Executive
Coaching: The Key to Performance Improvement
Coaching
- Dealing With Difficult People
Dealing
with difficult people is, of course, hard. But it would be
a mistake to assume that they are being difficult because
they are taking some perverse pleasure out of ruining your
day. Very often, difficult people have been hurt or offended
at some point in the past in ways that affect them now and
are causing a lack of trust and cooperation. In Dealing
With Difficult People, we will help you develop
the communication skills to open up a meaningful dialogue
that might resolve misunderstandings and begin to mend broken
relationships. Being a good, non-judgmental listener can go
a long way toward turning “difficult people” into
the regular, normal people they truly are.
Executive Coaching:
The Key
Question:
What do driving a car, selling a computer, riding a bike,
managing others and playing tennis have in common?
Answer: They`re all skills we acquire through practice, instruction
and hands-on coaching. In fact, this is how we become proficient
at any skill or task.
If your
goal is to help other people improve their proficiency and
competence at performing a specific task, then your role is
to coach. Sometimes coaching involves passing along knowledge,
but that`s only a small part of coaching. A coach`s real goal
is to help a person become more talented at performing. For
instance, a teacher could conduct driver education classes,
but it would take a coach to conduct successful driver training.
The personal
skill of coaching is a powerful tool. It`s the only way to
bring about genuine performance improvement in others. Like
any other skill, coaching is a process that you need to learn
and practice in order to use effectively.
Here are
the essential rules of coaching:
1. Set
expectations. Clearly state your expectations and goals and
explain why they`re desirable both for the individual and
the organization.
2. Observe
performance. Observe and determine the performer`s needs in
these areas: knowledge of what to do, skillfulness at execution,
willingness and confidence level, and any barriers limiting
performance.
3. Coach.
Execute appropriate improvement methods in incremental stages:
giving advice, coaching for direct skill-building, creating
challenge and inventing better tools or removing barriers
to performance.
4. Measure
and evaluate the result. Compare all behaviors to results
and results to goals. Raise or lower targets based on the
performer`s current competence level.
Repeat
this process in order to encourage continuous improvement.
When coaching others, always state the success result you
want; acknowledge every success, no matter how small; point
toward solutions instead of critiquing errors; and try to
end every interaction with a "win". This will cause
the coaching interaction to be a positive event, which will
make your coaching more likely to be accepted and more likely
to stick.
Any of
the following approaches to coaching could be appropriate
in a given situation.
* Overlook minor problems that are relatively unimportant.
* Relieve some workload temporarily by offering/asking for
help. * Avoid premature failures by adjusting goals. * Stop
destructive influences and behaviors. * Challenge the excuses
that lead to failure. * Explore options and alternatives.
* Analyze, advise and act. * Practice, rehearse, experiment.
* Celebrate, congratulate, reward. * Commit to success and
demonstrate that commitment to others.
Coaching,
like any other interactive skill, is most useful when it connects
with the person being coached. There is no right way, but
there are many appropriate ways to coach. Your observation
and assessment skills will eliminate all the guesswork.
A good
coach is long remembered, greatly admired and amply rewarded
so becoming an effective coach is a worthy goal. Just remember
to heed your own coaching advice: practice your coaching skills,
just as you coach others to practice to improve their own
skills.
by Katie
Davis and Patrick Malone
"Coaching
is a Powerful Tool"
Executive
Coaching Skills Quote
"Quitting
is only a short cut to losing."
Unknown
Suggested
Reading:
Executive
Coaching; An Appreciative Approach
by William H Bergquist
Executive
Coaching: Developing Managerial Wisdom in a World of Chaos
by Richard R. Kilburg
Coach
2 the Bottom Line: An Executive Guide to Coaching Performance,
Change and Transformation in Organizations
by Mike R. Jay
Getting
Started in Personal and Executive Coaching : How to Create
a Thriving Coaching Practice (Getting Started in)
by Stephen G. Fairley, Chris E. Stout
The
Psychology of Executive Coaching: Theory and Application
by Bruce Peltier
Personal
and Executive Coaching: The Complete Guide for Mental Health
Professionals
by Jeffrey E. Auerbach
Executive
Coaching: Practices & Perspectives
by Catherine Fitzgerald, Jennifer Garvey Berger
Executive
Coaching : A Guide for the HR Professional
by Anna Marie Valerio, Robert J. Lee
The
Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching : 50 Top Executive
Coaches Reveal Their Secrets
by Howard Morgan
Executive
Coaching: Lead, Develop, Retain Motivated Talented People
by Peter Stephenson
Executive
Coaching: The Essential Guide for Mental Health Professionals
by Len, M.D., Ph.D. Sperry, Len Sperry
Secrets
of a Leadership Coach 1: Executive Coaching Techniques
by Daniel, MD Farb
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