Aug
17
2017
How to create a coaching culture in the workplace
You might have heard of coaching, but it’s sometimes a word that’s thrown around the office without anyone really knowing what it is. Maybe it conjures up the image of a football coach, or you might think of a therapeutic life coach. Well, coaching in the workplace is similar to both those things!
Coaching, put simply, is a way of encouraging people to maximise their performance and to develop new skills. It takes an optimistic view, and is a model that requires you to believe that people have a greater capability than you are aware of right now. But, be warned! Coaching and teaching are not the same; teaching involves telling someone how to do something, whereas coaching gives someone the space to experience new skills. It involves guiding someone through a set of experiences with the aim of improving or developing performance.
Why coach?
Adopting a coaching culture in the workplace can result in a huge range of benefits, and it is a technique that is great for things like performance review, problem solving, planning, and team development.
Coaching creates a two-way relationship, and many people soon realise that this creates a much stronger team. Team members feel valued, they get the opportunity to use skills you may not have known about, and you will find that your staff take on more responsibility as a result. Basically, you’ll have a happy and hardworking team!
Top tip 1: Adapt to the individual
There’s no one size fits all with coaching, it only works if you adapt to suit the learning strengths and weaknesses of the individual. Honey and Mumford defined four different learning styles : Activist, Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist.
Activists will need to try out ideas in the real world as soon as possible, whilst reflectors like to stand back and observe experiences first. Theorists love to learn from books and theoretical concepts, logic is their best friend! Pragmatists, similar to activists, like to try out ideas, theories, and techniques to see if they work in practice.
Top tip 2: Be objective and challenging
If you get on well with your team member, it can easy to let your personal opinion get in the way. When it comes to coaching, it’s important to be objective and positive, yet challenging (without starting a fight!). Be open to their point of view, and ask plenty of questions.
Top tip 3: Follow the GROW model
The GROW model will be your new best friend! It stands for Goal, Reality, Options, and Will. This model is perfect for coaching sessions, and it enables the person being coached to define their goal, explore the way the situation is now, look at their options, and decide which one they want to commit to.
Want to know more about developing your coaching skills? Take a look at our Coaching skills for managers course or take a look at our other courses.
