Coaching

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This article refers to the act of coaching people. For other uses of the word, see coach (disambiguation)

Coaching is a method of directing, instructing and training a person or group of people, with the aim to achieve some goal or develop specific skills. There are many ways to coach, types of coaching and methods to coaching. Sessions are typically one-on-one either in-person or over the telephone. Direction may include motivational speaking. Training may include seminars, workshops, and supervised practice.

Origins

Today coaching plays an important role in human resource development (HRD) and life help, and the field of coaching as a distinct area of study is rapidly gaining ground.^{[citation needed]} Although the role of coach has changed over time, some examples of research papers on business coaching show that between the late 1930s and the late 1960s, some forms of internal coaching in organizations were already present; i.e. managers (or supervisors) also acted as coaches to their staff (cf. Zeus & Skiffington, 2002; Grant, 2003a; 2006). Gorby (1937) specified how older employees were trained to coach new employees regarding methods of waste reduction.

The evolution of this formal discipline has been influenced by and enhanced through the incorporation of pertinent maxims from other fields of study including personal development philosophies, adult education practices, elements of psychology (sports, clinical, developmental, organizational, social and industrial) and other organizational or leadership principles. Since the mid 1970's, coaching has developed into a more independent discipline and has a set of training standards (Davidson & Gasiorowski, 2006).

Today, coaching is a recognized discipline used by many professionals engaged in human development. However, as a distinct profession, it is relatively new and self-regulating. No independent supervisory board evaluates these programs and they are all privately owned. These bodies all accredit various coaching schools as well as individual coaches, except the IAC and ECI which only certify individuals. According to coach credentialing expert, Dr. Rey Carr, in North America the term accreditation only applies to organizations, and certification applies to individuals; whereas in European countries "accreditation" can mean either organizations or individuals.

According to Davidson & Gasiorowski (2006) ICF has been "key in identifying training criteria and ethical standards in this rapidly evolving field" (p.189).

It is important for future clients to distinguish between coaches who are professionally trained and/or accredited and those who "hang their name plate" out as a coach. Professional coaching skills are transferable across the variety of areas in which a coach may be employed. Whitworth, et al. (1998) stated, "The coach's experience is confined to the coaching process. The coach's job is to help clients articulate their dreams, desires and aspirations, help them clarify their mission, purpose and goals, and help them achieve that outcome" (p.5) in any area of life.

Types

It is important to appreciate the differences between instructing, coaching and mentoring. Instructing deals largely with the dissemination of knowledge. Coaching deals primarily with skill building, whereas a mentor is one who helps shape the outlook or attitude of the individual. Alternately, an instructor would typically help out with the job at hand or the work. A coach would help out with work and career related issues. A mentor on the other hand would focus on issues pertaining to career and life.

Life coaching

Life coaching is a future-focused practice with the aim of helping clients determine and achieve personal goals. Life coaches use multiple methods that will help clients with the process of setting and reaching goals. Coaching is not targeted at psychological illness and coaches are neither therapists nor consultants.

Life coaching has its roots in executive coaching, which itself drew on techniques developed in management consulting and leadership training.^{[citation needed]} Life coaching also draws inspiration from disciplines including sociology, psychology, positive adult development, career counseling, mentoring and other types of counseling. Contemporary life coaching can also be traced to the teachings of Benjamin Karter, a college football coach turned motivational speaker of the late seventies and early eighties.^[1] The coach may apply mentoring, values assessment, behavior modification, behavior modeling, goal-setting and other techniques in helping their clients.^{[citation needed]}

Government bodies have not found it necessary to provide a regulatory standard for life coaching, nor does any state body govern the education or training standard for the life coaching industry; the title of "coach" can be used by any service provider. Multiple coaching schools and training programs are available, allowing for many options (and sometimes causing confusion) when an individual decides to gain "certification" or a "credential" as they apply to the coaching industry. Multiple certificates and credential designations are available within the industry.^[2]

Some assert that life coaching is akin to psychotherapy without restrictions, oversight or regulation. The State legislature of Colorado, after holding a hearing on such concerns, disagreed,^[3] asserting that coaching is unlike therapy because it does not focus on examining nor diagnosing the past. Instead coaching focuses on effecting change in a client's current and future behavior. Additionally, life coaching does not delve into diagnosing mental illness or dysfunction.

