ILM Coaching and Mentoring

ILM Coaching and Mentoring 1

© CMIT 2020

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Accredited By:

College of Management and IT (CMIT)


© CMIT 2020


Published by:

College of Management & IT (CMIT)

© College of Management and IT (CMIT).

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher. The authors believe the contents of this book to be accurate and correct, and although all care has been taken in producing this work, no guarantee can be given. The Authors and Publishers thereof accept no responsibility for any loss or damage sustained by users thereof howsoever arising. You should take professional advice before making any decisions. This workbook should, however, provide you with good background information.

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1.1 Introduction 1.2 Types of coaching/mentoring 1.3 The benefits and usefulness of coaching/mentoring to employees

2.1 Organisation culture 2.2 The benefits and usefulness of coaching/mentoring to organisations 2.3 Setting targets for, and evaluating, coaching/mentoring programmes 2.4 Barriers to coaching/mentoring

3.1 TGROW 3.2 Theme 3.3 Goals 3.4 Reality 3.5 Options 3.6 Will

4.1 Listening 4.2 Questioning 4.3 Values and beliefs 4.4 Building relationships 4.5 Building self-esteem 4.6 Feedback 4.7 Empowering coaches 4.8 Ethics and standards

5.1 Preparing for coaching 5.2 Contracting in coaching 5.3 Supervision and self-reflection 5.4 Templates


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The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as:

“Partnering with coachees in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Coaching is an ongoing relationship that focuses on coachees acting toward the realisation of their visions, goals, and desires. Coaching uses a process of inquiry and personal discovery to build the coachee’s level of awareness and responsibility, and it provides the coachee with structure, support, and feedback. The coaching process helps coachees both define and achieve professional and personal goals faster and with more ease than would be possible otherwise.” – The International Coach Federation

Coaching is a partnership designed to make use of the knowledge,

information, cooperation, and talents people bring to the problem-solving

process. Coaching provides a confidential, non-judgemental, impartial, and

completely personalised support structure that enables the individual to

achieve far more than they would on his or her own. A “coachee” is anyone

who is being coached. They come from all lifestyles, and are unique in their

desires, priorities, and needs.

“Coaching is primarily a short-term intervention aimed at performance improvement or developing a competence.” – Whitmore (Whitmore, 2009)

Although it was once used as an intervention with “troubled staff.” Coaching

is now linked with the standard leadership development programs in many

companies such as HP and Google. In financial organisations like sales and

insurance companies, they tend to use coaches as a tool for growth in

performance. This tends to occur in high pressure, stressful roles.


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Coaching requires:

• “Effective two-way communication and dialogue

• Observation of performance, followed by constructive feedback

• An investment in helping others succeed

• A focus on performance and achieving results

• Courage to address difficult issues

• Time to help people improve.”

Coaching sessions can be conducted by telephone, internet, or face-to-

face. Sessions usually take place once a week, lasting for an hour. The

number of sessions will depend on the individual and the situation. It

usually takes a month to six weeks to start achieving the desired results,

though the coachee will often start to feel the benefits of the coaching

approach straightaway.

Coaching may also involve the coachee in assignments, which allow them

to enhance their learning in some way. This may include drafting a reflective

essay, keeping a diary, reading a book, completing some form of personal

development, etc. Some individuals choose to build an extremely rewarding

part-time or full-time career as a coach.


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Coaching has grown rapidly over the past 20 years. This is primarily

explained by the rate of change in organisations (Huffington, 2020) driven

by factors such as:

• The revolution in information technologies.

• Globalisation of markets, and hence, competitive pressures.

• Changing social and cultural patterns – in families, between

generations; in attitudes towards gender and race; and in the

concern about work/life balance.

• Wider issues of social responsibility.

• Economic and political restructuring.

• The emergence of a contract culture, especially in the public sector,

tied to accountability.

Given the rapidly changing workplace and the nature of work, (downsizing,

demotion, change in career path, discrimination, or employment

termination) many people are experiencing barriers to their own

performance. This area has become a major source of stress and has

resulted in increased demand for coaching.

In the UK, a huge 90% of respondents to the CIPD annual surveys claim

coaching is taking place in their organisations, with line managers bearing

the main responsibility for coaching in 32% of line managers (CIPD 2017).

Companies increasingly state an expectation that managers will coach their

employees, with research confirming positive correlations between

coaching and employee satisfaction, individual performance and

organisational goals (Ellinger, 2010).


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CIPD (CIPD, 2015) research shows that coaching by line managers is the development tool most likely to grow in the future. Interestingly coaching by external practitioners is the most likely to decrease. Increased use of technology is also anticipated. Three-fifths expect their use of e-learning courses to grow, over a third see their use of virtual classrooms and webinars rising, and a quarter anticipate an increase in mobile device-based learning. But not all technologies are being embraced. Organisations are split on whether their use of MOOCs (massive open online courses) and gamified learning will increase or decrease. Which of the following methods will grow or decline in use in your organisation over the next two years?


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London outlines five major categories of barriers have been identified by people in their careers (London, 1998): 1. Environmental Barriers

• Lack of knowledge about organisational goals, objectives, or strategies

• Too much emphasis on controls

• Lack of proper environment to leverage employee performance

• Lack of understanding of the company vision

• Lack of understanding the company mission statement

• Lack of proper implementation of corporate governance. 2. Job Barriers

• Lack of a set date and time for follow-up

• Lack of attention to poor performance immediately

• Lack of understanding of performance appraisal

• Lack of usage of performance appraisal feedback

• Lack of usage of a development plan

• Lack of reinforcement of positive outcomes

• Lack of effective feedback or motivation

• Lack of goals/timeframe

• Lack of consistent/quality assessment of individual progress

• Inconsistent supervision

• Lack of direction on the job

• Lack of empowerment. 3. Organisational Actions

• Job loss

• Whistleblowing

• Transfer

• Closures

• Redundancy. 4. Individual Barriers

• Physical or mental ability

• Low motivation

• Poor performance

• Inadequate experience or training

• Lack of knowledge about the organisation

• Lack of knowledge about the department

• Lack of complete knowledge of the job role

• Lack of skills or capability. 5. Non-Job-Related Barriers

• Discrimination

• Effects of Competition or supplier.


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Although they are often viewed in a similar light, training and coaching are

distinct and different from each other. Each has a valuable and important

role, but they are not to be confused with one another. Training is directive,

and imparts specific knowledge about specific matters, i.e. products,

corporate objectives, tools, processes, etc. In contrast, coaching is not

about issuing instructions, telling someone what to do, or prescribing how

to do it. Coaching takes place on the job, and is a release of talent and skill,

previously untapped by training, through a process of self-awareness

initiated by the coach. Coaching is about helping, guiding, encouraging, and

allowing space to perform and do things differently.

Coaching is centred around development of a certain area or problem.

Coaching tends to have a set time and is more organised with meetings on

a regular basis. The focus tends to be on immediate goals.

Mentoring is more informal. Meetings tend to be more sporicidal and occur

when the mentee needs help or support. This process tends have a broader

outlook. Mentoring is less about creating precise and focused behaviour

change, and more about helping mentees build an appropriate larger

picture that will animate their future.

However, you can expect both coaches and mentors to undertake a similar

process, and the tools in this course apply equally to both (NHS-Education,

2018).


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Coaching Mentoring

Aim

• The focus is on development

/ enhancing performance.

• Aimed at specific present-

moment work-related issues

and career transitions.

• At a transactional level,

coaching enables the

coachee to incorporate skills

into their leadership/

management repertoire.

Coachees develop their self-

awareness and awareness of

their impact on others. Can

sometimes enable the

coachee to achieve

transformational behavioural

and attitudinal change.

• The focus is on developing

the mentee professionally,

career development and

managing transitions.

• Takes a broader view of the

person. A mentor can open

doors to activities and

opportunities.

Duration /

structure

• Structured meetings of

variable length every month

or so over a short term.

• Can last for a long period.

Relationship

and skills

• Coach and coachee are

equals working in

partnership. Coach does not

require direct experience of

coachee’s role.

• Mentor has more experience

than coachee and shares it

with the more junior or

inexperienced employee.

Nature of

advice

• Coaching is non-directive,

though this is not a fixed rule.

• Mentoring is typically more

directive, sharing

experiences, offering advice.

Speaking

ratio

• Coach/coachee ratio of

speaking is 20:80.

• Mentor/mentee ratio of

speaking is 40:60.


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External coaches are contracted to the organisation and are experts in

training. In addition to their core coaching skills, external coaches with

specialist expertise may be matched to the coachee’s specialist area, e.g.,

digital marketing or IT.

Staff may feel unable to discuss certain issues with their line manager.

Critically these hidden issues may be essential to improving performance.

However, with an external coach, it may be easier to deal with these issues,

as they are unaffected by office politics. External coaches may be more

adept at providing sensitive feedback, as well as maintaining objectivity and

confidentiality.

Internal coaches are a popular trend in executive coaching. This usually

involves the development of a team of coaches within the organisation –

individuals who have other jobs, often within human resources and

sometimes in leadership positions, who take on the added responsibility of

coaching one or more executives.

Aside from being less expensive than external coaches, internal coaches

have the advantage of already understanding the organisation’s business

issues and internal dynamics. They are aware of the executive’s context:

his or her pressures, opportunities, etc., and they speak the language of the

organisation. Also, if they have leadership experience in the organisation,

they may find it easier to gain the respect of the executive and build rapport.

On the other hand, internal coaches usually have less coaching and

feedback experience than external coaches, with fewer opportunities to

practice and maintain their coaching skills. They may lack a cross‐

organisational perspective that would allow them to put the executive’s

behaviour in the context of what is normal and healthy in other

organisations (the internal coach may be “blinded” by their experience in

the company). They may perceive the coaching assignment to be less

important than the other work they need to do and have less time available

for coaching. Because they often lack relevant professional training,

internal coaches may miss signs of depression, substance abuse, marital

decline, and so on.


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Also, if the executive has some authority over the internal coach, the coach

may be less inclined to confront serious issues. If the coach is at a lower

level in the organisational hierarchy, the executive may be less inclined to

consider the suggestions and guidance of the coach. Finally, because the

internal coach has other responsibilities and allegiances within the

organisation, the executive may have less confidence that the issues

discussed in the coaching meetings will remain entirely confidential.

Because of these drawbacks, it is advisable to approach the development

of an internal cadre of coaches carefully, with limited expectations. Internal

coaches need training on feedback tools, coaching techniques, and a

recommended coaching process. They also need clear guidelines for

maintaining confidentiality, managing sensitive issues, and so on.

Also, they need to be given the authority to invest the necessary time to

prepare for and conduct the coaching meetings.


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Coaching is defined as unlocking a person’s potential to maximise his or

her own performance. It is about helping them to learn, rather than teaching

them.

• Workplace coaching – workplace coaches collaborate with

individuals or teams to achieve extremely specific business

outcomes. In most cases, the process begins with a thorough

exploration of the scope of work, desired objectives, and potential

strategies for achievement. Workplace coaching tends to have the

following characteristics: “(1) goals can be both organisational and

individual (although these are often aligned), and (2) the dominant

focus on work-related issues. However, it may be appropriate or

necessary to discuss personal and out-of-work issues to achieve

optimal success” (A&DC, 2008).

• Career coaching – a career coach, collaborates exclusively with

individuals who are either considering or going through a career

transition of some sort. This could include getting direction,

identifying new career directions, improving performance to become

more attractive for promotion opportunities, working through the

special needs of a relocation or transfer, returning to the workforce

after an extended leave, and so on. Career Coaches often use

assessment and profiling tools to assist their coachees.

• Business and executive coaching – involves a “one to one

relationship is between a coach and the coachee, where the coach

brings experience and knowledge” (O’Neill, 2000). Executive

coaching has been accepted as a perk or desirable form of

consultation and support for high-level management.

• Executive mentoring - is a service provided formally or informally

to develop those Executives who are be moving up the corporate

ladder.

• “New Recruit” mentoring - mentors provide new recruits to the

organisation with career-enhancing functions, such as sponsorship,

coaching, facilitating exposure and visibility, and offering challenging

work or protection, all of which help the younger person to establish

themselves in the organisation.


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• Life coaching – is a way to help individuals move from a particular

time in their life to where they wish/want to be. It is considered a

strong supportive tool to help people move towards their goals. Life

Coaching assists people in achieving objectives and greater

satisfaction in all areas of their life, including work/life balance. All

forms of coaching at one point or another include a life coach

approach. However, it would be inappropriate to venture into

personal / home issues during business coaching.

• Life cycle coaching – a life cycle coach, assists people going

through major transitions in life, ranging from teenagers growing into

young adults, university students entering the job market, new

relationships, ending relationships (including divorce) and

retirement. There are many changes that one might experience, and

these coaches specialise in navigating those changes.


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Huffington and Heiker identified the following issues, which are often

addressed in business and executive coaching (Huffington & Heiker, 2006).

• Identify strengths – Coaches help to identify unique strengths and

highlight talents such that they are more easily seen by prospects

and coachees.

• Address performance problems – for the leaders of units and

divisions that are behind the plan or unlikely to meet business

targets, a coach can provide strategic business insights and support.

