Coaching is the language of leadership – it is the way great leaders think, process information and engage the people they influence. Coaching is therefore something that successful leaders do each day – they use coaching protocols in the conversations with their people. Coaching is about working with people in a non-prescriptive manner to set clear goals for themselves, and work towards achieving these goals.
To do this effectively, a great life coach focuses on the following Top 7 things:
#1: Builds Rapport:
To create the desired impact, your team members must have a trusting relationship with you. One powerful way to engender trust is to build rapport with the other person. Talk to them about your background and motives as a person and as a leader and engage them in open conversations about theirs. By exchanging information about each other, you will get to understand each other better, and form a stronger foundation for a coaching relationship.
#2: Listens with Empathy:
Effective coaches listen with empathy. They pay attention not only to the words, but to the tone and body language. They paraphrase to check understanding, and they remain positive and interested when the other person.
#3: Asks Powerful Questions:
Questioning helps your team member to “think for a change” and reflect on the challenges or opportunities at hand. Effective coaches use a combination of open and closed-ended questions to help their people identify various options and select the most appropriate ones. This way, they get to do the thinking and take ownership
#4: Evaluates Options:
Once your questions help your team member to identify some possible options or solutions, use more questions to help them evaluate the options and by themselves come to some conclusion about the actions that are required
#4: Sets Goals:
With the clear course of action identified, you must now engage your team member to set clear goals – when will the action be implemented, who will do what, within what timeframe, and how will we measure success?
#5: Monitors Performance:
As a coaching leader, you should check-in with your team member from time to time, to get some update on the progress being made. As you monitor their performance, encourage them to reflect on their performance, identifying the things they have done well and the opportunities for improvement, and the things they have not done well, and the areas of improvement.
#7: Gives Effective Feedback:
Give feedback all through the performance that is professional, non-prescriptive and motivating. This way you stretch and chal
