If people are not performing to their potential something
will be missing in terms of their own knowledge, skills or
attitude. In other words, there will be a performance gap.
Where the performance gap is to do with knowledge:
Coaching is of little use where a person needs to develop
their performance by acquiring knowledge; coaching can not
tease out what is not actually there.
For example, it would clearly be absurd for a driving
instructor to take a pupil on a first lesson and ask "How
might you press those pedals in sequence to bring about
some forward movement?" The pupil would have no idea
because in the first instance they need some input, some
knowledge that they can begin to use and develop.
In such cases we are obliged to adopt a Tell style although
we must recognize its drawbacks and look to move towards a
coaching style as soon as the people we coach have enough
knowledge to become responsible for developing their own
learning from that point. Many coaches make the mistake
of trying to coach where the development need is one of
knowledge and invariably the coaching session breaks down
and leaves both parties feeling frustrated and confused by
the coaching process.
Where coaching can be useful is in helping people think
through for themselves the ways in which they might go
about filling their knowledge gaps.
Where the performance gap is to do with skills:
In any sphere of work there will be a body of knowledge
needed to perform well in a job and a set of skills
necessary to put that knowledge to good use. The key to
developing good skills is practise. If I wanted to develop
my skills as a public speaker I could read every book ever
written on the subject but I would not begin to become a
good public speaker until I had got on my feet and began to
practise the skills of positioning, hand gestures, speech
variance and so on.
Coaching can be very useful here as although it cannot
replace the time needed for practise it can help people to
decide exactly what their practise priorities should be and
how they are going to get the most from any practise
session.
In trying to develop my presentation skills, I might
practise positioning my visual aides and asking audience
questions because the books I read suggested these were key
aspects of successful presenting. However, my coach may
help me realise that in fact my last presentation didn't go
as well as I hoped because I ran out of time and was
rushed at the end. Much better then, for me to practise
pacing my delivery and designing flexible material.
Where the performance gap is to do with attitude:
Coaching comes in to its own as a development tool where
individuals have a decent level of knowledge and skills but
for some reason are not putting them to good use.
Of course this may be because they have become
disillusioned with the work or the organization and are
looking for an opportunity to leave. If this is the case
it might be best for both parties to part company and
perhaps we could offer coaching as a way for people in this
position to decide on their next steps.
Quite often though people are not harnessing their
knowledge and skills because they have lost sight of what
they are trying to achieve or have some limiting beliefs
that say 'I'm just not good enough' or 'it's a young
person's world these days' or 'they'd never take me
seriously' etc.
Coaching is a wonderful remedy to such problems because it
quickly enables people to regain focus. Focus means being
free form distractions and we focus most easily on what we
find compelling. If you've ever watched a cat toy with a
mouse or an insect or watched a child play with a toy
they find fascinating you'll know that this is true.
Some people confuse focus with effort but this is not the
case. In fact if we try too hard we tend to get uptight and
tired. We begin to develop a fear of failure and our
endeavours become totally unenjoyable.
We can develop a quality of focus quite easily by noticing
what we notice. If for example I discover in a coaching
session that I tend to lose eye contact with an audience
when giving a presentation, then I should try to note how
often it happens next time. The likelihood is it will be
far less because I will be far more focused.
Hopefully you can see that this is very different to
someone suggesting that I 'don't lose eye contact'. Such
well-meaning advice will simply increase pressure and
probably produce mistakes in other aspects of my
presentation.
Focus is a very tenuous thing and we can be distracted
quite easily. Especially from things we do not really enjoy
(compare reading a novel with a textbook).
Coaching is effective because it works with what the person
being coached finds most interesting and promotes
ever-deeper levels of focus, and consequently awareness.
----------------------------------------------------
Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years'
experience. He works with a host of clients in North East
England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and
Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their
true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides
a simple yet elegant key to this lock. His popular
mini-guide "Coaching for an Easier Life" is available FREE
at http://www.mattsomers.com
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