Coaching Skills

Overview/Description
 At its simplest, a coaching session is a conversation, a dialog between coach and coachee, and so all coaching interventions depend totally on communication. Within that simplicity however, are layers of subtle interaction, which a coachee needs to be aware of, alert to what both "sides" of the conversation are actually communicating--verbally, visually, and vocally. The first requirement for a successful coaching conversation is rapport, once that exists, the coach is better placed to discover the facts, opinions and feelings of the coachee's situation; only by establishing the present position of the coachee are you able to move forward. Additionally, the coach must control the conversation proactively, for example, knowing what questions to ask rather than providing answers.

Target Audience
 This course is for anyone in an organization who has a role in improving the performance of their co-workers, keeping in mind the fact coaching is not a top-down activity. Typically, this includes team members, team leaders, and supervisors, through to managers and CEOs.

Expected Duration
5.5 hours

Lesson Objectives:

Controlling the Coaching Conversation

  • identify the benefits of controlling the conversation with a coachee.
  • apply appropriate questioning techniques in a given coaching scenario.
  • identify appropriate methods of improving listening skills.
  • apply appropriate techniques to slow down the conversation in a coaching scenario.
  • speed up the conversation in a given coaching scenario.

    • Fine-tuning Your Coaching Skills

  • recognize the benefits of fine-tuning coaching skills.
  • classify described examples of body language.
  • interpret the body language displayed by coachees as either responsive, reflective, defensive, or combative.
  • recognize a coachee's gestures and expressions that indicate unvoiced or unresolved issues.
  • correctly interpret unvoiced or unresolved issues with a coachee in a given scenario.
  • respond appropriately to coachees with kinesthetic, visual, and auditory communication styles.

    • Moving the Coaching Session Forward

  • recognize the benefits of moving the coaching session forward.
  • recognize examples of cues and clues given by a coachee.
  • identify the key frames for enabling a coachee to consider new perspectives.
  • use brainstorming techniques to encourage a coachee to think through available options.

    • Course Number: MGMT0284