• Deliver on stretching assignments – for an executive facing a

sudden critical assignment with time and budget constraints or

promoted into a new position or backfilling a current opening, a

coach can provide a valuable safety net and sounding board.

• Clarify and develop goals – with the help of the coach. The

coachee can turn problem statements into goals. Some coachees

will already have vague dreams, which may be refined into tangible,

well-defined, and realistic goals.

• Working smarter – a coach will help focus energy where it will give

the biggest payoff and develop systems to keep activities on track.

The three best ways to increase capacity in your business is to

delegate, eliminate, or automate.

• Identify fears – underlying fears are the “elephant-in-the-room” for

many people. Oftentimes, these fears are based upon a limiting

belief system that merely needs to be challenged and replaced with

a new belief system.

• Improve conflict management skills – the need to have to deal

with uncomfortable relationship problems such as conflict or

organisational politics.

• Improve strategic perspective – Leaders often seem to have

difficulty letting go of the operational and technical parts of their role


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that got them the job in favour of a strategic approach. They may

need help with seeing the big picture.0F

1

• Develop leadership skills – Leaders new to a role often need help

to think more broadly, so they can think about the whole organisation

and the systemic ripples between its constituent parts and with the

environment around it. The coach is, in a way, helping the leader to

develop the ability to consult his or her own organisation by

improving his or her systemic thinking.1F

2

The books Coaching People (McManus, 2006) and A Manager’s Guide

to Coaching (Emerson, 2018) outline the following benefits to the coachee.

• “Maximising their individual strengths

• Overcoming personal challenges/obstacles.

• Achieving new skills and competencies to become more effective.

• Preparing for new work/job roles or responsibilities.

• Improvement in managing themselves (e.g. better time

management).

• Clarifying and working toward goals (e.g. learning about and setting

smart goals).

• Increasing their job satisfaction and motivation.”

A study of multinational and global companies asked employees what the

most useful factors in the coaching that they received (Frisch, 2020).

• “Clear, constructive feedback 30%2

• Supportive, trusting relationships 25%

• Information on developing specific skills 16%

• Information on organisational strategy 13%

• Specific, actionable advice 13%”

1 The “big picture” the most important facts about a situation and the effects of that situation on other things. 2 Systemic thinking is a methodical, planned, and organized way of exploiting one’s brain mechanisms for various mental activities such as processing information, engaging in problem solving, reasoning, and making decisions.


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Here are some specific case examples of the general areas described

previously.

• A senior manager in the public sector, who is intellectually brilliant

and completely devoted to his job, is unable to confront poor

performance and deliver bad news, leaving it too late or relying on

others to do this for him. As a result, staff have taken out grievances

against him. He comes into coaching for help with the stress this is

causing him.

• A senior partner in a professional services firm is not being

admitted to the elite partner group, because he tends to get into

conflicts with his peers and will not share work with them. He also

cannot see the need to understand and manage organisational

politics. He attends coaching for help with how to get the promotion

he is being denied.

• A high-flying young leader in a manufacturing company spends

no time networking in the organisation and is not well known to the

level above her. She is seen as too competitive and territorial about

her own division. She comes into coaching having been told she will

not progress in the firm unless she can become more “corporate” in

her behaviour.

These three examples illustrate three broad areas in which coaches are

often asked to help: (1) fixing skills issues, (2) helping a coachee to make

a transition from one career step to another, and (3) Learning skills of

leadership.


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Brunning provides the following interesting insights into how coaches view coaching: (Brunning, 2006)

• “A means for coachees to access more of their own resources.

• Increasing awareness of oppressive patterns, so the coachee is enabled to change these.

• Reconnecting coachees to their own aspirations, meanings, and authority, so they feel less done to and more positive.

• Overcoming internal obstacles to success.

• l looking at issues from new perspectives, reframing them, to discover new options for action.

• Enhancing achievement and developing capacities.

• Delivering results--development follows in the wake of results, it is not the primary aim.

• Giving space to think about coachee’s role and actions- can be very practical, like goals and work-plans for the year, or broader, like preparing for the future.

• Surfacing the coachee’s mental picture of the organisation in which they work, how they influence it and how it influences them.

• Transforming desire into purpose and then into action.

• Providing a sounding-board which enables people to make more use of their talents.

• Insights which increase personal and role effectiveness.

• Increasing awareness of the internal and external forces that are shaping coachee’s behaviour, decisions, and actions.

• Bringing about individual change that meets the needs of the individual and the organisation.

• Facilitating the learning and development of another through raising awareness, clarifying, and focusing.

• Provides a safe place for thinking, learning, facing difficult things.”


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Carol came to me for executive coaching to improve her role as head of a department with a major international bank. She was happy with her work but was having difficulty with her team. Specifically, they often saw her as a tyrant and aloof. This was not her intention. Carol wanted her coaching to show her how to be a better manager. What she learned, however, was that a better manager is really a coach, rather than a supervisor. A good manager brings out the best in team members, ensuring that the team works efficiently and smoothly. Carol had already completed the Myers-Briggs assessment as well as 360o feedback with her staff. Carol’s profile showed her general tendencies to be Leader-Task, the most common combination for managers. I coached her around the strengths and blind spots of her personality type - revealed on both the Myers-Briggs and 360o feedback assessments. Carol learned how to communicate more effectively with the other “types” on her team, and to appreciate each of their unique contributions, as well as anticipate their potential conflicts. During our coaching, Carol also discovered that she needed to delegate more responsibility to her staff, coach her team rather than manage them, and find opportunities to have more fun while maintaining her vision for herself and the team. Carol has realised that an effective team is like a family, and relationships can sometimes manifest personality conflicts. Her learning around the concepts of emotional intelligence helped her understand that each team member also has emotional needs in the workplace. Carol gave the Myers-Briggs assessment to her entire team. Everyone felt acknowledged and empowered to work more effectively as a team, and all appreciated Carol’s openness and willingness to change. She became a model for her team members.

Adapted from Evolution and Success of Workplace Coaching, Coaching at Work.


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Topics in this Unit:


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Schein defines culture as “a pattern of shared tacit assumptions that was

learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and

internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid and,

therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive,

think, and feel concerning those problems.” Deal and Kennedy defined

organisational culture as “the way things get done around here” (Deal,

2000). Corporate culture has become an important topic in business,

primarily during the last two decades. While corporate culture is an

intangible concept, it plays a meaningful role in corporations, affecting

employees and organisational operations throughout a firm. It is not the only

determinant of business success or failure; however, a positive culture can

be a competitive competence over organisations with which a firm

competes. Culture gives organisations a sense of identity and determines,

through the organisation’s “legends, rituals, beliefs, meanings, values,

norms and language, and how things are done” (Sadri, 2010).

• Past behaviour –– an organisations’ culture encapsulates what it

has been good at and what has worked in the past. These practices

can often be accepted without question by those in an organisation.

• Legends –– one of the first things a new employee learns is some

of the organisation’s legends. Legends can stay with an organisation

and become part of the established way of doing things.

• Norms –– over time, the organisation will develop “norms.” i.e.

(normal) expected behaviour patterns within the organisation. A

norm is defined as an established behaviour pattern that is part of

the culture (Kozuch, 2012).

• Dominant cultures –– large organisations usually have a dominant

culture that is shared by much of the organisation (Hofstede, 1980).

• Subcultures –– these are fewer dominant groups that reject the

dominant culture are called countercultures.


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Gerry Johnson identified several elements that can be used to describe or

influence organisational culture (Schein, 2009).

External survival issues

• “Means: systems, processes, and the way that workflow through the

business.

• Measurement: error-detection and correction systems.

• Organisational Structures: Reporting lines and hierarchies.

• Control Systems: The processes in place to check what is going on.”

Internal integration issues

• Common language and concepts.

• Group boundaries and identity.

• The nature of authority and relationships.

• Allocation of rewards and status.

• Power Structures: Who makes the decisions, and on what based is

power used?

• Rituals and Routines: Management meetings, board reports, etc.

Deeper underlying assumptions

• The nature of reality and truth.

• The nature of human nature.

• The nature of human relationships.

• The nature of time and space.

• The unknowable and uncontrollable.


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“Apple’s organizational culture is a key factor in the continuing success of the business. A company’s organizational or corporate culture establishes and maintains the business philosophy, values, beliefs, and related behaviours among employees. This business analysis case shows that Apple has a corporate culture that enables human resources to support various strategic objectives. For example, the company’s cultural traits are aligned with the drive for innovation, which is a major factor that determines business competitiveness in the information technology, online services, and consumer electronics industries. Based on the organizational culture, this business condition facilitates the fulfilment of Apple’s corporate mission and vision statements. Through the leadership of Steve Jobs and now, through the leadership of Tim Cook, the company continues to enhance its cultural characteristics to maximize human resource support for business relevance in various markets around the world. Apple shapes its corporate culture and uses it as a tool for strategic management and success Through its corporate culture, Apple strengthens its competitive advantages against other firms in various industries. The company competes against information technology firms like Samsung, Google, Amazon.com, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, and PayPal, as well as IBM and Intel. These competitors impose a strong external force that influences strategic management among firms in the industry, as illustrated in the Porter’s Five Forces analysis of Apple. As a result, cultural traits must reinforce necessary competitive advantages through the workforce. The company partially achieves this strategic objective through its organizational culture.” Apple’s Organizational Culture Type and Characteristics Apple has an organizational culture for creative innovation. The company’s cultural features focus on maintaining a high level of innovation that involves creativity and a mindset that challenges conventions and standards. The business depends on cultural support and coherence, which are determinants of competitiveness and industry leadership, especially in addressing aggressive and rapid technological innovation and product development. The following are the main characteristics of Apple’s corporate culture: Excellence Apple’s organizational culture comes with a policy of hiring only the best of the best in the labour market. Steve Jobs was known to fire employees who did not meet his expectations. This tradition continues under Tim Cook. Such a tradition maintains and reinforces a corporate culture that promotes, appreciates, and expects top-notch excellence among employees. This cultural trait is institutionalized in Apple’s organization. For example, the company has programs that recognize and reward excellence among workers. Excellence is emphasized as a critical success factor in the business, especially in product design and development, which is a major growth strategy.


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Creativity “This cultural characteristic pertains to new ideas that help improve the business and its products. Apple’s management favours creativity among employee’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. This characteristic of the corporate culture enables the company to ensure enough creativity, especially among employees involved in product design and development processes. Such creativity is observable in the design and features of iPhones, Macs, and iPads, among other products included in Apple’s marketing mix or 4Ps. In this regard, the organisational culture helps maintain the company’s capacity to satisfy customers” expectations and preferences. Innovation Apple’s organizational culture supports rapid innovation. The company is frequently appraised as one of the most innovative companies in the world. Based on this cultural trait, the firm trains and motivates it, employees, to innovate in terms of individual work performance and contributions to product development processes. The corporate culture facilitates rapid innovation, which is at the heart of Apple’s business. Rapid innovation ensures that the company continues to introduce new products that are profitable and attractive to target customers. Secrecy Steve Jobs developed Apple to have an organizational culture of secrecy. This cultural characteristic continues to define the company’s human resource development. Secrecy is part of the company’s strategy to minimize theft of proprietary information or intellectual property. It is also a strategic management approach that enables Apple to maximize its leading-edge against competitors. Through the corporate culture, employees are encouraged and expected to keep business information within the company. This cultural trait is reinforced through the company’s policies, rules, and employment contracts. In this context, Apple’s organizational culture helps protect the business from corporate espionage and the negative effects of employee poaching. Moderate Combativeness Apple’s organizational culture has moderate combativeness. This feature is linked to Steve Jobs and his combative approach to leadership. He was known to randomly challenge employees to ensure that they have what it takes to work at Apple. However, under Tim Cook’s leadership, the company has been changing its corporate culture to a more friendly and less combative one. Nonetheless, combativeness remains a major influence in the business. Apple’s corporate culture exhibits a moderate degree of combativeness that presents challenges that aim to enhance employee output.”


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An organisation with a positive culture is likely to enjoy many benefits,

including (Sadri, 2010):

• “Acceptance and appreciation of diversity.

• Respect for each employee’s contribution.

• Employee pride and enthusiasm for the organisation and the work

performed.

• Equal opportunity for each employee to realise his or her full

potential within the company.

• Effective communication on company issues.

• Strong company leaders with a strong sense of direction and

purpose.

• Lower than average turnover rates (perpetuated by a healthy

culture).

• Investment in learning, training, and employee knowledge.”

Additionally, achievement-focussed cultures have been shown to have

statistically better commercial results. Such cultures have high worker

involvement, higher levels of innovation, and strong internal

communications.


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Several methods have been used to classify organisational culture. While

there is, no single “type” of organisational culture and organisational

cultures vary widely from one organisation to the next, commonalities do

exist, and some researchers have developed models to describe different

indicators of organisational cultures. Some are described below:

Cameron and Quinn model

Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn (Cameron, 2003) developed the

Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument that distinguishes four

culture types. This currently popular method claims to tell you where your

company stands regarding two key dimensions: (1) how flexible your

organisation is, and (2) how internally or externally oriented your

organisation is, leading to four cultures:

• Clan –– flexible and internally oriented.

