Its not what you think, coach, it's what you do
If you are like the leader or employees in the research we have
conducted, you would have little difficulty describing the
elements in an effective coaching session. Even ineffective
leaders could correctly define what should occur. The difference
was that the ineffective leader was inhibited or could not apply
or enact the desired behaviors when asked to do so in a
real-time coaching session. The effective leaders, on the other
hand, were able to apply the desired behaviors.
What causes the discrepancy between knowing what to do and
actually doing it? Our best guess is that most managers have the
knowledge because they have been exposed to a wide number of
good coaching
models, both in an organizational setting and off the job - a
teacher, minister, friend, professional counselor, etc. Add to
this the constant flow of information and literature on
effective people skills for leaders. Leaders are also employees,
and they know how they would want to be treated by their boss in
a coaching session. When you add all of this up, it is not
surprising that leaders have adequate sources of information to
formulate an accurate mental picture of quality coaching.
The mystery is why the discrepancy occurs between descriptions
and actions. One possibility is that, for some, tough business
philosophy of how leaders should actually relate to employees is
in conflict with the notions of openly exhibiting supportive
behavior, seeking employee input, sharing responsibilities for
problem solving, etc. The group's value and attitudes about how
a manager should relate to an employee get in the way of being
an effective coach.
Freeing up attitudes to apply the positive concepts that they
already know requires allowing them to experience the benefits
first-hand and to see that most employees will not take
advantage of them. A behavioral change can come about only after
experimentation with, and testing of, the impact of the new set
of highly beneficial leader behaviors. Furthermore, leaders need
opportunities for extensive practice in order to become
efficient and to convert mental images of coaching into a
reality. In training sessions, time needs to be devoted to
multiple practice sessions in which this experimentation and
testing can occur.
A second possibility for this discrepancy is that some leaders
truly believe that their behavior is consistent with their
descriptions of an effective coaching session. They perceive no
difference between what they say and what they do, even though
employees would dispute this. Their problem is more difficult
because the managers' perceptions belie the reality of what they
actually do as a coach. These managers respond to a presentation
of the coaching
model described in this text with nods of support. They complain
that other managers are incapable of following the model, as
they do with their employees. To increase these managers'
coaching effectiveness requires them to first see the difference
between what they say and do, then describing what those
specific inconsistent behaviors are and the agony they create
for the employee. Again, training time needs to be devoted to
providing the managers with candid feedback about their behavior
and specific alternative behaviors to experiment with during
future practice sessions.
Our conclusion is that managers know what is needed in an
effective coaching session. Other than a brief overview and
review, we do not need to spend valuable training time telling
managers to be more participative, or explaining what an
effective coaching session entails. We need to spend our time
allowing managers to experience the benefits of an effective coaching model and
discussing the obstacles to using this model. Second, in
providing feedback on their coaching behavior, we need to devote
heavy doses of training time to multiple practice and discussion
sessions that explore the rewards of good coaching. Our belief
and promise is that, if you persist, you will grow increasingly
comfortable with the Coaching Model and will adapt and
incorporate the skills into your own unique style.