Unsatisfactory Coaching

Coaching: helping another person to improve awareness, to set and achieve goals in order to improve a particular behavioural performance.

Coaching can take many forms, life coaching, business coaching, performance coaching etc. As with mentoring and counselling it is about helping the individual to gain self awareness, but it is goal focused and action is required so that the individual can move forward. The goal setting process has two components: skill development and psychological development. The outcome sought is that the "coachee" will achieve the goals set, and

Coaches need to have certain skills and knowledge to undertake the role. In my opinion a coach needs to be patient, supportive, interested, aware of others as well as self, attentive and perceptive. Such elements underpin effective coaching and a genuine interest in the person being coached.

One definition of coaching is “Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance.” (Coaching for performance, Sir John Whitmore 1992). Or to expand on this; Simply defined, coaching is one person guiding another through a process, leading to performance enhancement. The applications can vary, support to achieve a specific project, helping an individual to do better what they already do well, or developing a skill they don't yet possess.

Self-Awareness: This is a skill which is related to you. It is the ability to understand your emotions in various situations (Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. 2009 Pg. 24). It is important to understand yourself first then only you will able to understand others.

Boyce et al (2010) states, “the similarity-attraction hypothesis maintains that similarity is a major source of attraction between individuals and that a variety of physical, social, and status traits can be used as the basis for inferring similarity in attitudes and beliefs” (p. 916). “Compatibility refers to the appropriate combination of client and coach behavior preferences or the characteristics the client and coach possess that influence their cognitions and behaviors in various situations” (Boyce et al, 2010, p. 916). It is believed that coaches who are matched with clients based on their styles of behavior and similar personalities are more likely to have a healthier relationship (Boyce et al, 2010). Then again, if a mismatched coaching relationship continues to exist the coach may be able to challenge the client’s perspectives, which can result in higher performance outcomes (Boyce et al, 2010).

4. Feel - pay attention to your emotions, what prompts them, and how you deal with negative ones

Having a coach in life will positively influence your character and your skills. Also, having a coach doesn’t necessarily mean that your playing on a field. A coach can be anyone from a role model to a parent or guardian, a teacher, a pastor, a mentor, or sometimes even a best friend. One of the most important things for a coach to have is influence, and more important than that is that the influence he has on his players must be positive. As a leader, a coaches job is to better his players on and off of the field. This is done by developing the character of his players through encouragement and helping them understand that the game is more than just about winning. A good coach will always put the needs of his players first before he considers himself as a factor. If a coach is successful his players will develop a strong sense of self-motivation. This helps by allowing the player to

There are a number of definitions to what coaching is; I feel that I can personally relate to the following definition:

What is coaching – “The coach works with the clients to achieve a speedy, increased and sustainable effectiveness in their lives and careers through focused learning. The coach’s sole aim is to work with the client to achieve all of the client’s potential-as defined by the client” The Coaching Manual Starr, J 2008.

Coaching is the art of facilitating another person’s learning, development and performance. Through coaching people are able to find their own solutions, develop their own skills and change their own behaviors and attitudes.

Coaching is a term that’s widely used, with its meaning always depending on the situation it’s being used. In the Oxford Dictionary, the verb ‘to coach’ is provided with the following definitions:

Coaching is a short term process used to enhance the development of an employee. Coaching is valuable to the organization as a whole. A coachee need for development must be purposeful to realize development. Before beginning the coaching process, you must ensure that you understand what your role as coach is, that your coachee is aware of their responsibilities, and that the environment in which the coaching takes place is conducive to this activity (Coaching Skills for Managers, n.d.). Hay Group (2007, pg. 5), states that the coach should to do the following:

The Self-Awareness process requires that you have motivation and courage to observe and gather information about your thoughts, feelings, attitude, reactions and behaviors and see the connection between them.

Yet coaching is a minor part of the job description for most managers. Nearly half spend a nominal amount of their time coaching others. Having such minimal time to devote to coaching, organizations need to be certain their managers need to know how to properly manage this skill set. To develop the quality and impact of your coaching efforts, begin by giving your individual managers considerable amount of information in regards to how to coach their direct