• Hierarchy –– stable and internally oriented.

• Adhocracy –– flexible and externally oriented.

• Market –– stable and externally oriented.


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Clan cultures are most strongly associated with positive employee attitudes

and product and service quality, whereas market cultures are most strongly

related to innovation and financial effectiveness criteria.

The primary belief in market cultures is that clear goals and rewards

motivate employees to perform and meet stakeholder expectations

aggressively; a core belief in clan cultures is that the organisation trust in

and commitment to employees facilitates open communication and

employee involvement. These differing results suggest that it is important

for executive leaders to consider the match between strategic initiatives and

organisational culture when determining how to embed a culture that

produces a competitive advantage.

Deal and Kennedy tribes’ model

Deal and Kennedy “tribes” model is a model of culture that is based on four

different types of organisations (Deal, 2000). They focus on: (1) how quickly

the organisation receives feedback, and (2) the level of risks taken.


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Deal and Kennedy seek to identify and distinguish four distinct “tribes” of

organisations and to outline the broad tendencies of their cultures

concerning values and attitudes, as outlined above. The factors affecting

the tribe type include the degree of risk encountered in the operations of

the company and the speed of feedback obtained from the organisational

environment. Below, we summarise Deal and Kennedy’s definitions of the

tribes, alongside some recommendations for ensuring that strategic

decisions are effectively implemented within each tribe (Kilmann, Saxton,

& Serpa, 1986).

Work-hard, play-hard culture

This tribe is characterised by rapid feedback/reward and low risk:

• Characteristics –– a low-risk/quick-feedback environment,

responsive to short-term market demands. Retail and sales

organisations are classic tribe members.

• Style –– competitive; responsive to customer need; action-oriented.

• Implementing strategy –– list the overall number of benefits and

estimates of amounts rather than detail. Immediate benefits must be

highlighted. Examples include restaurants and software companies

such as Apple and Google.

Tough-guy macho culture

This tribe is characterised by rapid feedback/reward and high risk:

• Characteristics –– a high-risk/quick-feedback organisation

requiring large capital outlays, with results usually known quickly.

The entertainment, advertising and construction industries are

examples.

• Style –– high pressure; long hours; internally as well as externally

competitive; much squandering of information; characterised by

informal networks of contacts.

• Implementing strategy –– strong internal competition can lead to a

lack of communication and a climate of individualism, which must be

managed. Examples include Police forces and Premier League

football teams.


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Process culture

This tribe is characterised by slow feedback/reward and low risk:

• Characteristics –– a low-risk/low-feedback environment, focused

on perfectionism. May include banking and insurance organisations,

as well as government departments.

• Style –– bureaucratic; may be slow to respond to change; focused

on methods and means rather than ends; values “proper” processes.

• Implementing strategy –– state benefits and projected results in

the first instance. All policies and procedures must be made explicit

and recorded in advance. Documentation is vital. Job titles may

prove important if changes are to be made and must be carefully

designed. Examples include Barclays Bank and Aviva Insurance.

Bet-the-company culture

This tribe is characterised by slow feedback/reward and high risk:

• Characteristics –– operating in a high-risk and slow-feedback

environment, these companies will endeavour to play it safe. Large

capital investments are often required, with a significant lag before

returns are known. Examples are public utilities, oil, or aerospace

companies.

• Style –– high pressure; entrepreneurial; internal knowledge sharing.

• Implementing strategy –– face-to-face meetings will prove vital.

Issues should be discussed collaboratively, although senior teams

will tend to make the ultimate decisions top-down. Actions tend to be

measured and thoughtful. It is always important to maintain links and

encourage the interdependence towards which this tribe tends.

Examples include Boeing and BP.


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John Whitmore, author of Coaching for Performance, lists the benefits of

coaching for the organisation (Whitmore, 2009).

• “Improved performance and productivity – coaching brings out

the best in individuals and in teams; something which instructing

cannot achieve.”

• “Improved organisational morale – because of the respect for

individuals, improved relationships, and the success that will

accompany coaching, the workplace atmosphere will improve.”

• “Free up more time for managers – staff who welcome

responsibility and do not require monitoring tend to be coached. In

effect, this allows managers to allocate more time to top priorities

which they may have spent limited time on, allowing them to do even

better than in the past.”

• “Generate more creative ideas – a coaching environment will

encourage creative suggestions from employees.”

• “Make better use of people, skills, and resources – a manager

very often has no idea what hidden resources are available to him

until he starts coaching. He will soon uncover many previously

undeclared talents in his team as well as solutions to practical

problems, which can only be found by those who must carry tasks

out regularly. Coaching will also help people to discover their self-

motivation.”

• “Support culture change – coaching principles underpin the

management style of the “high-performance culture”2F

3 to which so

many business leaders aspire. Any coaching program will help make

culture transformation more realizable. “

• “Development of life skills – coaching is both an attitude and

behaviour, with multiple applications both in and out of work. It is

3 A high-performance culture is a set of behaviours and norms that leads an organisation to achieve superior results by setting clear business goals, defining employees” responsibilities, creating a trusting environment, and encouraging employees to continuously grow and reinvent.


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increasingly in demand, so even those who are looking to change

their job are going to find it an invaluable skill wherever they go.”

Evaluation of coaching programmes is critical for several reasons, including

the following:

• Goal achievement – helps determine the extent to which coaching

objectives have been achieved and if the investment was

worthwhile.

• Return on investment – to maximise the “return on investment.”

• Application – to find out if the coaching is being applied in the

workplace or in practice.

• Effectiveness – assists in identifying the effectiveness of different

forms of coaching.

• Planning – helps to determine the form of future coaching programs.


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The most used model for measuring the effectiveness of training and

development programmes was developed by Donald Kirkpatrick in the late

1950s (Kirkpatrick, 1959). This may be used to set targets and evaluate any

coaching programmes. The four levels of Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model

measure:

1. Reaction – the coachee’s personal reaction to coaching.

2. Cognition – the resulting increase in knowledge or capability

following coaching.

3. Behaviour – the extent of “behaviour change” following coaching.

4. Business results – the effects on the business following coaching.


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“Reaction” measures the personal reactions of participants directly after

coaching. This could include any or all the following:

1. The skills of the coach – such as: listening, questioning, giving

clear feedback, establishing rapport, providing support.

2. The personal attributes of the coach – such as: knowledge,

experience, qualifications, being inspirational, having belief in the

coachee’s potential.

3. The coaching process – having a clear structure and discipline,

being mentally challenging and stretching.

4. The coaching environment – for example, providing a safe,

supportive place to discuss confidential and sensitive issues,

providing time and space to think and reflect.

Methods which can be used to measure reaction

Techniques suitable for measuring reaction following coaching include:

• Written evaluation forms or surveys.

• Online evaluation forms or surveys.

• Informal comments from participants.

• Focus group with participants.

• Subsequent verbal or written reports given by coachee’s.

Attitude surveys are a simple and non-resource-intensive method to collect

reactions to coaching. Guidelines:

• Keep survey questionnaires short to get a better response.

• Response rates will increase further with reminders and chasing.

• They can be improved by asking coaches or line managers to

distribute and collect questionnaires.

• Be cautious in interpreting survey findings where the size of the

surveyed population is small (Carter, 2006).


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“Cognition” measures the resulting increase in knowledge or capability

following coaching. This could include any or all the following:

1. Clarity and focus – providing personal insights and exploration of

themselves, their values, and beliefs, providing a clear purpose and

sense of direction.

2. Confidence and esteem – to believe in themselves, to feel more

relaxed and less stressed, to raise their morale.

3. Motivation and attitude – to achieve, to improve both themselves

and their organisation, inspired to drive things through.

Methods which can be used to measure to measure cognition

Techniques suitable for measuring cognition change following coaching

include:

• Supervisor/mentor reports.

• Personal attitude surveys.

• Quizzes and tests.

• Assessments or tests.

• Hard copy, electronic, online or interview style assessments

before and after the coaching.

• Work climate surveys3F

4 can be useful in identifying changes in

soft-skill areas such as communication and are especially

relevant to organisations implementing coaching as a style of

management.

4 Work climate surveys use simple tools like questionnaires to analyse the “climate” or perception of an organization at a given time.


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“Behaviour” measures the extent of behaviour change following coaching.

This could include any or all the following:

The CIPD publication Coaching and Buying Coaching Services (Jarvis,

2004) suggests that if the coachee is able to realise inherent benefits they

are in a much better position to be able to achieve more visible output

benefits of enhanced skills, knowledge and understanding and improved

behaviours associated with relationships with their boss, team, peers or

customers. Thus, having realised the personal benefits for themselves, the

coachee is mentally ready to produce the outer personal benefits, which will

be easily seen by others. This could include any or all the following:

1. Enhanced skills, knowledge and understanding – in both job-

related skills and the ability to learn and develop themselves.

2. Improved behaviours with individuals and teams – in all forms of

relationship.

Methods which can be used to measure behaviour

Techniques suitable for measuring behaviour change following coaching

include:

• Before-and-after training evaluation.

• Completed self-assessment questionnaires.

• On-the-job observation.

• Supervisor or manager.

• Observation and interview.

• 360-degree feedback before and after the training.

Multiple viewpoints and multiple data collection methods are essential when

it comes to measuring perceptions of behavioural change. Face-to-face

interviews enable behaviour change to be explored in more depth, although

telephone interviews can also generate detailed information and allow

probing and can be a less expensive alternative.


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Results evaluation is the effect on the business or environment resulting

from the improved performance of the trainee. Techniques suitable for

measuring this include:

1. Business sales and financial performance improvements –

for example, an increase in products sold or higher revenue.

2. Return on Investment (ROI) – a measurement of the financial

gain following investment in coaching.

It is not always necessary to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) from

coaching in financial terms, as it can be difficult to attribute changes in these

variables to coaching alone. In some cases, it is possible that measures

are already in place for employees, and these can be tracked over time.

Return on investment studies are often used to justify the business case for

coaching interventions.

Return on investment or “ROI” is often considered a “bottom-line” concern

when it comes to business coaching. Sometimes known as “coaching

effectiveness” ROI is often discussed as if it is the key metric to determine

value, impact, or effectiveness of coaching. ROI typically measures the

impact on the target group (coachees) and the organization (stakeholders,

colleagues, productivity, and other factors). It is often used as a way of

measuring total benefits rather than just the benefit to the direct recipient of

coaching (the coachee).


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Regardless of the importance placed on ROI, it is rarely used in a coaching

setting. Coaching experts believe this lack of attention to ROI stems from

many factors, including:

1. Difficulty of measuring more intangible outcomes.

2. Reluctance to quantify a qualitative interaction.

3. A strong reliance on verbally reported outcomes, based on the belief

system of coachees that a significant change has taken place and

therefore additional metrics are not necessary; and

4. Reluctance to accept ROI as a valid construct, and instead

proposing alternative metrics such as a learning contract4F

5 or a return

on value (ROV)5F

6 calculation.

Methods which can be used to measure business results

Techniques suitable for measuring Business Results following coaching

include:

• The typical formula for calculating ROI is based on: (1) a calculation

in financial value cost of a coaching intervention; (2) subtracted from

a calculation in financial value of benefits achieved; (3) that total

divided by the calculation of the cost of the coaching intervention, (4)

with the resulting amount multiplied by 100. The resulting calculation

is expressed as a percentage. For example, at the cost of £250,000

and a financial gain of £850,000, over a two-year period yields an

ROI of 240%.

5 A learning contract is an agreement negotiated between a learner and a supervisor to ensure that certain activities will be undertaken to achieve an identified learning goal, specific evidence will be produced to demonstrate that goal has been reached. 6 Return on Value (ROV) is the amount of value that an organisation gains because of continuous improvement in new and existing people (employees),


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Coaching is not an easy process. It takes time and effort, and may uncover

underlying issues, which may be outside the remit of the Coach.

1. Coaching takes time – several coaching sessions are required

to design an effective action plan for an individual.

2. Coaching can be uncomfortable for the coachee – when

individuals are encouraged to change, because they are being

encouraged out of their “comfort zone” they may respond

negatively.6F

7 They may fear the unknown, anticipate failure, and

lack trust in their own ability.

3. May expose or raise issues, which are outside the remit of

the Coach – coaching may expose underlying issues such as

depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, relationship issues. These

issues are outside the remit of a business coach and would need

to be referred to relevant specialists.

4. Coaches may be inexperienced or lack commitment – In

situations where internal coaches are appointed to coach

members of staff, it is possible that these coaches have received

little or no coaching training. They may also see the coaching

task as less important than their regular job and have little time to

allocate to their coach.

7 A comfort zone is a settled method of working that requires little effort and yields only barely acceptable results.


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Many organisations run coaching programmes for various levels of staff,

e.g. all managers, newly appointed managers, new graduates, or senior

executives. While each organisation will have its own motivations and

desired outcomes for each programme, it is important to reflect on potential

organisational barriers.

1. Forced Coaching – coaching must be a voluntary process, where the

coachee participates in the process to improve their performance.

Without willingness on the part of the coachee, programmes are unlikely

to be successful.

