Coaching

1. Coaching relationship

· Take time to explore what is important to the person you are coaching—his or her goals, values, and motivations.

· Communicate your desire to help the person develop and ask what kind of coaching he or she would like from you.

· Communicate the positive expectation that you believe in the person and his or her ability to learn and make significant progress on objectives.

2. Insight

· Clearly communicate expectations and success factors.

· Provide feedback and discuss performance relative to those expectations.

· Ask questions that help people reflect on their own behaviors, performance, and impact.

3. Motivation

· Help people clarify their goals and motivations related to work and to their own development.

· Identify specific personal and organizational benefits for development.

4. Capabilities

· Provide specific advice and guidance on how to improve performance and behavior.

· Encourage them to prepare development plans.

· Support training, stretch assignments, and provide opportunities for on-the-job learning.

5. Real-world practice

· Ask people what exactly they will to do to make progress on their development objectives, and where and when they plan to do it.

· Help them find or create opportunities that stretch their capabilities.

6. Accountability

· Hold regular (for example, monthly) conversations to gauge progress against development objectives.

· Ask people what they have learned recently and what they will do in the next month to continue learning.

7. Organizational context

· Ask people what organizational barriers are getting in their way and brainstorm ways they can work around them.

· Be a role model of learning by seeking feedback and coaching from others, sharing development priorities and progress openly, and talking about why development is important to you personally.