According to a survey of coaching clients, "sounding board" and "motivator" were the top roles selected for a coach. Clients are looking for a coach "to really listen to them and give honest feedback." The top three issues in which clients seek help are time management, career and business.^[4]

Business coaching

Business coaching is the practice of providing positive support and positive feedback while offering occasional advice to an individual or group in order to help them recognize ways in which they can improve the effectiveness of their business. Coaching is an excellent way to attain a certain work behavior that will improve leadership, employee accountability, teamwork, sales, communication, goal setting, strategic planning and more. It can be provided in a number of ways, including one-on-one, group coaching sessions and large scale [seminars]. Many corporations are instilling the practice of 360 degree coaching, which permits employees to utilize their own life or professional experiences in a positive way to create team participation attitudes even with superiors. Professional Business Coaches are often called in when a business is perceived to be performing badly, however many businesses recognize the benefits of business coaching even when the organization is successful. Business coaches often specialize in different practice areas such as executive coaching, corporate coaching and leadership coaching.

At least two organizations, the International Coaching Council (ICC) and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) provide a membership-based association for professionals involved in business coaching. The ICC and WABC also provide an accrediting system for business coach training programs. The ICC currently has over 1,500 members from over 50 countries. WABC has created the only international accreditation programs for business coach training providers and international certification programs for business coaches that are designed exclusively for business coach trainers and coaches, built around business coaching competencies and conferred by a business coach association.

Business coaching is not the same as mentoring. Mentoring involves a developmental relationship between a more experienced "mentor" and a less experienced partner, and typically involves sharing of advice. A business coach can act as a mentor given that he or she has adequate expertise and experience. However, mentoring is not a form of business coaching. A good business coach need not have specific business expertise and experience in the same field as the person receiving the coaching in order to provide quality business coaching services. Business coaching needs to be more structured and formal than mentoring.^{[citation needed]}

Business coaches often help businesses grow by creating and following a structured, strategic plan to achieve agreed upon goals. Multiple organizations train professionals to offer business coaching to business owners who may not be able to afford large coaching firm prices.^[5]

Coaching is not a practice restricted to external experts. Many organizations expect their senior leaders and middle managers to coach their team members toward higher levels of performance, increased job satisfaction, personal growth, and career development. Those that do back up their expectations with training in coaching skills, access to feedback tools, and/or specific coaching behaviors described in their leadership competency models. Few link coaching activities to compensation, however, resulting in less coaching by managers.^[6]

Call center coaching

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One specialized form of business coaching is the coaching that is done for employees in call centers. This deserves a special call out because unlike other parts of an organization where business coaching may or may not be practiced on a regular basis, monitoring and coaching agents is often the centerpiece of the call center improvement strategy.

In call centers, agents are typically monitored and evaluated by members of a quality assurance (QA) team, but can also be monitored by their coach or manager. To effectively evaluate the agent, it is essential for the monitor to know how the call is supposed to be handled and to have a standardized form for assessing the agent's performance on the call. Either the monitor or the agent's coach will then give the agent feedback, while, ideally, listening to a recorded version of the call the agent was evaluated on to avoid disputes over how something was done.^[7]

Call center coaching, especially when it is part of a broader performance management system that includes elements such as performance metrics and an incentive programs can help individuals to improve their performance. If the agent is motivated to do well, the feedback should help the agent refine his or her performance.

However, call center coaching as an organizational effectiveness strategy also has its weaknesses. One example of this weakness is that it relies on hope. The monitor/coach hopes the agent 1) remembers the feedback, say to be sure to tell customers to remove personal software before returning the game box and 2) does what he/she was coached on during the next call.^[8] An example of a stronger approach would be some kind of fail-safe or poka yoke to ensure the agent does not skip the step that reminds the customer to remove their software. ^[9]

Another factor which limits the utility of call center coaching as an organizational effectiveness strategy is the high turnover in call centers. Call center turnover fluctuates with the local and national economies, but it is not uncommon to see turnover in the thirty percent range. ^[10] When turnover is high, your process improvement investment is walking out the door (quitting) every day. If the turnover is high enough, the coaching investment will either produce no discernible benefits or the benefits produced will have no return on investment. ^[11]

Personal coaching

Personal coaching is a relationship which is designed and defined in a relationship agreement between a client and a coach. It is based on the client's expressed interests, goals and objectives.

