Business Coaching
Put simply, coaching is about helping other people to achieve their goals.
Business Coaching is essentially a two-way transaction in which a coach enables another person to work towards achieving personal and/or professional objectives.
The process of coaching involves the coach and the person being coached working together in partnership to identify the goals, work out ways in which to reach them, and then continually reviewing and reflecting on progress.
Coaching is not judgemental nor does it involve directing a person or telling them what to do. Instead, the underlying ethos of coaching is that every person is capable of taking ownership of their personal challenges and, accordingly, the role of the coach is to use skills of listening, questioning, goal-setting and action planning to enable the person to define and achieve his or her goals.
Although it shares many similarities with consulting and counselling, coaching differs fundamentally from these two practices in that it aims to ‘lead out’ the person’s development and is looking to the future. Because coaching is a trust-based relationship, it’s essential that confidentiality is maintained. It is also most effective when coaching sessions are held frequently and on an ‘ad hoc’ basis, when one or both parties feels a session is required.
Sean Randell – Red Door Training’s Talent Development Director – has many years’ experience of coaching both individual clients and people working within public and private organisations. Professional, encouraging and empathetic in his personal approach, Sean frequently uses the effective GROW coaching method:
Goal – it’s essential to discuss and agree goals from the outset and to get the person to concentrate on what they want to achieve. All goals should fulfil SMART principles…that is they should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed.
Reality – once goals have been established it’s time for a reality check. This means assessing the current situation and circumstances, and identifying factors that could help or impede the achievement of these goals. Goals are often amended at this stage to make them more realistic.
Options – identifying and assessing various options needs to be done at this point, possibly through a brainstorming session. All options should be scrutinised for the benefits and challenges they present.
Way Forward – the person being coached and the coach work collaboratively to create a detailed action plan. This plan should reflect all of the elements in the previous sections. Because both parties must be committed for the plan to work, this is an appropriate time to discuss and resolve any concerns.
Coaching services offered by Red Door Training include both one-to-one coaching and training and developing managers in how to effectively coach their colleagues.
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