2. Coach-centred rather than coachee-centred – some large

organisations have developed coaching programmes run by famous

“celebrity” coaches who have developed a reputation in their field. Often,

these programmes focus on what the coach thinks everyone needs to

hear, rather than on the needs of everyone.

3. Skills – people are not born with coaching skills. Some of the

behaviours required to be an effective coach may not come naturally.

Being a good coach comes with practice and training, coupled with

relevant feedback. It is worth noting that many internal coaches usually

have less coaching and feedback experience than external coaches,

with fewer opportunities to practice and maintain their coaching skills.

4. Cost – the cost of implementing a large-scale enduring programme may

be a significant barrier to implementation. If this is an issue, it may be

worthwhile piloting various approaches and establishing a multi-

disciplinary team to oversee the programme.

5. One size does not fit all – one coach, coaching model, or coaching

programme may not necessarily suit all participants.


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Physical and physiological issues can affect the effectiveness of one-to-one

coaching. There are also behavioural issues, which can cause a barrier to

the effectiveness of a coaching session; these include physical barriers,

fatigue, and poor listening skills.

1. Physical and environmental barriers – having the right setting

for coaching is critical. The temperature, privacy, comfort, etc., all

play their part in the overall effectiveness of the session.

2. Fatigue – coaching sessions can be quite tiring and cause

fatigue. Fatigue can affect concentration, thinking ability, memory,

and patience. Therefore, it is important not to plan too many

sessions with different coachees in one day and to plan enough

time to recuperate between sessions. Most sessions range from

30 minutes to 2 hours.

3. Poor listening skills – asking questions and listening are two of

the most effective coaching skills. However, if you misuse or

abuse the technique, then questioning can become like an

interrogation and will quickly present a barrier to coaching.


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According to David Clutterbuck, the co-founder of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council, the following steps are required in order to develop a coaching culture(Clutterbuck, 2003). • “Ensure managers have, at a minimum, the basic skills of coaching. • Equip all employees with the information and skills to be effectively coached. • Equip senior managers and HR staff with advanced coaching skills. • Provide opportunities to review good coaching practice. • Set up rewards and recognition processes for managers who demonstrate

commitment to coaching and good coaching practices. • Provide feedback on coaching and establish how to measure the effects of coaching

(e.g. employee attitude surveys held during, before and after the coaching sessions). • Identify and overcome specific attitudes within the organisation, which are preventing

effective coaching. • Ensure excellent staff provide positive, strong role models committed to coaching.” Although establishing and maintaining a coaching culture is regarded as key to supporting effective individual coaching sessions, it takes a long time to achieve. Such a culture cannot be imposed upon organisations or indeed, individuals who are not yet ready for it. Coaching cultures will only become properly embedded into organisations if all the individuals making up the organisation understand the aims and objectives for coaching. “The first step to creating a coaching culture is the same as setting up an effective coaching relationship with a coachee: you have to know what the organisation wants to achieve from the coaching, i.e. where does it wants to get to? In the same way, an individual starting their introductory coaching session should be guided towards establishing what they want the coaching sessions to achieve.” The primary relationship in any coaching activity is between the coach and the coachee; however, this is not the only important relationship. Other key stakeholders include the person representing the organisation’s interests – most frequently the following: Senior Management, HR practitioner and the individual’s manager. All these parties are interested in improving the individual’s performance and therefore, their contribution to the organisation. CIPD provides the following guidelines to dealing with the HR department: (CIPD, 2015) • “HR has a central role to play in designing and managing coaching within an

organisation. • HR will be responsible for the quality of coaching and the results it delivers depend on

choosing appropriate coaches (line managers, internal or external coaches), managing relationships, and evaluating success.

• HR practitioners need to understand when coaching is an appropriate and effective intervention in relation to other learning and development options.

• HR needs to be clear about what the different types of coaching and diagnostic tools/models are, and when each is appropriate.

• HR needs to understand how to select appropriately qualified coaches and then match them to both the organisational culture and to the needs of individuals.

• HR practitioners are also likely to hold responsibility for setting up contractual arrangements, as well as developing mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness of the coaching activities.”


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The “TGROW” model is an extremely useful framework for organising a

coaching session. It is a five-step model adapted from the GROW model by

Myles Downey, and explained in the book Effective Coaching (Downey,

2003).

• Theme – this is the main topic which needs to be addressed. For

example, listening skills, low motivation, lack of skills, lack of

experience, or an inability to manage conflict. In the initial coaching

sessions, a lot of time and effort may be devoted to agreeing on the

theme to ensure that future efforts are allocated effectively.

• Goal – establishing goals at the outset of the coaching session helps

to give the session a sense of purpose, ensuring it becomes a

meaningful conversation rather than a random chat.

• Reality – once you have established what your coachee is aiming to

achieve the next stage is about where they are in relation to their

goal. i.e. what progress have they made towards their goal? What

are their current skills, knowledge, and attributes? What is the reality

of what is expected of them?

• Options – this stage of the TGROW coaching model is about helping

your coachee explore the options available to them. Rather than

quickly choosing a solution, it is important to consider the relative

merits of each option. When using the model, ensure that you “ask”

rather than “tell” and get the coachee to produce their answers.

• Will – once your coachee has explored different options for moving

forward, they are in a better position to select the most appropriate

and commit to specific action. As a coach you will be helping to

clarify the commitment of your coachee to their action and ensuring

the coachee has an awareness of what they will now do, when,

where and who


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Below are some questions that can be used within the TGROW model. Theme - What do you want to discuss? - What do you want to explore today? - What could we discuss that would have the most impact on what you want to

achieve? - What is the key issue resulting from your 360-degree feedback? - What is the key issue resulting from your self-assessment questionnaire? Goal - By the end of our time together, what do you want to have achieved? - When we finish today, what outcomes do you want to go away with? - What is the purpose of our meeting today? - What would make today’s session a success for you? Reality - What is the situation? - What is happening now? - What have you tried so far? - What have you been doing? - How have you been doing it up until now? - What has worked / not worked? - What have you not considered/considered due to cost, time, etc.? - What has been suggested to you to do? - What has your manager recommended to you before now? - Who have you spoken to about this? Who else has been involved? - What are your thoughts about what has been tried so far? - Are there others doing different things in different areas of the business? Options - What could you try? - What might work? - What have you tried that you might be able to apply to this situation?


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- What could you change here to make an option more appropriate or effective? - Where could you look for ideas/approaches? - Who has some expert knowledge who might be able to give you direction? - What is being tried in other areas of the business? - If you had an ideal wish list of ideas of what you could do, what would be on it?

Examine these and look at adapting some of their suggestions - How realistic is this given your time and resources, etc.? - How appropriate is that option? - Which might be the best fit for you / team/department? - Of all the options or approaches here, what is your gut feeling about the best one? - If you chose this approach, what sort of things would you see happening if it were

the best choice? - If you implemented this option, what would you see happening in 6 months” time? - You have identified several options, which stands out as best for you and why? - How will you know if this approach would be successful? - If you had to scale each of the options, with 10 being the best fit, how would you rate

each option and why? - If you went for this option, what would the implications be for team/department? - How would this approach affect the team? Will - What is your commitment to achieving this? - What are the first things you are going to do with your plan? - What do you need to consider before doing anything else? - Where is the best place to start? - What are any obstacles to you starting this? What are they? - What about any obstacles to you completing it? - What might slow you down? - Who can support you in this? - Who has the expertise to help you? - What do you need from me? - On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you with achieving your objective?

Source: ACCIPIO


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The theme is the general topic area that the coachee wants to explore

during coaching.

Research by Korn Ferry identified the top 10 coaching topics addressed

during coaching sessions with midlevel leader, senior manager, or function

heads (Smith, 2018).

1. Interpersonal relationships, listening skills, empathy

2. Influence

3. Communication skills

4. Self-awareness

5. Delegation, empowerment

6. Building effective teams

7. Motivation and engagement

8. Working with uncertainty and ambiguity; decision skills

9. Mentoring, developing internal talent, succession

10. Time and energy management


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In most cases, the coachee and coach will agree on a theme before

starting. However, it is common for the coachee to (1) have a very general

sense of dissatisfaction, (2) have several possible topics to work on, or (3)

avoid a key address as they may not wish to face up to their own

weaknesses. Therefore, it can be extremely useful to use a range of tools

to assist in identifying the theme to be addressed.

Myers-Briggs

One of the most well-known assessments, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

results in a four-letter “type”—INTJ or ESFJ, for example. The test identifies

preferences for each of four dichotomies (such as introvert and extrovert)

and describes 16 distinctive personality traits. It is useful in identifying areas

of strength and weakness, for example, someone scoring extremely high

on “introversion” may need to develop influencing and persuasion skills.

Profile of an INTJ personality type

3BCharacteristic of an INTJ 4BTypical Strengths 5BPossible Weaknesses

• Analytical.

• Structured.

• Objective.

• Introspective.

• Perfectionist.

• Attentive.

• Controlled.

• Private.

• Responsible.

• Self-confident.

• Quiet.

• Intense.

• Strategic.

• Adaptable.

• Complex.

• Conceptual.

• Disciplined.

• Deliberate.

• Abstract.

• Good at listening.

• Self-confident.

• Highly intelligent.

• Takes criticism well.

• Honours commitments.

• Dislikes communicating feelings.

• Insensitive.

• Can come across as arrogant.

• Unwilling to take blame.

Source: https://personalitymax.com/personality-types/intj-strategist/

http://www.mbtionline.com/


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16 types within the Myers Briggs classification

Myers Briggs classification is based on an assessment of four concepts

(Myers, McCaulley, Quenk, & Hammer, 2018).

• Favourite world – do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on

your own inner world? This is Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I).

• Information – do you prefer to focus on the basic information you

take in, or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is

Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).

• Decisions – when making decisions, do you prefer to first look at

logic and consistency or first look at the people and special

circumstances? This is Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).

• Structure – do you prefer to get things decided or stay open to new

information and options? This is Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).


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Self-assessment questionnaires

A self-assessment questionnaire is an assessment across a range of

criteria. It is done to determine training or development needs. The

outcome of the assessment is a gap analysis. This information will enable

the coach and coachee to target the identified skill gaps.

Example Self-assessment questionnaire

Competence Score

Please rate your own ability on a score of 1-5.

5 = Very skilled at this. 5 = Not skilled at all at this.

1-5

Team working

The ability to contribute to teams and to improve their effectiveness through personal

commitment.

Adaptability/change management

The ability to respond and adapt to changing circumstances in a climate of ambiguity

Developing self

The ability to focus on own development and to act to learn.

Motivation

The ability to support and encourage individuals and teams, so that they give of their best

Analytical thinking

The ability to analyse, investigate & interpret data, issues & Situations

Communication

The ability to give and gather information and to actively manage the communication

process

Integrity and ethics

The ability to work ethically according to professional & company values

Decision making

The ability to evaluate or judge the best course of action and to make decisions at the

appropriate speed

Leadership and inspiring others

The ability to use personal skills to guide and inspire individuals/groups towards

achieving goals

Planning and organising

The ability to plan, organise and prioritise work. Balancing resources, skills, priorities,

and timescales to achieve

objectives

Developing others

The ability to improve performance through training and development of individuals and

teams.

Relationship building

The ability to get on well with a wide range of people and build long term trusting

relationships


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360 Degree Feedback

A 360-degree feedback (also known as multi-rater feedback) is a process

through which feedback from a coachees subordinates, colleagues, and

manager(s), as well as a self-evaluation by the employee themselves, is

gathered. Organisations can use 360-degree feedback for developmental

purposes, providing it to employees to assist them in developing their skills,

attitudes, and knowledge.

Example 360-degree survey report


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Wheel of Life®

The Wheel of Life® is used to an integrated approach to the individual. It

considers each area of the Coachee’s life to assess what is off-balance. In

the example below, eight areas are examined and rated from 1-10 to

determine what is off balance. However, this is more suited to life coaching

and would not be appropriate in a work setting.

Example of completed Wheel of Life®


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Having agreed on a theme. It is important that coachees are clear about

what coaching is and what to expect from this.

The process of coaching is made a lot easier if the individual is more aware

and engaged with the process. In the past coaching was considered more

of a remedial task and had negative connotations. It is necessary for a

coach to carefully explain the reason and goal of coaching to make sure the

person has a clear understanding and knows what to expect, this ensures

no misunderstanding occurs.

Failing to set realistic expectations at the start of a coaching programme

has been found to cause coachee’s stress and disappointment in the

process (Gyllensten, 2006). It is therefore important to cover the following

points when briefing the individual:

1. “The purpose of the coaching and why they have been offered this.

Discuss with the individual what they want to get out of it and agree

on the objectives for the coaching, including both personal and

organisational objectives.”

2. “The length of the coaching arrangement and the typical outline of a

coaching session. Discuss the number of sessions and length of

each session.”

3. “Make it clear that information discussed in the coaching sessions is

confidential as between the coach and coachee. Agree specifically

upon any information that will be shared with the line manager and

the organisation.”

4. “Do not “overpromise” anything – for example, make it clear that by

receiving coaching, they are not guaranteed a promotion or any other

specific career opportunity.”

5. “Know your limits and stick within your professional boundaries. For

example, only use tools and psychometrics for which you are

accredited. If the Coachee brings up issues of psychological ill-

health, explain your professional boundaries and be prepared to refer

them to other professional bodies, which may be more appropriate.”


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Goal setting is a powerful technique that allows a person to choose who

they want to be and where they want to go. Setting and achieving goals

highlights a person’s capabilities, and it promotes confidence and

motivation. Goal setting allows individuals to expand their horizon, stretch

their limits, and realise their true unlimited potential.

The key issues to be addressed by goals are:

• By the end of our time together, what do you want to have achieved?

• What outcome do you want from coaching?

• What is the purpose of our meeting today?

• What would make today’s session a success for you?

The coachee is encouraged to turn a problem statement into a positive

desired outcome, then to embody this into a goal. The goal should be made

as real and specific as possible, and ideally, will be SMART.

• Specific – detailed enough to give precise direction to the task in

hand. It is not enough for your coachee to say they wish to move to

a new house. They should be clear about where they want to move

to and the type of house, they are looking for etc.

• Measurable – the coachee’s objective must be written in terms

detailed enough for it to be measured. This is crucial for enabling

the coachee to gauge whether they are on target or not.

• Achievable – the objective must be achievable – i.e. capable of

being completed.

• Relevant – by this we mean that the objective must be one for which

the coachee has control. If the objective depends on contributions

from other people, the coachee should state the objective in terms

of what their own contribution should be. That way, they will be able

to measure their own progress, independently of any external

influences.

• Timed – every objective should relate to a period or date; otherwise,

how will they know if they are on schedule as they measure the

progress periodically?


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The benefits of goal setting are numerous, including:

• Reduces stress and anxiety.

• Improves concentration.

• Improves self-confidence.

• Provides better clarity and direction.

• Increases determination, patience, and persistence.

• Builds self-esteem when goals are met.

• Increase the individual’s ownership of his or her life - the individual

becomes pro-active rather than reactive.

• Increase meaning to life.

An individual may have promised themselves in the past that they will one

day do X or Y, but coaching gets them to make that promise to someone

else, their coach, and the coachee knows that they will be challenged by

the coach if they don’t deliver. The more emotionally attached individuals

are to their goals, the more committed they will be to make them happen.

Goals should be set to ensure individuals are motivated to achieve them.

S.M.A.R.T goals are useless if they fail to inspire.


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“During the third stage of the process, both coach and mentee outline and

discuss the current reality of the situation. The coach may invite the client

to assess their own situation before offering their own advice or specific

feedback on the current scenario and obstacles faced”. The focus should

be on the client, and the coach should be looking to identify potential in the

situation, rather than problems. They should examine any assumptions

made by the client with regards to their reality and outlook on future goals

and discard any history or events that are irrelevant to the goals at hand.

The key issues to be addressed are:

• What is the situation?

• What is happening now?

• What have you tried so far?

• What have you been doing?

• How have you been doing it up until now?

• What has worked / not worked?

• What have you not considered/considered due to cost, time, etc.?

• What has been suggested to you to do?

• What has your manager recommended to you before now?

• Who have you spoken to about this? Who else has been involved?

• What are your thoughts about what has been tried so far?

• Are there others doing different things in different areas of the

business?

We all have more potential than we realise. Yet, most of us live in a world

where we place internal restrictions upon ourselves. These restrictions are

due to our limiting beliefs and low self-expectation, and they limit what we

can do.


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Beliefs are thoughts or ideas that are accepted as fact and are no longer

questioned. The dictionary definition of a belief is: “A principle accepted as

true or real without proof, an opinion, a conviction. These beliefs have great

power over an individual and will continually shape the direction of a

person’s life.”

An individual’s brain is constantly taking in all kinds of information from the

senses, and then processing and storing some of it. When a person

encounters something new, the brain will try to organise the information in

a way that is useful, into an understanding or into perceptions. (These are

often called beliefs).

The information that forms the perception is usually called the reference

experience. In the future, when the individual encounters the same or

similar information, their brain automatically refers to the perception to help

them decide how to process it and what behaviour to use.

The Coach will help the Coachee to identify their limiting beliefs and then

help them to replace them with ones that are more helpful. As Henry Ford

once said:

“Whether you think you can, or whether you think you cannot, you’re right!” – Henry Ford

However, we always can revisit, challenge, and rewrite our beliefs. An

exercise that can be employed to remove an unhelpful belief held by a

coachee is for them to try writing down a negative statement that they

currently believe about themselves, then think of examples from their day-

to-day life that prove this belief to be untrue and write them down too.


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Activity

Take time to sit and think about the beliefs that you have held since

childhood. Are there any that you have not re-examined for years

that when you think about them now are illogical or untrue? e.g.,

“I’m useless at all sport.” When in fact the truth is that you are short

of stamina but are good at sprinting, high jumping and long jumping

etc., activities that require little in the way of stamina but require

skills in other directions.


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Without action, a goal is merely a dream. A coachee can make any number

of decisions, but until they act on those decisions, nothing will happen.To

address their goals, the coachee should consider their goals.

• What do you wish to try?

• What could resolve this?

• Is there anything you think you could alter to make this more

successful?

• Can you list where you look for plans and perspective?

• Can you contact someone you know who might be able to support

you and point you in the correct direction?

• Can you list a few areas already being tried?

• If you had the option for the perfect wish list of what you may achieve,

what would appear on the list?

• Can you explore how practical this is given your time period?

• Do yo believe this option is suitable?

• Do you think this is the best option for your team?

• Looking at all the current options, what does your feeling tell you is

the best option?

• What would you expect to see if this approach was adapted?

• If you did adapt what would you wish to see in several months?

• Identifying the options has been done, state what now stands out as

the perfect option and why do you think?

• How do you plan to recognise if the selected approach is correct?

• Number your options 10 being the top score. List how they would

rank?

• What issues do you think would arise if you selected this option?

• How would this approach affect the team?


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Developing an action plan enables the coachee to set out how they will go

about addressing the aims and SMART objectives that they have identified.

As each goal or desire is defined by them, the coach will help them to decide

on specific actions that will help move them in the right direction to realise

those goals. An action plan will help your coachee focus on what they need

to do and when to do it. It is a list of tasks for the coachee to conduct to

achieve an objective. It differs from a “To-do list” in that it focuses on the

achievement of a single goal. This allows the coachee to concentrate on

the stages of that achievement and monitor their progress towards it. Your

coachee’s action plan is a key document, which can be used to guide their

future according to their needs. Whilst the future cannot be accurately

predicted. This document offers an opportunity to bring together their

personal aspirations and needs. This will result in an agreed personal

development plan for the immediate future. An action plan consists of eight

steps:

1. Setting objectives

2. Assessing the objectives

3. Identifying action required to meet the objectives

4. Working out how to evaluate the activity

5. Agreeing a timeframe for action

6. Identifying resources (human, financial and technical)

7. Finalising the plan

8. Evaluating the results.

To draw up an Action Plan, simply list the tasks that they need to conduct

to achieve their goal. They must list all tasks and check that they are

compatible with the new vision. To use it, they simply conduct each task in

the list within the timescale set. Ensure that there is a monitoring process

in place so that both the coach and coachee have available to them regular

updates on the effectiveness of their new solution. Without these, neither

coach nor coachee will know how effective the solution is. The period

covered by the Action Plan can vary - any period from about two months to

2 years is likely to be appropriate (although reviews should be held

periodically).


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Developing a detailed vision or focus of your coachee’s life can be

extremely helpful for most people, although it can be helpful to see it in the

context of a three- or five-year time span. This can be the starting place

from which the coachee sets out to achieve their future goals, ambitions,

and dreams. This is your coachee’s opportunity to create a better future for

themselves

Listen out for your coachee, making excuses when formulating their plan.

Individuals with low confidence or little experience may find it frightening to

make commitments, and they may feel a need to “hedge their bets.” When

a coachee raises a concern indicating that circumstances beyond their

control might prevent them from achieving their goal, this sends a message

that they are not sure they can conduct the plan.

Both the subconscious brain (your creative, feeling side) must work in

tandem with your conscious (logic side). For a plan to succeed the coachee

must “feel” it is right to believe in it and bring about true behavioural changes

required. If they just pay “lip service” to it, they are not underpinning the

behavioural changes that they are seeking. Their behaviour determines

whether their plan will be a success or not. Therefore, it is up to you both to

produce a plan that they believe in.

Typically, each session closes with an agreement on the actions that you

will take before the next session. The next session will go over those actions

and their results, and the coachee’s feelings about what you have achieved.

It is this level of agreement, commitment, and performance analysis that

makes coaching effective.

Develop a set of actions that might be required to enable junior

management to build financial skills.


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Regular coaching sessions will keep an individual focused and are a

powerful means for implementing changes. A person will quickly realise that

with planning and self-discipline, they can achieve far more than they

thought possible. Taking charge and moving forward in just one area of

their life is extremely motivating, and the resulting “feel-good factor” often

creates a ripple effect, leading to positive changes in other areas of life and

work.

A coach must pay close attention to keeping momentum, within both

individual sessions and the on-going coaching programme. The coach will

want to provide the coachee with a positive experience from each session,

but they also want to promote real progress and so it is important to keep

an eye on the clock and the calendar. Within sessions, coachees may need

to be gently re-focused on the issue at hand, and there may be a need to

tackle a resistant problem from different angles. In the broader coaching

schedule, the coach wants to provide continuing positivity, energy, and

measurable progress for the coachee, and this is sometimes difficult.

Coaching partnerships often tackle highly resistant problems, one which

may have persisted for many years, and the coachee will need to step

outside their comfort zone and do hard work in that new environment. This

is a serious challenge.


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It is most important that the coach remains alert and focussed on the

session. The coach can prepare for this by coaching in an environment that

is free of clutter and noisy distractions. As well as being alert, any coach

should approach a coaching session with a clear mind and a positive mental

attitude to make the best use of this verbal flow. A coach should take up to

half an hour to prepare themselves for the coaching session; to study the

coachee’s notes to re-acquaint themselves with the situation and to re-

appraise where they have reached in the coaching process. However, this

time can also be used to clear out the mental clutter, and to put aside any

anxieties of the day, therefore being fully available for listening to the

coachee actively and helpfully.

Hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear. Active listening,

however, is something you consciously choose to do.

Active listening requires concentration so that your brain processes

meaning from words and sentences.

To build rapport and maintain the flow of thoughts, a good coach will

practice “active listening.” This means doing those things that demonstrate

attention and approval to the speaker. On the phone, this is displayed as

“verbal nods” – like “uh-huh.” “I see.” and “yes.” In-person, there is a range

of non-verbal gestures that can be used to signal positive attention and to

build rapport.

Effective listening also involves understanding meaning not just through the

words spoken but also via the tone of voice and body language used. There

are three stages to effective listening: receiving, analysing, and

transmitting. To actively listen, total attention must be given to the other

person. If face-to-face, eye contact and attention to their body language

must be maintained. The coach should stay focused on what they are

saying (and not saying) and check their understanding of what is being said


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through paraphrasing if necessary and make sure they have processed all

the information correctly, before responding.

If what the coachee is saying is ambiguous or otherwise unclear, it is

important for the coach to ask for clarification.

The coach might say something like “Please tell me more about what you

just said” or the coach might echo back what they understood: “so you feel

you are not liked because they don’t invite you to lunch?” Testing

understanding in this way is a valuable tool in the coaching toolbox. Not

only is it a sure way for discovering misunderstandings, but it provides the

coachee with an opportunity to re-internalise their thoughts, refining them

or deepening their understanding of them in the process. There is a small

potential pitfall in paraphrasing; the coach should resist any temptation to

tidy up or embellish a situational summary to pull the coachee in a desired

direction. The goal is to verify meaning, not to influence it.

Another skill is to listen for how the coachee says something. The intonation

of what coachees say conveys additional information, which is available to

a keenly listening coach. The coach can evaluate this information with the

coachee: “Are you worried about that?” or more openly: “how do you feel

about that?”

A good coach can go further with their listening skills, digging beneath the

surface of what is said by relating it to what they know, or think they know.

Specifically, they can keep in mind the coaching topic and the coaching

goal and relate those to what they understand of the coachee and to what

that coachee are saying and have said. This cross-referencing process can

often illuminate interesting areas for exploration. Sometimes there are

subtle or even huge contradictions in what the coachee says; sometimes,

there are puzzling omissions. Careful questioning can be used to gain

clarity for the coachee and the coach in these cases. Sometimes wonderful

breakthroughs happen as a result. Other times a gradual refinement takes

place over time. The transformation is often no less spectacular.


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Another listening tool is to try to press a little bit more information out the

coachee by saying such things as, “is there anything else?” and so on.

Therefore, effective listening is a huge part of effective coaching, and a

coach will listen with their whole mind in an open, positive manner. What

they learn from their listening is the raw material on which the coaching is

based. As author, Stephen Covey says:

“Empathic listening is so powerful because it gives you accurate data to work with. Instead of projecting your known autobiography and assuming thoughts, feeling, motives, and interpretation, you are dealing with the reality inside another person’s head and heart. You are listening to understand. You’re focused on receiving the deep communication of another human soul.” – Steven Covey (Covey, 2004)

The skill of active listening requires practice, discipline, and attention, but

once successfully learned, it can improve the quality of our communication.

A good technique in conversation is to mirror the other person’s

communication style. Mirroring is different from mimicking or copying. It is

getting in tune with the energy level of the other person’s conversation.

Use “mirroring” or “matching language.” and body language to set people

at ease and show to them that you are interested in them and their

viewpoint. This builds rapport, gives the speaker the sense that their

viewpoint is valued, and through your observation of their body language,

the choice of words and their inflexion you can build a picture of what is

really being said. An increased awareness of what is not being said often

helps to uncover the real problem.


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Level 1: “Cosmetic Listening” At this level of listening, the coach is merely receiving information and following the conversation as dictated by the coachee. As a coachee, this is easy and non-challenging. As a coach, this is a disaster, as the session will not result in a meaningful dialogue or outcome. Signs that you have a level 1 conversation are: • You find your thoughts wandering • You struggle to remain interested in the conversation • You feel anxious about the conversation • You are wondering what question to ask next • You find yourself asking basic questions relating to facts. i.e. “who; how; many; what;

where; when” etc. Sample level 1 Conversation “Coachee: I need to get better at delegating. I am working 70 hours a week now. Coach: Yes, that is not a good idea; you will wear yourself out. Coachee: But I cannot really see what else I can do; we are so busy. Coach: You will find the whole way you are doing it is a bit wrong. I have a good hand-out can show you. It is worked for 10h coachees so it should work for you. Coachee: Mmm, well. Coach: It starts from an analysis of how you typically spend your day. I’ve a sample here. Shall we work on it now?” Level 2: “Conversational Listening” At this level of listening, the coach is, and the coachee is engaged in a meaningful, intense conversation. The coach’s questions are skilful. The coach is noticing the body language of the coachee and using answers from questions to deepen the conversation. Sample level 2 conversation “Coachee: I need to get better at delegating. I am working 70 hours a week now. Coach: That sounds tough. How should we work on this? Coachee: Well, I am doing it OK, but my staff tell me I am not. I do not know what they mean really. Coach: What exactly do they say to you? Coachee: An example would be that my assistant tells me I am constantly checking up on her, but how else am I supposed to find out how things are going? Coach: Checking up. So that is her feedback. Sounds like there is lots of anxiety there for you. Do you want to stay with this one as a useful example? CIient: Yes, OK. Coach: So, imagine I’m your assistant, how exactly do you delegate to me?”


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Level 3: “Deep listening.” At this level of listening, the coach is doing everything at level 2, but is also connected at an emotional level with the coachee. The coach completely trusts their intuition, and there are moments of a real connection with the coachee. This is the type of connection that you find with a close friend. Sample level 3 conversation “Coachee: I need to get better at delegating. I am working 70 hours a week now. Coach: That sounds tough. How should we work on this? Coachee: (small silence and a laugh) Coach: (gently) So? (pause) That laugh sounds strained. Coachee: It is. I cannot take this pace. My staff tell me I am “interfering.” do not know how else to keep everything under control. It is ruining my personal life, and if I do not watch it, my health as well. My wife complains she never sees me, and I do not know when I last put our daughter to bed because I am home so late. I am awake every morning from 4.00 a.m., and then I cannot get back to sleep worrying about work. It is an enormous strain. Coach: So, this is an enormous strain, and it feels as if there is a huge amount at stake for you, job, and home. Coachee: Enormous. It is a burden I do not want. Coach: Burden is a heavy-sounding word! So, I am also sensing that considerable willingness to shed that burden and to try something different? Coachee: Yes, though I cannot see what it would be. But yes, I am up for it. Coach: So, some of this seems as if it is about feeling in control. Shall we start looking at how that links to the way you delegate?”


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It is understood that silence can be a sign of profound thinking from the

coachee that may fester an acknowledgment of a thought. If a coachee

comes across a thought, psychological development tends to occur

internally. Silence helps experience a feeling without being interrupted. It is

understood the main elements of coaching is experienced during these

silent moments.

While this is understood to be effective it may have a negative impact on

some coachees. It could leave them feeling fatigued and bewildered. The

coach must establish when it is good to allow this develop. How far you

allow it to go depends on the coachee. If for example the coachee feels

uncomfortable then you are at risk of breakdown rapport. It can also be said

that a small amount of time in discomfort can bring with it breakthroughs in

thoughts and emotions.


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One of the core theories of coaching is not to give instruction or advice. This

is a good theory, but in practical terms, it does leave the coach in a difficult

position, as they must find ways to allow the coachee to discover important

things about themselves without directing them. The key is to ask powerful

questions because questions are the means to unlocking awareness in the

coachee. Coaching questions are usually different from everyday

questions. Everyday questions tend to be verbal exchanges in which the

questioner extracts information from the respondent for the questioner’s

benefit. For example, “What time is it?”

There are four general categories of questions. They may be classified

based on: (1) past behaviour versus hypothetical situations, or (2) fact-

based questions versus deeper questions.


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• Linear – linear questions aim to gain a comprehensive

understanding of the current situation. They are factual and based

on who, what, where, when, and how types of questions.

• Circular – circular questions relate to exploring patterns around a

specific topic, for example, persons, objects, actions, perceptions,

ideas, feelings, events, beliefs, context, etc.

• Strategic questions – these are used to promote change and

prompt deep consideration. They explore new areas yet are

focussed on past behaviour.

• Reflexive questions – these types of questions are future-oriented

or hypothetical questions.

Linear questions are asked to gain a comprehensive understanding of the

situation. They are factual and based on who, what, where, when, and how.

These are most appropriate at initial sessions to enable the coach to

understand the problem.

Examples might be:

• “What problems does that cause?”

• “In what way is that a problem?”

• “What isn’t happening now?”

• “What do you want to be different?”

• “How would you like X to respond?”

• “How do think that Y needs to be changed/altered?”

• “What would you like to do, ideally?”

• “How do you feel about that?”

• “Who have you consulted/talked to?”

• “Who else might you talk to?”

• “How does the other person/department see the issue?”

• “How will you go about it?”

• “In what way will that help?”

• “Who else can you involve/get to back you?”


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Circular questions relate to exploring patterns around a specific topic. The

coach explores persons, objects, actions, perceptions, ideas, feelings,

events, beliefs, context, etc. For example:

• How do you think your direct reports perceive you in this role?

• How do you think customers perceive you?

Strategic questions are used to promote change and prompt deep

consideration. They open new avenues for thinking. A coach might ask

strategic questions like:

• What has stopped you so far from talking to your colleague about

your conflict with him, instead of telling your boss?

• Would you like to stop your arguments rather than being so

preoccupied by them?

Reflexive questions may be used to encourage the individual to reflect

deeply and think about the key issues. There are three categories of

reflexive questions: (1) future-oriented questions, (2) observer-perspective

questions, or (3) hypothetical questions.

Future-oriented questions

Future-oriented questions aim to help people to see issues from a unique

perspective. These types of questions tend to be goal and solution oriented

and are best known as “systemic questions. They can also be used to

successfully move a person forward to a solution.


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Helpful future questions might be:

• If a certain conversation ended in a promising way, how would you

recognise this?

• Do you believe you have control over the goal? State your short-term

goals you aim to achieve along the way? Set dates for these goals.

• List what you believe would be a successful outcome?

• What would you see an appropriate solution?

• Tell me what you see your business achieving in the next five years?

Observer-perspective questions

Can be extremely beneficial when encouraging a person to distance

themself from a problem and take a neutral outlook. The person is asked to

take the “observer perspective” on the issue. The following questions can

be helpful in the process:

• How would your team describe you if you were to get angry in the

office?

• When you get angry in the office, how would your team describe you?

• What might your team member be feeling at that point

• What do you think other members of the team would think of your

approach?

• How do you think a member would tackle the issue they are being

faced with?

• List what you believe you do that others value or what other may

dislike?

• Do you believe the staff member is willing to solve the issue?


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Hypothetical questions

A hypothetical future situation is stated and the coachee is asked to reflect.

An example would be when discussing a conflicting situation, the below

may be asked.

• Advise when the conflict present?

• How do you believe the world would look if the conflict did not exist?

How would it differ? Do you think you would notice?

• If you were to share how you experience the conflict, with your

colleagues, what do you imagine they might think or do?

• Think of someone who collaborates well with colleagues. What does

he/she do? What is different to your performance?

• Do you know anyone who collaborates well with people or a team?

Can you look at what they do? What helps their performance?


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These following 17 questions have been developed from the field of psychotherapy and are found to be highly applicable to any coaching situation (Rogers, 2009). The list has been adapted over time and is used by hundreds of coaches all over the world. The questions progress from the basic exploration of the issue to classifying the issue in terms of importance, then to the implications of the issue, and then to the identification of options and finally to first steps to action. The 17 Questions 1. What is the issue? This asks the coachee to state the problem. It can often usefully cut through a coachee’s lengthy account by asking them to summarise what the problem is. 2. What makes it an issue now? Issues that coachees bring to coaching have typically been around in the coachee’s life for a long time. However, often there is some immediate provocation or development, even if this is in the form of anger or worry. This emotion will provide energy for change and resolution. That is why it is worth naming and surfacing it. 3. Who owns this issue/problem? If the coachee does not own it, there is no point in discussing it. You can only coach the problem owner. Some coachees come to coaching to find out how to change someone else, whereas the basic assumption of coaching is that you can only change yourself. This question puts the onus back onto coachees to own whichever bit of the issue is theirs. 4. How important is it on a 1-10 scale? If the problem is not important, then why are you and the coachee wasting time discussing it? Importance captures the idea of issues with the potential for major impact on a coachee’s life. Anything the coachee scores at less than five should be set aside. 5. How much energy do you have for a solution on a 1-10 scale? This question often draws an interesting response. The coachee may have told you the problem has an importance of nine, but that tells you that their energy for a solution is only 3 or 4. If so, you will want to ask a follow-up question such as “What would need to happen to increase the energy to 8 or 9?” 6. Implications: what are the implications of doing nothing (or of letting things continue as they are)? Naming aloud the consequences of inactivity paradoxically builds energy for change. You might want to follow this question with a further probe. “And what would be the implications if that happened?” 7. What have you already tried? This question stops you offering pointless advice, which the coachee has already tried or considered, and it lets you in early on the coachee’s thinking. Most coaching problems have already been the focus of a great deal of energy and thought on the coachee’s part.


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8. Imagine this problem has been solved. What would you see, hear, and feel? Up until now, the coachee has been deep in the problem. You will typically see this reflected in the way the coachee has been sitting and talking - often slumped or despairing. By asking this question, you tap into their resourcefulness. 9. What is standing in the way of that ideal outcome? This question broadens out the coachee’s thinking. Expect new insights to occur from this point on. 10. What is your own responsibility for what has been happening? An essential question. The coachee is always part of the problem, as well as part of the solution. This question makes that assumption explicit and encourages coachees to see how they have, at an unconscious level, been sustaining the problem through their own behaviour. 11. What early signs are there that things might be getting better/going all right? However, dreadful the situation, there is always something that is working. Identifying

and building on it is part of the process of change and improvement. 12. Imagine you are at your most resourceful. What do you say to yourself about this issue? This question assumes that underneath all our typical confusion, at some level, we do know what we should do. Another version of this question: “If I could give you a pill which contained all the courage and insight you needed, what would you do?” I have yet to find a coachee who could not find an instant reply to this one. 13. What are the options for action here? Now that the question has been looked at from several angles, the coachee can begin to consider the options for change. 14. What criteria will you use to judge the options? Options are even more useful when you have criteria against which to judge them. Typical criteria might be practicality, cost, and fit with the coachee’s values, time - and so on. 15. Which option seems the best one against those criteria? At this point, you are narrowing down again towards action including, of course, just pondering. 16. So, what is the next/first step? The answer may be to do some more research, to have a conversation, or to make a big life decision. 17. When will you take it? Asking for a commitment to when makes it more likely, that the coachee will do something different because of the coaching.


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Periodically we will find ourselves examining our values. Inevitably, they will

change as we progress through life. As our values change, we must also

change our action, otherwise we feel an inner misalignment. By having a

clear sense of our values, we make sound judgements about decisions that

we make in everyday life. The coach’s role is to understand and guide the

coachee through this process.

Non-judgemental coaches will not judge the values or beliefs of their

coachees, which may differ radically from their own. A coach may choose

to explore coachee values and beliefs in the usual coaching way, through

questioning and listening, if these values and beliefs are not currently

serving the coachee well. However, the coach’s opinions should not be

presented to the coachee. There may be cases in which a coach’s views

are so at odds with the coachees that they feel unwilling to coach that

coachee further. In these cases, the relationship should be ended, and the

coachee invited to find another coach. This should be done in a way that

does not leave the coachee with new problems!


© CMIT 2020


A coach will be concerned with finding and exploring beliefs that do not

serve the coachee well. The so-called “self-limiting beliefs.” These beliefs

are usually acquired in childhood, through parenting and schooling

experiences. Whilst a mature coachee may have acquired an adult’s

intellect. They may still be operating from beliefs acquired, irrationally, at a

young age. Examples of self-limiting beliefs concerning the self are:

• I am fat

• I am stupid

• I am no good with numbers

• I cannot sing

• I am very forgetful

• I will never amount to much.