A professional coach may use inquiry, reflection, requests and discussion to help clients identify personal and/or business and/or relationship goals, develop strategies, relationships and action plans intended to achieve those goals. A coach provides a place for clients to be held accountable to themselves by monitoring the clients' progress towards implementation of their action plans. Together they evolve and modify the plan to best suit the client's needs and environmental relationships. Coaches often act as human mirrors for clients by sharing outside and unbiased perspectives. Coaches may teach specific insights and skills to empower the client toward their goals.^{[citation needed]}

Clients are responsible for their own achievements and success.^{[citation needed]} The client takes action, and the coach may assist, but never leads or does more than the client. Therefore, a coach cannot and does not promise that a client will take any specific action or attain specific goals.^{[citation needed]}

Professional coaching is not counseling, therapy or consulting.^{[citation needed]} These different skill sets and approaches to change may be adjunct skills and professions.

Health coaching

In the world of health and wellness, a health coach is an emerging new role. Health coaching is becoming recognized as a new way to help individuals "manage" their illnesses and conditions, especially those of a chronic nature. In both sports and health, a "coach" is a person who observes, gives objective feedback, teaches, helps to develop a plan of action and holds another responsible for their actions and commitments. The coach will use special techniques, personal experience, expertise and encouragement to assist the coachee in bringing his/her behavioral changes about.

Sports coaching

In sports, a coach or manager is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople. This type of coach gets involved in all the aspects of the sport, including physical and mental player development. Sports coaches train, develop and mentor their athletes to become better at the physical components of the game. The coach is assumed to know more about the sport, and have more previous experience and knowledge. The coach’s job is to transfer as much of this knowledge and experience to the players to develop the most skilled athletes.^[12] Combining these aspects of the sport, the coach is accountable for the overall performance and results of the team or player.

Dating coaching

Dating coaches are coaches whose job is to direct and train people to improve their success in dating and relationships.A dating coach directs and trains his/her clients on various aspects of meeting and attracting long-term partners and meeting more compatible prospects. The focus of most programs is on confident and congruent communication. Dating coaches may focus on topics important to the art of dating: interpersonal skills, flirting, psychology, sociology, compatibility, fashion and recreational activities. Neil Strauss in The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists also focuses on neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), theories of persuasion, history and evolutionary biology, body language, humor and street smarts. Dating coaches typically charge rates similar to that of other professional counselors (e.g. $75–125/hour).^[13] Seminars involving multiple audience members typically charge less than one-on-one meetings, however. this can be a contradictory statement as coaches can also have a negative effect on players, students etc

Conflict coaching

Conflict coaching may be used in an organizational context, for matrimonial and other relationship matters and is one of many conflict management tools for helping people improve their conflict management skills and abilities. Like many other techniques of this nature, it is premised on the view that conflict provides an opportunity to improve relationships, to create mutually satisfactory solutions and attain other positive outcomes when differences arise between and among people.

Transformational coaching

A transformational life coach incorporates many modalities available in meeting the needs of the client, from business best practices to personal growth to even spiritual matters. This help may increase awareness and success in transforming one's life. The new millennium has brought massive economic shifts for many people, creating a need for redefining their lives. People in transition often want to address deeper convictions about what they want out of life; they want more self-awareness and self-improvement. A transformational coach aims to bring together and highlight all the possibilities that will help mold and shape the visioneering process for clients as they create a plan and execute the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly details.

ADHD coaching

ADHD coaching is a specialized type of life coaching that uses specific techniques geared toward working with the unique brain wiring of individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Professional coaching is not a substitute for traditional, multimodal treatment for ADHD such as medication, diet, exercise, and other therapy.^{[citation needed]} Coaches work with clients to help them better manage time, organize, set goals and complete projects. In addition to helping clients understand the impact ADHD has had on their lives, coaches can help clients develop "work-arounds" strategies to deal with specific challenges, and determine and use individual strengths. Coaches also help clients get a better grasp of what reasonable expectations are for them as individuals, since people with ADHD "brain wiring" often seem to need external mirrors for accurate self-awareness about their potential despite their impairment.^{[citation needed]}

Coaching ethics and standards

One of the challenges in the field of coaching is upholding levels of professionalism, standards and ethics. To this end, many of the coaching bodies and organisations have codes of ethics and member standards and criteria according to which they hold their members accountable in order to protect coaching clients' interests. Examples of codes of ethics, include:

• International Coach Federation
• Association of Coaching
• European Mentoring and Coaching Council
• World Association of Business Coaches
• Coaches and Mentors of South Africa

See also

• Dating coach
• Co-coaching
• Leadership
• Mentorship
• Procrastination
• Self-help

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Coaching

• CoachingValley
• International Coaching Council (ICC)
• International Coach Federation (ICF)
• International Association of Coaching (IAC)
• Mentor Works Business & Executive Coaching, Ontario, Canada
• Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC)