Coaching is a process that develops a person to do either the job that they are hired to do or the job that they ultimately want to do. It unlocks barriers and overcomes obstacles that are preventing an individual from getting where they want to be. Coaching is about empowerment and about instilling confidence, effective coaching instills a ‘can do’ attitude in the client and focuses on the future.
Coaching is the term used to ‘coach’ individuals to develop themselves, this is completed through effective questioning and by using excellent communication skills. A good coach does not need to be an expert in the area in which an individual needs coaching in. In fact, strangely when someone has all the skills needed to produce a result themselves, they can’t always help someone else to do it. Often it’s better if the coach knows little or nothing about the subject in question. This is because coaching focuses on behaviours and puts the ownership for improvement on the individual known as the client.
Building on the expertise of an individual it is important to note that coaching is not mentoring, mentoring focuses on technical skills rather than behaviours and is where an individual is ‘groomed’ by someone who is deemed to be in a position of expertise.
This course explore’s coaching and gives you ideas to help you develop coaching in your workplace.