WHAT, WHY, HOW, WHEN & WHO OF COACHING: The Inherent Potential And The Answers Within!
The term ‘Coaching’, mostly associated with sports, originated in the late 1880s. Since then, it has kept evolving as an important discipline for developing people and enhancing their performance.
Coaching has been my preferred mode of leading throughout my career. I repeatedly got trained as a coach within and outside the organization. With a keen interest, I have always been exploring key aspects and styles of coaching.
W. Timothy Gallwey, through his seminal book, ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’, shared the art & science of coaching. Though he started with tennis, he took the same philosophy forward to lay the foundations of professional coaching.
Coaching can play a significant role across age groups and spheres, especially in the corporates. Based on my intensive training and extensive experience, I am sharing What, Why, How, When & Who of Coaching.
COACHING: THE WHAT
The term Coaching, first associated with sports, originated in the late 1880s. Since then, it has kept evolving as an important discipline for developing people and enhancing their performance.
In the corporate world, coaching has gained tremendously as an important mode of Organization Development and even for impactful Leadership.
We at the International Coaching Federation are celebrating International coaching Week. Let’s see how coaching differs from other people’s development initiatives and activities.
Teaching: Knowledge enhancement.
Training: Skill and competency improvement.
Counselling: Emotional and behavioral intervention.
Mentoring: Growth and development guidance/support.
Coaching: Potential and possibilities maximization partnership.
So, what is coaching as per ICF?
“ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity, and leadership.”
How do I define coaching for you?
“Coaching optimizes on inner resources and the answers within through a coach facilitated self-exploratory and reflective process, bringing about required clarity, confidence and inspiration to chart and travel the path to the desired destination.”
Coaching has developed into different types/forms and coaches can present themselves as: Executive Coach, Leadership Coach, Career Coach, Life Coach, Wellbeing Coach, Business Coach, Emotional Intelligence Coach, Performance Coach, Team Coach, etc.
Whatever the title, the coach partners you in your developmental journey to your desired future.
COACHING: THE WHY
We need coaching to tap into the enormous possibilities that lie within.
While all of us strive to do our best, we need someone to help explore our inherent potential.
It is a question of self-awareness and self-belief. What we know, can do, or achieve is not always clear to us and we may end up below par.
A coach can make you see within and trigger change, resulting in getting better or even bettering our ‘best’.
Many successful people, after attaining a level of success, feel plateaued and if this period extends, it may cause boredom & decline.
And then, there are some who are facing failure and cannot achieve a breakthrough.
A Coach can help unlock the next level of success for the successful and the way forward for those who are not so successful.
Concluding with a quote by Pete Carroll:
“Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out. Sometimes, they need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching, and great things can happen.”
COACHING: THE HOW
As with all other disciplines, various Frameworks, Models and Tools of Coaching have developed over a period, and this field continues to evolve.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), GROW, SCORE, Strength-Based…. Be it the framework or model or tools, the list is long & all have their own value.
Applied Psychology and Behavioral Science have given a lot of attention to Coaching as an important discipline and Coach as a profession.
While there are various ways of conducting coaching, the most fundamental is — “Asking the right questions”.
Goal is to Unlock Inherent Potential; Ignite Inner Resourcefulness and Generate Answers Within. Right Questions and Active Listening can create Positive Breakthroughs.
It is also important that the Coach is neither getting influenced by his own thinking about the individual or the situation, nor asking leading questions towards what he/she feels are the right answers.
The person getting coached, facilitated through by right questions, goes into exploration mode, building self-awareness, seeking The Answers Within.
COACHING: THE WHEN
A Coaching intervention is essentially there to take someone from current state to the desired state. A coaching intervention can will be helpful when someone is struggling and also for those who are already doing well.
Ric Charlesworth said,
“The interesting thing about coaching is that you have to trouble the comfortable and comfort the troubled.”***
Coaching need not be a troubleshooting or failure addressing intervention. Coach can take individuals or teams from good to great. Coaching can facilitate, discover, and optimize the dormant opportunities.
American Management Association puts it nicely:
“Coaching is a dialogue that leads to awareness and action. When an employee has the skills and ability to complete the task at hand, but for some reason is struggling with the confidence, focus, motivation, drive, or bandwidth to be at their best, coaching can help.”****
The post-pandemic era unfortunately has huge uncertainties and disruptions in the corporate world. Many careers are being adversely affected. Coaching can be of great help.
A coach can be of value when someone is not succeeding, as much as when someone is already succeeding.
COACHING: THE WHO
Coaching has its application and relevance throughout the corporate hierarchy.
Be it by Front Line Manager to the Customer facing Sales Force or Head-Business to Functional Heads.
Coaching as a mode of leadership is developmental for the one getting coached and even for the one who is coaching. Recommendation is to build a strong coaching culture within the organization.
It is equally prudent that the organizations engage external coaches to develop leaders & teams. This can facilitate individual/collective change. Outside-in intervention can be a tremendous developmental value.
Aspiring young or mid-level professionals need not wait for the organization to provide them a coach. They can approach and hire one for themselves at an individual level. Coach can mean a valuable input for Career Development.
Those already in the leadership role need it even more. Higher one is in the hierarchy more is the need to have a Coach. When you are on the top, finding the next level of success or growth is even more difficult.
Coaching can unlock new perspectives for self, as a leader, as well as for the organization one is leading.
COACHING, MY FINAL TAKE
“Coaching is the art and science of Inner Resource optimization; needed to trigger Positive Change and Transformation; by Right Questions and Self-exploration; through success as well as failure and for all across age-group and hierarchy at individual or at team level.”
Let’s Be a Coach or Get a Coach!!
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Dear Reader, Thanks for being here. I offer Executive & Leadership Coaching; Emotional Quotient Assessments and OD Intervention Facilitation to the Leaders, Teams, and Organizations. Connect on https://www.linkedin.com/in/amleshranjan/ or mail me at amleshranjan@gmail.com. Thanks, Amlesh.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
REFERENCES:
* https://coachingfederation.org/about
** https://www.brainyquote.com
*** https://coachmeyertribute.com