Coaches listen for evidence of these beliefs. These thoughts can be

brought to the surface through careful questioning and the coachee invited

to explore them. If a coachee believes they are unattractive, for example, it

could adversely affect their entire lives and their capacity to be happy. This

is important and well worth resolving. Exactly what questions to ask must

depend on the situation, but they will be open questions, which invite the

coachee to talk about and around the belief being worked on.


© CMIT 2020


Rapport must exist between the coachee and their coach before any real

work can begin. Where rapport exists, effective coaching can take place.

Coachees will relax out of their public image, feeling able to discuss their

inner thoughts, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities honestly. Therefore, any

coach must be able to build rapport with their coachee. However, it is

centrally important that the coach holds genuine respect and good wishes

for their coachee, through demonstrating excellent listening skills; that they

are honest yet non-judgemental; and that they are genuinely and

appropriately positive.

Another rapport-building tool is to “echo” the conversational style of the

coachees in their own speech. Often a coachee will show a strong bias in

their use of language, towards a sense. For example, they may talk in terms

of their visual sense (“I see how that works”), or in terms of touch (“I feel

good about that”) or in terms of hearing (“Sounds reasonable to me”) etc.

These modes of speaking (and thinking) are known as visual, auditory,

tactile, olfactory, and gustatory.

Trust must exist between coachee and coach. The coachee must trust that

their coach will be honest, has their own interests in mind, and is telling the

truth, and will maintain their confidentiality, and will respect them from the

privileged position of coaching confidante. Confidentiality must be

maintained by the coach, and the coachee must know and trust that

confidentiality is being maintained. Only then will they feel able to be

completely open and honest about themselves.

Honesty should be the foundation on which any coaching relationship is

built. It is a key tool, which is often forfeited in a conventional friendship. A

coach should be honest within the context of the coaching relationship,

delivering the difficult messages accurately when they can be usefully

absorbed. Of course, honesty, in this context, does not mean that a coach

should be sure to tell their coachee in every instance where the coach’s

personal stance on an issue, differs from the coachee’s.


© CMIT 2020


Humour often has a role to play in building and maintaining rapport.

Coachees should be encouraged to remain emotionally composed during

coaching sessions. Emotional breakdown is not part of the coaching

process and does not support the forward-looking, solution-orientation of

the coaching model. It may sometimes be necessary to stop a session from

allowing a coachee to re-compose themselves, or to cancel it until next

time. This does not mean that the coach does not care about the emotional

well-being of the coachee, and any premature terminations should be dealt

with compassionately.

It is important to note that when building rapport, a coach should not

become emotionally involved with the coachee, their problems, or their

lives. Maintaining a professional distance is essential to remaining

balanced, objective, and useful.

Dr Michael Heah outlines a 7-step approach for rapport-building (Heah, 2015): - Show a sincere interest in them. Listen first, before you speak. - Ask general questions about them; for example, their interests, their family, the car

they drive and their place of work, etc. - Find out as much as you can, all the time looking for common interests that both of

you have. - Let them talk for as long as they like. The more they talk, the more you show a sincere

interest in them. - Use mirroring and matching to align your style to theirs. Are they sitting or standing?

Are their legs crossed or arms folded? - Observe and match their communication style. Do they like to get right down to

business, tell stories, or joke around? Do they talk softly, loudly, quickly, or slowly? - Once you can sense that the right atmosphere is created, you can then go into the

other areas that you want to talk to them about.


© CMIT 2020


Self-esteem is the opinion a person has of himself or herself. It may relate

to the following:

• Their value as a person

• The job they do

• Their achievements

• How they think others see them

• Their purpose in life

• Their potential for success

• Their strengths and weaknesses

• Their social status and how they relate to others

• Their independence or ability to stand on their own feet.

Low self-esteem results from a person having a poor self-image that is

caused by their own attitude to one or more of the above aspects of their

life. For example, if a person has found no purpose in life or they do not

value the job they do, they may well have a low esteem.

High self-esteem, on the other hand, is the opposite. It is an important

aspect of life. If an individual has a high level, they will be confident, happy,

and sure of themselves. They would be highly motivated and have the right

attitude to succeed. Self-esteem is, therefore, crucial to a positive attitude

towards living.


© CMIT 2020


Low self-esteem can make many things difficult. A person may blame

themselves for things that are not their fault; they may underestimate their

abilities, and they expect things to go wrong for them. Building self-esteem

will affect all areas of a person’s life - work, social, and most importantly,

their relationship with themselves. An individual will feel wonderful to be

reminded of their good qualities; a feeling that can carry them through

difficult times, improve their self-confidence, and make them feel surer of

themselves. Here are a few tips to help your coachee build their self-esteem

and feel better about themselves:

• Start at the beginning – identify one aspect of yourself that other

people like or admire. It may be small things like your helpful nature or

your kindness to animals, and then build on it.

• Get motivated – start with a small achievement to get you motivated. It

may be having the courage to go to the cinema on your own. Anything

you do that is just a little bit outside of your normal comfort zone will give

you confidence and make you feel better about yourself.

• Be positive – be positive when people show an interest in you. You will

find you get a positive response from them so next time someone asks

how you try replying; “Great” or “Good.”

• Learn from mistakes – it is easy to be self-critical if you do not think

much of yourself to start with. Therefore, it is important to take criticism

positively. If you make a mistake, or someone accuses you of making a

mess of things, ask yourself if there is anything, you can learn from the

episode. See it as a learning experience, not another reason to feel

worse.

• Encouragement and positivity are important ways to keep coachees

motivated and moving in productive ways. Inevitably, coachees will find

themselves frustrated and low from time to time. The coach should be

a source of positive energy for the coachee, without becoming a

necessary crutch. Coaches should be positive, and they should work to

readjust biased negativity in their coachees. They should try to find the

positives in any situation, but most importantly, they should be honest.


© CMIT 2020


Coaching embodies an underlying rule, which is, not to give coachees

advice. Legal implications aside, there are several good reasons why this

is appropriate.

• If you have ever given a friend advice, you will know it is seldom

taken.

• When you give recommendations, you place yourself in a position of

assumed superiority, and this often builds resistance and

resentment in the recipient of your suggestion.

• Ideas developed by the coachee come with far higher excitement

and commitment than external ideas.

• It is important to increase the coachee’s self-esteem; feeding them

answers does not do that but helping them to find their own answers

does.

• If you enhance the coachee’s ability to find his or her own ways

forward, you are building a better coachee.

Reframing is used to help coachees gain an insight into their own situation

using language, which is more acceptable to all parties. The most frequent

use of reframing is to reconstruct a statement to neutralise language by

eliminating rhetoric, inflammatory language, and bias. Reframing can be

used to:

• Achieve understanding and clarify a statement

• Help the coachee achieve a different perspective

• Neutralise language

• Construct a joint or common goal

• Define the situation without emotion

• Move the resolution process into a more focused phase.


© CMIT 2020


The heart of reframing is to get to the essential elements of the issue and

remove distractions so that these elements may be understood and

productively addressed.

Boud suggests the feedback needs to be “interactive, purposeful, relative

to criteria, developmentally useful, understood, timely, and appropriate to

coachee “conceptions” (Knight, 1995).

• Use clear, simple English – McKeachie suggests “Feedback needs

to convey information that is understood by the recipient”

(McKeachie, 1999).

• Use the “feedback sandwich” – Feedback should be fair and

honest. It should be positive and encouraging, rather than critical.

First, communicate a positive element (bread), then give one area

for improvement (meat), and finish with positive encouragement or

appreciation (bread).

• Get the timing right – Communication of feedback to coachees

needs to be regular, timely, beneficial, and matched to their needs.

There may be a trade-off between feedback-delay and feedback-

detail (i.e. early feedback based on a cursory analysis may be more

effective than delayed feedback based on profound analysis).

• Focus on concrete behaviour – Feedback should focus on

concrete behaviour that needs to be reinforced or corrected.

McKeachie suggests “Feedback is not helpful if one does not know

what to do to improve”(McKeachie, 1999).

• Encourage higher performance – Feedback should encourage

learners to seek higher performance. For developmental purposes,

it may be necessary to distinguish “assignment-specific” comments

with more “transferable” feedback.


© CMIT 2020


Encouraging responsibility in their coachees is something all coaches

should be doing. Coachees should be encouraged to recognise their role in

determining what happens to them, moving from victim thinking and

problem stating to controller thinking and solution stating.

In the past decade, the role of the coach has been redefined, and a new

paradigm has emerged. In this new model, the coach is not the expert, but

is instead a committed “thought partner.” He or she is not the leader with all

the answers, but instead, a team member who knows what questions will

prompt partners or other team members to discover the answers

themselves. Thus, coaching has become a major source of empowerment

(Eggers & Clark, 2000). We are who we are because of how we think. To

be different, we must think differently. The following table gives examples

of the ways of thinking of people who are empowered.

How to be empowered How to be depowered

• Be direct about what you want to

achieve and how you plan to make it

happen.

• Aim to see yourself as other people

see you and be open to change.

• Build your skills so that you can adapt

and make changes.

• Be able to identify when are feeling

are different to what we think is right.

• Set realistic goals.

• Deciding we “cannot” rather than we

“can.”

• Being set in a particular way and not

being open to new ideas.

• Blocking yourself from developing

new skills and having to rely on

others.

• Insisting nothing can be done to fix or

change a situation.

• Doing too much at once and not

concentrating.


© CMIT 2020


If you are empowered, you choose what happens in your reactions with

other people and the world in general – you have a feeling of being, at least

to some extent, in control of your life. If you are depowered, you feel

helpless, shutout and apathetic.

People who are empowered tend to lead more fulfilling lives, are proactive,

assertive, and are more interested in the world. Conversely, those who are

less empowered tend to be closed to change, focus on the past rather than

the present, and tend to be more self-centred.

Behaviours of those who are more empowered or less empowered

More empowered Less empowered

• Open to change

• Assertive

• Proactive

• Self-accountable

• Self-directed

• Uses feelings

• Learns from mistakes

• Confronts

• Lives more in the present

• Realistic

• Thinks relatively

• Sees alternatives

• Develops commitments

• Likes self

• Values others

• Alert to others” needs

• Interested in the world.

• Closed to change

• Non-assertive or aggressive

• Reactive

• Blames others

• Other-directed

• Fails to recognise feelings

• Debilitated by mistakes

• Avoids

• Past or future-orientated

• Unrealistic

• Thinks in absolutes

• Tunnel vision

• Keeps obligations

• Dislikes self

• Negates others

• Selfish

• Self-centred.


© CMIT 2020


The following guidelines on ethics are derived from the International

Association of Coaching’s Code of Ethics

• “A coach should not engage in any illegal activities, including, but not

limited to, copyright, intellectual property rights, or patent violations.

• Trust and responsibility are at the heart of the coaching profession.

It is expected that coaches will always act with integrity towards their

coachees, their peers, and themselves.

• A coach will not knowingly lay claim to a level of competence not

possessed and will always exercise competence at least to the level

claimed.

• Coaches provide services only within the boundaries of their

competence, based on their education, training, or appropriate

professional experience. Coaches should only accept work, as they

believe they are competent to perform.

• Coaches maintain a reasonable level of awareness of current best

business practices and professional information in their fields of

activity and undertake on-going efforts to maintain competence in the

skills they use.

• Coaches keep themselves informed of new technologies, practices,

legal requirements, and standards as are relevant to the coaching

profession.


© CMIT 2020


• In their work-related activities, coaches do not engage in unfair

discrimination based on any basis whatsoever.

• Coaches should not discriminate on any one of the nine grounds for

discrimination: (1) marital status ground, (2) family status ground, (3)

sexual orientation ground, (4) religion ground, (5) age ground, (6)

disability ground, (7) race ground, (8) gender ground, or the (9)

traveller community ground.

• Coaches do not knowingly engage in behaviour that is harassing or

demeaning to persons with whom they interact in their work.

• Sexual harassment is sexual solicitation, physical advances, or

verbal or nonverbal conduct that is sexual in nature. Coaches ensure

that their behaviour is always appropriate and is not harassment in

any form.

• Because coaches” professional judgments and actions may affect

the lives of others, they must be alert to and guard against personal,

financial, social, organisational, or political factors that might lead to

misuse of their influence.

• Coaches do not exploit persons over whom they may have a

management role.

• Coaches do not engage in sexual relationships with personnel over

whom the coach has evaluative or direct authority, because such

relationships may be viewed as exploitative.


© CMIT 2020


• Whenever feasible, a coach refrains from taking on professional

obligations when pre-existing relationships would create a risk of

conflict of interest.

• If a coach finds that, due to unforeseen factors, a potentially conflict

of interest relationship has arisen, the coach attempts to resolve it

with due regard for the best interests of the affected person and

compliance with the Ethics Code.

• Coaches are fundamentally prudent in the protection of the

confidentiality rights of those with whom they work or consult.

Coaches acknowledge that professional relationships, institutional

regulations, and the law may establish confidentiality.

• Ensuring the use of appropriate physical settings to maintain

confidentiality.”


