Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, guys. When you coach someone, it’s not all about YOU!
What makes me say that?
I’m fresh back from running another Leadership course, where on the third day I invite folks to coach each other.
I ask them to use the simplest possible coaching framework:
1. Create rapport
2. Agree Objectives
3. Listen and question.
4. Agree next steps.
As they get into their triads (coach, “coachee”, observer) I float around and listen in. Last time it was no different to any other. Give business people who do not coach for a living a chance to coach, and they think that what is required of them is to provide people with answers.
With very few exceptions, they use the same coaching style: Directing.
It doesn’t help that they also seem to find it virtually impossible to articulate an open question when they need it.
The effect is that it turns an Adult to Adult conversation into a Parent-Child transaction, in which the coachee has little ownership of the result, and ends up politely thanking the coach for their ideas at best. It’s a missed opportunity for both parties to experience the power of helping other people to find the answers which invariably sit inside, if only someone would shut up long enough for them to be unlocked.
I so rarely hear any other of the other styles: Enabling, Supporting, Informing, Confronting, Managing Emotions. Why do you think this is?
I think there could be a number of reasons. Here’s my list, in no particular order:
- That’s the way they have been coached, so they know no other way
- They think coaches are supposed to be experts
- They confuse Mentoring with Coaching (Mentors are further down the same road as the coachee, Coaches are on a parallel road)
- They think coaching is on-the-job training
- Directing is their preferred leadership style, so it feels most comfortable
- They do not like to not know where the conversation is going, so this helps to control it
- They are in too much of a hurry.
What’s your experience of this? And where do you think it might come from? I’d love to know whether I am alone in this or whether it is a widespread condition. Please share your thoughts.
For further thoughts on coaching here’s a link to a longer article on the subject.
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