Coaching can be seen as a mechanism. A set-duration meeting between two people in which a framework, or curated space, is created for the problem-solving process of one of those people.
And this view of coaching is true enough, as far as it goes; the coaching session is indeed a core and vital part of what coaching is about.
But it goes further than that.
Each coach comes to coaching with a coaching skillset. A toolkit they can draw upon to facilitate change in their coachees. In her book Brilliant Coaching, Julie Starr identifies five broad coaching skill categories:
- Building rapport
- Structuring conversations
- Focused listening
- Effective questioning
- Constructive feedback
These skills serve both parties in the coaching session, but they have value beyond the session. The manager who has developed these skills can have day to day conversations with their staff that will benefit from their coaching skillset. These skills make us better communicators, and better leaders. They are skills I believe all managers should cultivate. And yet…
There is one more foundational consideration that Julie Starr identifies, that is central to success; the coaching mindset.
We can train managers in coaching skills, but if we fail to impress upon them the value of a coaching mindset, those skills will largely go to waste.
Because at the heart of coaching lies a counterintuitive premise; to facilitate lasting, effective change in others, we need to let go of ego.
Society trains us from an early age to prove our value by acting, doing and telling. Our first impulse is often to jump in, to direct, to fix.
The coaching mindset tells us that the best way to help another person is to resist that impulse. To let go of our egos, and stop making this about ourselves.
That is a radical, and often difficult shift in mindset. But is an essential one for leaders to make, if we are to realise the full potential in our teams.
Questions:
- Where are your coaching skillset strengths and development areas?
- Are you a leader with a coaching mindset?
- Would you like to find out more? Contact me.
