From our session one PowerPoint presentation, there are five key processes in coaching:
(1) Listening
(2) Mirroring
(3) Summarizing
(4) Questioning
(5) Catalyzing
These are all activities from the perspective of the coach. However, it is also important to consider the coachee perspective. The coaching process is meant to be “a voyage of self-discovery” for the coachee. In order to profit from this process, the coachee must approach the process with an open mind. The coaching process is meant to provide the coachee with deep insights into their mental processes. Frequently, this discovery process can uncover some “uncomfortable truths”. The goal for the coachee is to “better know themself” in order to change actions that are either self-destructive or have negative consequences during personal interactions. In order to facilitate the learning process, the coach must create an open and trusting environment. The coachee must know that facts that are uncovered will not be used against them. The goal is to uncover the underlying reasons for the coachee’s ‘sub-optimal’ actions so that the coachee can both reduce poor behaviours and increase productive ones. A frequent occurrence is that the coachee uncovers some “fundamental truths” regarding human interactions and applies these principles throughout their interactions, whether personal or job-related. It is often the case that the coachee will have an “A-HA” moment during the coaching process. The result may be that the coachee can then apply the principles and knowledge to their professional, personal and ‘recreational’ (PPR) lives. As an example, the coachee may be experiencing difficulties in one (or two) of the PPR areas, while the others “seem to be OK”. After the ‘a-ha’ moment, the coachee may understand the root causes of the difficulties in the problematic area, and the coachee may understand why problems had previously arisen in the PPR areas that “seemed to be going well”. The goal is for the coachee to experience “enlightenment” and to be able to apply their lessons learned to all aspects of their life.
From the coach’s perspective, the goal is to guide the coachee’s journey of self-discovery. Listening, then mirroring and summarizing help to ensure that the coach understands the coachee’s ‘messages’. This re-formulation may result in the coachee thinking “I never really thought of it that way”. This “message reflection” and asking clarifying questions helps the coach to better understand “where the coachee is coming from”. This “deep analysis”, guided by the coach, is meant to aid the coachee to better understand the underlying reasons for their actions. This deeper level of comprehension by the coachee will, ideally, catalyze their personal discovery process. The coach’s role is to help the coachee to go further and to develop useful insights into their behaviour. The coachee will develop a better understanding of how to improve their behaviour to achieve better outcomes in all areas of their life. The most important member of the coaching team is the coachee. If the coachee does not “open up”, it is virtually impossible for the coach to achieve success. That being said, the coach must create an environment conducive to facilitate the coachee’s voyage of personal discovery. The role of coaching is one of being a facilitator, it is the coachee “who does the hard self-discovery work”.
Note: ‘pour alléger le texte”, I used the “singular their” instead of his/her for possessive pronouns.
Hands on or Hands off, the role of coach.
ReplyDeleteCoaching is…
"a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve. To be a successful a Coach requires a knowledge and understanding of process as well as the variety of styles, skills and techniques that are appropriate to the context in which the coaching takes place"
Eric Parsloe, The Manager as Coach and Mentor (1999) page 8. Eric is a respected author and Director of the OCM
Coaching and mentoring are both development techniques based on the use of face to face discussions to enhance an individual’s skills, knowledge or work performance. However, while mentors could sit back and share their past experiences, coaches must take an active part in coachees’ journey to success. To coach people does not only mean to understand what coachees are now, but also mean to know where they want to be. So, what exactly are the requirement of a coach expect for the knowledge and understanding of process as described in the definition? What are the approaches to achieve a successful coaching, should coaches always step back and observe their coachee as mentors do?
I believe yes, but it requires more to coach successfully. Coaching not only requires to hands off the table but also demand a coach to hands on the topic, to take action. Like illustrated in the video we’ve seen in our first class, a coach should always be ready to provide help, to give necessary tools to the coachee to overcome obstacles. If we recall the 5 key processes of coaching, (1) Listening (2) Mirroring (3) Summarizing (4) Questioning (5) Catalyzing, and summarize the roles of coach based on these processes. They would be:
(1) Identifying issues and exploring ideas: Coach will help coachees define what they want to accomplish and will observe, listen and inquire until coachees have had a crystallized vision of their journey.
(2) Removing barriers: Coach needs to identify barriers and provide tools to remove them.
(3) Taking action: Coach needs to help coachees to develop a clear action plan.
(4) Refining and reflecting: Coach needs to support and motivate and sometimes provide safeguard to coachees through the process
And all of them require coach to be very proactive and interact with coachees.
During coaching, it’s very critical to crystallize and then remove the self-sabotaging behaviors or resistances to change which are generated by coachees themselves and would prevent them from further development. There are two steps to achieve this, first is to hands off the topic which means to observe and listen to the past or the history of the coachee. Second and most importantly, the coach must hands on the journey of his coachee, inquires the coachee and guides him to understand his situation and potential. In addition, as coach we need to know the trigger of our coachee and ask the right question. As we’ve seen in Lion King in our class, the way the questions are asked and the quality of inquiry would influence significantly the result.
As a future company leader, it is important to know how to get people to do exactly what you want them to do, and in the way you want them to do it. I think that is why we need coaching skills in order to be good managers. The way I see it, a coach has to profoundly understand the person he is coaching. Of course, it is essential to follow the key steps of coaching: Listening, Mirroring, Summarizing, Questioning and Catalyzing; but it is also very important to culturally know the person you are coaching, in order to effectively make him see “what he can be rather than what he is” (A. Parasheghian). Being aware of the coachee cultural and personal convictions will make it easier for the coach to make him evolve. Let us take the example of Rafiki in “The Lion King”, from the section we saw in class, it was easy for the old baboon to create a feeling of trust between him and Simba simply because he knew his father. In a more realistic world, I strongly believe that a coach will have a higher impact when he knows the words to say to his coachee; which is different from one person to another. Indeed, in the mirroring step of coaching, the coach needs to reformulate the coachees’ words and actions in the right manners and vocabulary. In order to accomplish his task, the coach needs to know the coachees’ personal values, even if the coachee does not tell them.
ReplyDeleteIn the professional field, this cultural aspect can be considered as negligible because it all comes to professional outcomes. However, you still need to know the person working for you to be able to know what would catalyze his motivation. Just an example, the way I would build a feeling of trust, essential in a “coach – coachee” realationship between me and my workers would be different form one employee to another. If the person comes from a western education, I know that to motivate him and catalyze his creative mid would involve being very unpersonal and only care about the professional outcome. On the other hand, an African would need warmth for a good coaching relationship. You would have better result with the person if you get interested in his family, go to your workers family gathering (weddings, funerals) in order to show your commitment. It is even considered as an offense if your boss does not assist to your family big ceremonies.
In conclusion, I would really consider the cultural background of my employees in order to have better coaching results.