Let’s Talk About…The Coach’s Role

Coaching is an excellent tool to accompany other forms of staff development. Coaching conversations ‘dig deeper’ than more instructional or hierarchical interventions, and so the coachee has the chance to really think laterally.

Many, however, seem confused about the application of Coaching to life or work, with cries of “I know what I’m doing, I don’t need an outsider telling me what to do! If these coaches know so much, why aren’t they running this company?!” echoing through the corridors of some organisations!

My response, three questions:

– “When was the last time you switched on the tennis coverage to watch Roger Federer’s coach play Rafael Nadal’s coach?”.

– “After either a success or failure, whose feedback is most important to a competitor, and why?”

– “Do you think either of those players live in fear of their coach stealing the racket from their hand one day, and marching out on to Centre Court?”

You may want to be the CEO of the company one day, and that’s great. I don’t. I want to help people achieve their goals. If, throughout our relationship, your performance and wellbeing improve, and you are leaping over – or charging through – obstacles to get to your goal, then my goal has been achieved.

(And bear in mind: if you’re surrounded by ambitious people, there’s a strong chance that your competitors are already – very silently, in the background – working with a coach!)

When acting as coach, my role is to engage with the client in order to facilitate discovery, awareness, then choice. Only then can goals be set and achieved. It is important to note that a coach will never tell you what to do. You are the expert in your own subject matter. What actions you ultimately take between/after sessions is entirely up to you.

Like any other coach, I am neither a genius nor a mind-reader. It is not my role to understand the exact, minute mechanics of your life or business, or to guess what you do not tell me. I simply need honesty, openness and a reliable, general overview of your context.

The client’s engagement is therefore paramount.

Interested in investing in your own personal – and personal strategy – development? Check out www.MyStrategy.me!