© CMIT 2020



© CMIT 2020


• Expectations – the purpose of the coaching activity must be

explained, and expectation must be stated to ensure no one

misunderstands it.

• Introductory session – there should be an introduction to the coach

• Location – select a place where there is no interruption.

• Distractions – all parties involved may have a busy schedule, with

this in mind it is crucial that both parties enter the room and put any

problems to the side to ensure they focus on the session at hand.

• Relaxation – it is advised you arrive a few minutes early, it is also

recommended you practice a relaxation technique, that you think

works for you. An example would be breathing.

• Notes – review your notes or action plans from the previous session

to help focus your mind.

The TGROW model is a general framework, which cannot always be

operated in order, as listed here, but the coach should attempt to focus on

each aspect of it at least once. As the coaching sessions progress, the

coachee will gain insight and may want to revise their goals slightly or

radically or even replace the topic with another. TGROW is an analysis tool

that can be applied repeatedly throughout the duration of the coaching

sessions to the benefit of the coachee.


© CMIT 2020


General guidelines for managing a coaching session:

• Listen carefully and make no judgements

• Challenge the coachee to solve problems

• Help them look for new solutions

• Expect more of the coachee than they expect of themselves

• Help the coachee create an action plan

• Keep the coachee focused on their desires and goals

• Help the coachee to stay emotionally aligned with those desires

• Acknowledge the coachees hard work and efforts

• Offer philosophical perspective

• Be a good lifter and offer encouragement.

• Have a wide range of skills at hand to offer tools for further learning

• Be the coachee’s sounding board.

Together the coach and coachee will establish an understanding of what is

important to the coachee and subsequently enable them to take charge of

their life. The coach and coachee should engage in a collaborative alliance

to establish and clarify purpose and goals and to develop a plan of action

to achieve those goals.

Put simply; coaching is about helping the coachee to create and work

towards a worthy goal or ideal - the greatest personal vision they must

achieve success.


© CMIT 2020


This contract defines the purpose and focus of the coaching and how it will

proceed. It is the concern of coach and coachee. However, often it also

needs to be part of the three-cornered contract with the organisation. For

example, a coach may be engaged specifically to develop future leaders,

to facilitate a transition or to build skills. This purpose is thus one of the

transparent details that are known by all. It can also be part of planning for

the evaluation process.

These contracts typically cover:

• Honest and committed to the contracting activity.

• To keep all appointments and ensure prompt rescheduling when

cancellation is unavoidable.

• To maintain confidentiality regarding discussions.

• To review the contract after a certain number of sessions.

• To have a “no-fault” ending if the relationship does not suit either

party.

• To be open to receiving and giving feedback.

Clear contracting about how the coachee sees the problem and what he

needs, as well as how the coach normally works and how together they will

address inevitable misunderstandings, helps to avoid later problems de-

railing the coaching or, worse, going underground. The core of this

conversation will be the discussion about the goal of the coaching.

Contracting is a rich, flexible activity that is constantly responsive to the

situation and the changing needs of the coachee that acknowledges the

mutuality of the relationship and the importance of emergence. Contracts

may be two-way, i.e. between the coach and the coachee, or “three-way.”

where there is a contract between the coach and the coachee and an

additional contract between the coach and the manager/employer


© CMIT 2020


These contracts apply only in a commercial arrangement with a private

coach or mentor. This deals with all the practical arrangements such as

time, place, duration, fees (if any), agreements with referring bodies or

agencies, confidentiality, and its limits. Normally it also includes a broad

agreement about the purpose of coaching. The administrative contract

covers the following areas:

• State the theme and type of coaching being held.

• List the location, planned time and number of sessions and any

changes.

• Include fees and the chance of fees increasing over the course

of the coaching, along with policies for cancellations.

• The context of the coaching.

• Confidentiality and any imposed or inevitable limits, agreements

to report back and so on; obligations in law and in ethics; coach’s

supervision arrangements.

• Recordkeeping.

• How the coaching will be evaluated, for example informally by the

participants or with the manager, or against KPIs etc.


© CMIT 2020


Supervision is increasingly recognised as valuable by coaches and

organisers of coaching, but it is still not practised by most coaches.

Supervision has many meanings; its most common usage being to

“oversee.” This, however, is not the way in which many commentators on

supervision would define the term. Loganbill et al., for example, describe it

as: “an intensive, interpersonally focused, one-to-one relationship in which

one person is designated to facilitate the development of therapeutic

competence in the other person.

“Coaching supervision is a formal process of professional support, which ensures continuing development of the coach and effectiveness of his/her coaching practise through interactive reflection, interpretative evaluation and the sharing of expertise.” – Bachkirova, Stevens and Willis (Bachkirova, 2005)

CIPD outline the following benefits of coaching supervision (CIPD, 2015):

• Enables monitoring of coaching quality.

• Minimises the risk of unethical or unprofessional practice.

• Ensures that coaching is focused on work objectives and is within

the boundaries of the coach’s capability.

• Enables identification of coaching skill needs

Factors to consider when determining supervision frequency:

• Role – if coaches are “volunteers” who have other day jobs, there

will be a limit to how much off-the-job time is acceptable.

• Type – if coaches are primarily skills or performance coaches, they

will normally require less supervision than coaches working with

coachees to achieve fundamental change.

• Sustainability – coaching supervision should be provided through a

relationship based on meetings at least bi-monthly.


© CMIT 2020


Individual supervision

This is where the coach/mentor is appointed a specialist supervisor to

oversee the activities of the coach/mentor. It is a formal process of

professional support, which ensures continuing development of the coach

and effectiveness of his/her coaching practise through interactive reflection,

problem-solving and advice. The purpose of supervision is to pay attention

to the coaching process. This can happen in two ways through discussing

reports, viewing written notes, or viewing videotapes, or through how that

session is reflected in the here-and-now experiences of the supervision

process. In brief, this can happen as follows:

• Reflection on content of session – the aim here is to help the

coach to focus on the client and the choices the client is making. The

first stage here might be to get the coach to describe the client in

some detail, including their needs and the theme of the coaching.

• Exploration of strategies and interventions – here, the aim is to

improve the coach’s skills coaching, by exploring the strategies they

used and what alternative strategies were available. New options are

generated through brainstorming, with the supervisor taking care not

to impose their own strategies but to get the coach to devise their

own.

• Exploration of the coach-coachee relationship – in this mode, the

supervisor focuses on what is happening at the conscious but also

the unconscious level in the coach session and how rapport is

developing.


© CMIT 2020


Peer supervision

Peer supervision differs from traditional forms of supervision, in that it does

not require the presence of a more qualified, identified expert in the process

– a supervisor. Peer supervision usually refers to reciprocal arrangements

where peers work together for mutual benefit where developmental

feedback is emphasised. A growing body of evidence exists to support the

potential contributions of peer supervision for both new coaches and

experienced coaches.

Group supervision

Group Supervision is not a new concept. It has been practised in social

work, psychotherapy, counselling, and clinical psychology for decades. Its

role in apprenticeship and sound management goes back even further.

Group supervision, as opposed to management supervision, is

nevertheless new to the coaching and mentoring field. The process usually

involves a presentation of a specific case or a set of issues to a group of

mentors, who specialise in coaching/mentoring.

The coach/mentor develops deeper knowledge and wisdom about their

work (educative), is steered towards good practice

(administrative/managerial), feels reassured, and guided (support). It may

also involve the presence of a third party at the coaching session; however,

this may be inappropriate for confidentiality and privacy reasons.


© CMIT 2020


A Coaching Log may be used to record what happened during the

coaching session. This helps maintain continuity between each session and

is essential for recording what has been agreed during the session.

Personal reflection may be defined as “…a mental process which, applied

to the act of learning, challenges learners to use critical thinking to examine

presented information, question its validity, and draw conclusions based on

the resulting ideas” (Bachkirova, 2005).

A Reflective Log is a powerful and effective tool, which requires learners

to reflect on their experiences, skills, learning, and goals. People who reflect

on recently acquired skills benefit most from them over the long-term. It

involves asking questions:

• Overall, how did the session go?

• What coaching or mentoring model or tools did I use?

• Justify your use of these.

• How well did I listen?

• How was my questioning technique?

• (give examples of questions used and impact of those)

• Feedback received from the client and supervisor

• Was I ethical and non-judgemental?

• How well did I give feedback?

• Based on my reflection and feedback received, what do I need to

improve for the next session?


© CMIT 2020


The following templates have been devised to assist the coaching and

mentoring process

• Template 1 Coaching plan – this entails a brief outline of the

coachee, the anticipated benefits of coaching or mentoring, where

you will meet, the planned duration and number of sessions.

• Template 2 Self-assessment questionnaire – covered in Unit 3,

this may be amended, as appropriate, to the person and the role.

• Template 3 Goals and development needs – following the use of

the self-assessment questionnaire. SMART goals are also included

here.

• Template 4 Coaching / mentoring contract – this is a professional

contract which specifies the way coaching/mentoring will operate.

• Template 5 Coaching log – this is a record of what happened

during the coaching session.

• Template 6 Reflective log – this is a reflection completed by the

coach/mentor following the session on their own performance.

• Template 7 Client feedback – this is the feedback form completed

by the coachee on the coaching process and the performance of the

coach/mentor.


© CMIT 2020


Brief profile of the coachee

What are the anticipated benefits of coaching or mentoring for this coachee?

Where will you meet for the sessions?

What makes this venue suitable?

Planned duration of the sessions ________ Number of Sessions _______


© CMIT 2020


Completed by:

Name of Coach/Mentor:

Competence Score

How to complete this. Please rate your own ability on a score of 1-5.

5 = Very skilled at this. 5 = Not skilled at all at this.

Team working

The ability to contribute to teams and to improve their effectiveness through personal commitment.

Adaptability/change management

The ability to respond and adapt to changing circumstances in a climate of ambiguity

Developing self

The ability to focus on own development and to act to learn.

Motivation

The ability to support and encourage individuals and teams, so that they give of their best

Analytical thinking

The ability to analyse, investigate & interpret data, issues, and Situations

Communication

The ability to give and gather information and to actively manage the communication process

Integrity and ethics

The ability to work ethically according to professional and company values

Decision making

The ability to evaluate or judge the best course of action and to make decisions at the appropriate

speed

Leadership and inspiring others

The ability to use personal skills to guide and inspire individuals/groups towards achieving goals

Planning and organising

The ability to plan, organise and prioritise work. Balancing resources, skills, priorities, and timescales

to achieve objectives

Developing others

The ability to improve performance through training and development of individuals and teams.

Relationship building

The ability to get on well with a wide range of people and build long term trusting relationships


© CMIT 2020


Name of diagnostic used: (1) Self-assessment questionnaire, (2) SWOT

Outcome of diagnostics used with the client:

Outcome of the self-assessment questionnaire

Other diagnostic tools if used & results

Client’s SWOT

Strengths

Weaknesses/areas for development

Opportunities Threats/barriers


© CMIT 2020


Client’s development needs and SMART goals:

SMART goals of the client’s stakeholders (if relevant)


© CMIT 2020


The Coaching/Mentoring Contract In signing this agreement, both parties agree: To be honest and committed to the “contracted activity.” To keep all appointments and ensure prompt rescheduling when cancellation is unavoidable To maintain confidentiality regarding discussions To review the contract after ____ sessions and have a “no-fault” ending if the relationship does not suit either party To be open to receiving and giving feedback

Signature of Coach/Mentor Date

Signature of Coachee Date


© CMIT 2020


Session Number: Date completed:

Duration:

Review of client’s progress from last session (if applicable)

Goal for today’s meeting

Reality/current situation

Options generated to achieve goal

Chosen option & target date

Willingness of client to complete action

Feedback you gave to the client

Feedback from client on the coaching/mentoring session

Date and venue of the next session

You must complete one log per session delivered (18 logs in total).


© CMIT 2020


Coachee:

Name of Coach/Mentor:

Area for reflection Reflect on each session to review your coaching or mentoring. Use any feedback from the client and supervisor/tutor received. Give specific examples where possible.

Overall, how did the session

go?

What coaching or mentoring

model or tools did I use?

Justify your use of these.

How well did I listen?

How was my questioning

technique?

(give examples of questions

used and impact of those)

Feedback received from the

client and supervisor

Was I ethical and non-

judgemental?

How well did I give feedback?

Based on my reflection and

feedback received, what do I

need to improve for the next

session?


© CMIT 2020


Coachee:

Session Number: Date completed:

Key coach/

mentor attributes

Please rate your coach/mentor

1 = does not do at all 10 = does it very well

Builds rapport 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Is non-judgemental 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Shows listening skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Uses questioning skills to help me self-reflect

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Has a structured approach to sessions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Is friendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Helps me set my goals 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Shows empathy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Shows respect 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Is motivating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Is supportive 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Maintains confidentiality 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Has patience 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Gives feedback when appropriate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Accepts feedback 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Challenges appropriately 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Helps me achieve my goals 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please describe your overall experience of

coaching or mentoring with your coach or

mentor, and to what extent were your

goals achieved:

If you have given any low scores, please

suggest how your coach/mentor could

improve?


© CMIT 2020


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Publishing.

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