Coaching with Colleagues 2nd Edition

An Action Guide for One-to-One Learning

Kenneth A. Loparo

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781137359209
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

A new up-to-date overview of coaching effectiveness with practical case studies to demonstrate how these techniques are applied in real businesses. Using well-known coaching approaches in business and devoting additional attention to internal coaching practices this is a distinct, rigorous yet accessible guide to coaching approaches and practice.

Part I

Context for coaching

Introduction: ‘Helping’ conversations

We all have experience of conversations that are helpful to us. Conversations in which we can open our hearts, in which we feel truly understood, in which things become clearer, or in which we can hear ourselves think. These are conversations in which we gather the courage to face difficult issues – and which fill us with gratitude towards the people we have been talking to, even though the latter have often done little more than listen and offer a candid opinion. These are conversations in which we ourselves can take centre stage and ponder out loud on our main preoccupations. Such ‘helping’ conversations have certain features in common, features which we will try to identify and formalise in this part of the book. As an illustration of the form taken by such ‘helping’ conversations and how they may arise, this first section contains a brief but fairly comprehensive summary of the coaching profession.

Part I consists of four chapters which go together in pairs:

1.Chapter 1 outlines the breadth of coaching, as regards the type of problem and the corresponding coach’s role: as mentor, supervisor, consultant, internal and external colleague. We give an initial indication of the limitations of coaching and of the main skills of the coach, subjects to which we return in more detail in Chapters 12 and 15.

2.Chapter 2 outlines the richness of coaching: richness in the subtlety of the communication and richness in the network of interconnections and references within what is expressed. We provide a window onto the contribution made by the coachee, from verbal, explicit input to the conversation, via implicit and non-verbal input, to things of which the coachee is less aware. We also provide a window onto the contribution made by the coach, which ranges from exploring to suggesting and from supporting to confronting.

3.Chapter 3 illustrates the external conditions which are important for coaching conversations, by outlining in chronological order the kind of process the coach and coachee go through together. We give a summary of the basic principles of coaching, from making preparations and structuring the conversation to the ingredients of coaching contracts.

4.Chapter 4 illustrates the internal involvement which is important for the development of a coaching relationship, by outlining in chronological order the way in which the relationship between coach and coachee can develop. This gives a checklist for the intake of a new coachee, a summary of different forms of relationship during coaching, and a list of points for attention when evaluating coaching.

The aim of this first section is therefore to give a straightforward indication of the way in which a cycle of ‘helping’ conversations can be structured, and what the most striking events and elements within it are. This first section is aimed in principle at every coach and every coachee. As a result, it is rather general and lacking in direction in terms of interventions and approaches. We hope to add sufficient differentiation and depth later, in Parts II and III, to enable the reader to feel more at home as a unique coach or coachee.

1

A wide scope for conversation

What do we mean by coaching?

Coaching is a method of work-related learning which relies primarily on one-to-one conversations. The two colleagues in the coaching conversation have different roles. The coach is focused on facilitating the coachee’s learning and development process. As such, the coach’s primary concern is that the coachee takes care of him- or herself. The coach may be a more experienced colleague, an outside professional with the same expertise as the coachee, or an outside adviser who is experienced primarily in ‘coaching professionals’ and is not – and has never been – active in the coachee’s field of expertise. Coaching by one’s own manager (‘coaching leadership’) is usually not geared solely towards learning, as in the definition above, in view of the judgmental nature of the managing relationship. In general, ‘managing by coaching’ means applying coaching techniques in the practice of leadership.

The aim of coaching is to improve the coachee’s professionalism by discussing his or her relationship with certain experiences and issues. The coach’s intention is to encourage reflection by the coachee, to release hidden strengths and to overcome obstacles to further development. The focus is on topics such as:

•how the coachee works with others

•how the coachee acts in specific situations, such as those involving managing, negotiating, giving advice or exerting influence

•how the coachee handles difficult situations, with colleagues and clients for example

•how the coachee forms judgments and makes decisions.

Figure 1.1 The coach is at your disposal

These topics are linked not only to the content of the specialist area but also to the person and the knowledge and skills at the coachee’s disposal, the way in which (s)he acts, forms judgments, and so on. This makes coaching suitable for many different professional roles.

The coaching process roughly consists of the following phases (see also Chapter 3):

1.Intake and establishment of a coaching contract.

2.Building and maintaining the relationship.

3.Raising awareness.

4.Refining the contract.

5.Facilitating change.

6.Integration, review and evaluation.

7.Closure.

The first and sixth of these, those of intake and integration, often take place together with colleagues of the coachee, or with the coachee’s manager.

During the coaching conversation the coachee raises issues related to recent experiences, such as experiences and queries relating to:

•leading others, or managing professionals

•drafting and evaluating proposals

•maintaining relationships with clients, customers or colleagues

•rejected proposals

•internal evaluation of services rendered per customer

•external evaluation: gauging customer satisfaction

•advising customers and clients

•handling differences of opinion with direct reports, customers or clients.

The main feature of coaching is therefore that a professional is given an opportunity to reflect, with the coach’s assistance, on his or her own actions and thoughts.

A characteristic feature of coaching is that issues arising from the coachee’s professional practice always provide the starting point. The conversations are not therapy sessions during which individuals’ personalities are delved into deeply. It is useful, however, to consider the way in which the person contributing an issue deals with that issue personally, and to investigate the extent to which aspects of his or her behaviour are causing or prolonging the issue. The conversation can therefore centre on personal performance, but always in the context of practice.

‘Coaching conversations’ therefore cover an area similar to peer consultation (see Chapter 2 of Learning with Colleagues):

1.Issues where content is at the centre will often relate to unexpected experiences, for example in drafting proposals and giving advice. These are often put forward in terms of ‘what’ questions: ‘What kind of system should I use here?’

2.Issues where the actions of the issue holder and the way in which (s)he handles a problem are central, are often put forward in terms of ‘how’ questions: ‘Will you, as my coach, help me to decide how to do this, or how to tackle this issue?’

3.Issues where the very person raising the issue is at the centre are often put forward in terms of ‘what’ questions too. ‘What kind of assignments suit me?’ ‘What is it about me that makes me come up against this time and again?’ As these are more personal ‘what’ issues, they can also be put forward as ‘who’ questions, along the lines of ‘Who am I, and what type of work is suitable for me?’

Because there is a personal component, it is important for the coachee to become aware of his or her actions and to consider alternatives open to them. The coach will help in this respect, primarily by clarifying the problem. The coach therefore has a consultative role and aims to support the coachee in developing a personal app...