short term performance gap that may be occurring with an individual or team so they can get on with the job at hand. However, it is equally important to leave an individual or group more competent to deal with challenges as they arise in the future. From this vantage point, effective coaching also fulfills the following results:

Long-Term Excellent Performance

We help the coaching client meet the high objective standards of the discipline in which they are being coached. So if the individual is a leader, we draw on the expectations of the company for how a successful leader will perform and help the person achieve those criteria. These often come from leadership competencies.

Self Correction

People who have been coached develop a capacity to observe when they are performing well and when they are not and to make corrections without the help of a coach. Coaching teaches people how to improve their own performance.

Self Generation

Once a person has the skills for self development, they will find ways to continually improve. They will practice more, observe others as a means of learning, and find ways to improve their own competence.

How Coaching Occurs:
The need for coaching may occur through:

• An annual performance review process which reveals some performance areas needing improvement
• The expressed desire of an individual to get better at what they do or take on new responsibilities
• A desire on the part of the person’s supervisor to prepare the individual for promotion or greater responsibility

Depending on the circumstances, we will meet with the client to develop a customized coaching plan that helps achieve the desired results. As part of that process we may:

• Conduct an assessment using a 360º instrument, interviews of co-workers, or observation
• Discuss the results of the assessment and help define some specific outcomes for the coaching process
• Carry on coaching conversations designed to help the person expand their awareness of ways they are functioning that are inhibiting excellent performance or open their understanding of new requirements
• Assign observations that help the person learn more about how they function
• Design practices that enable the client to integrate new ways of acting that will actually produce the desired results
• Help the client create support structures to ensure that the new behaviors can be integrated and developed over time

Next Steps:

If you would like more information on the popular subject of coaching, read James Flaherty’s book or do a little web surfing on the topic. If you are more interested in shifting some key aspects of your structure of interpretation, call us. We’re here to assist you to self-manage your way to new possibilities. An effective, free beginning to this process is the Coaching pre-work. Try it, you have nothing to lose but you weakenesses. Bon Chance!