Although coaching is a relatively young discipline (mainly growing popular over the last 25 years or so) the strong view is that coaching should be highly individual or coachee-centered. In other words, coaching should be mainly about creating space for, supporting, and encouraging the person being coached and giving him or her the necessary reflection time to come up with their own answers and then take responsibility for the choices they make. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we think about coaching at the most basic level, it mostly involves quietly asking well-crafted questions and then listening carefully to what is communicated in response. Although this is often quite difficult for most leaders to do, this process naturally creates an opportunity for an individual to learn from a particular experience and then apply that learning in very practical ways in the future. As a result, the simple act of gently asking questions and then closely listening and watching is a great skill for any leader to develop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While a good coach learns to ask these well-crafted questions in order to encourage new perspectives or ways of thinking (in a \u201cpull-oriented\u201d way), many leaders may see their role to be more \u201cpush-oriented\u201d or directive. In other words, it is important for leaders to learn how to speak less and limit their input to just a few comments and questions when necessary. This may not come naturally at first but becomes more intuitive over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following list offers a guide to determine when a given leader is not using a coaching-centered approach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conversely, if a leader is engaged in a more coaching style or approach they:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This whole second approach tends to build trust-based relationships and creates a climate in which the leader can learn considerably more, essentially because they listen at least twice as much as they speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n