Coaching aims to empower individuals and maximize their performance by helping them learn and find their own answers, rather than being taught. The coaching process draws out hidden skills and talents that can solve previously insolvable problems. Coaches believe the coachee has the ability and knowledge within themselves to effect positive changes. Benefits of coaching include improved financial and organizational performance, executive development, and problem solving. Core coaching skills include active listening, effective questioning, insightful feedback, and focusing on processes and results.

1. Coaching for Performance
EI4Change

2. Definition of coaching
“The process of empowering others.”
Whitmore, 1997
“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to
maximise their own performance. It is helping them
to learn rather than teaching them.”
Whitmore, 2002
Coaching

3. Definition of coaching
“Coaching helps individuals access what they already
know.
They may never have asked themselves the
questions but they have the answers.
A coach assists, supports and encourages individuals
to find these answers.”
Zeus and Skiffington, 2002
“I give you focus and somehow my mere presence
moves you to action.”
Lowe (undated) a coaching Haiku
Coaching

4. The Power of the Coaching Process
“I never cease to be amazed at the power of
the coaching process to draw out the skills or
talents that was previously hidden within an
individual, and which invariably finds a way
to solve a problem previously thought
insolvable.”
John Russell, MD Harley-Davidson

5. Underlying belief within coaching
Intent to help
The underlying belief in coaching is that
the coachee has within them the ability,
competence and knowledge that will
enable them to effect changes that will
result in improvement.
The role of the coach is to draw
these out and gain commitment to
action.

6. Benefits of coaching
Within organisations benefits are seen in
financial performance
retention
development of executives
in communications
99% of executives who have been coached
believe that coaching delivers tangible
benefits
92% saw an increase in the
bottom line

7. Impact of coaching
Develop managers
and leaders
Support change
Develop talent
Improve
performance
Improve skills
Problem solving
Motivate and
inspire
Manage conflict
Manage time and
stress
Improve
communication

8. When to use coaching
What are the sorts of situations in which you
might use a coaching approach?
Who should generate the coaching discussion?
Think back over the last month - were there
any situations you could have turned into a
coaching opportunity?

9. When to coach?
Management development
Improving performance
Problem solving
Realising potential
Managing conflict
Team development
Could be formal (planned) or
informal (at the vending machine)

10. Core coaching skills
Coaching is characterised by:
Creating rapport
Deep listening
Effective questioning
Insightful feedback and enabling learning
Intense focus on process and results

11. Levels of listening

12. Questioning skills
Questions and the coaching process
must not get in the way of building
rapport and empathising with the
individual.
It is better to retain a curious concern
than find the killer question.
?

13. Questioning skills
Open ended probes
Neutral probes
Brief assertions
Pause
Reflective probes
Summary statements
Leading questions
Close ended probes
?

14. Questioning skills
Are your questions relatively simple
(but detailed enough to avoid
ambiguity)?
Do they build sequentially from the
previous question to keep the whole
sequence connected and follow the
coaching framework?
?
Do they have clarity of purpose
and intention?

15. Push and Pull Model
Non-directive
Listening to
understand
Reflecting
PUSH
Paraphrasing
Solving someone’s
araphrasing
Summarising
problem for
Asking questions
them
that raise awareness
Making suggestions
PULL
Helping someone
Giving feedback
solve their own
Offering guidance
problem
Giving advice
Instructing
Directive
(Myles Downey – “Effective Coaching – 2003 – Thomson Texere, New York)

16. GOAL
situation
vision
objective
What do you want?
WILL
milestones
actions
commitment
What WILL
you do?
GROW
coaching
framework
What is
happening
now?
What could you do?
OPTIONS
What’s possible?
REALITY
evidence
awareness
understanding

17. GOAL
situation
vision
objective
The coachee explains what they would like to
achieve or change
What is wanted as an outcome from this
conversation?
Is this realistic - or does the goal need to be
separated into bite-size chunks?
What are the time frames for the short and
long term goals?

18. REALITY
evidence
awareness
understanding
The coachee describes and explores the issue /
situation from all angles
Ask questions to open up different aspects of
the issue
Identify what’s working well in respect of the
issue as well as the barriers and the
challenges
Expand the conversation, BEFORE focusing on
the detail

19. OPTIONS
What’s possible?
The coachee reflects on the options and generates
ideas for potential solutions
Resist solving the problem by providing solutions
Encourage the coachee to be creative in
considering alternatives and options
Review advantages and disadvantages of each
Keep the questions short and open
Include feeling questions such as: ‘What solution
appeals the most?’

20. WILL
milestones
actions
commitment
The coachee commits to specific actions in a
time frame by being asked “What will you do?”
Encourage the coachee to take actions to
which they are drawn, feel positive about and
motivated to do
Ask questions that will facilitate the coachee
to be explicit about the benefits of the action
Ask them to rate their intention, enthusiasm
and commitment on a 10-point scale

21. Key questions for a coachee in a
coaching session
What issues would I most value the
coach’s support with?
What outcomes do I want, or do I
want to avoid?
What can I do to make the most of the
time together?

22. www.EI4Change.org.uk
EI4Change Ltd.