Better Business Coaching

A useful exercise is to map the key characteristics of the coaching approach that would work well in your particular organisational context.

Exercise 1:  On each of the dimensions below mark a cross where your ideal approach sits.  This can be used as part of the ‘ideal coach profile’ when selecting a coach.

Exercise 2:  When you are considering introducing coaching to an organisation, it can be helpful to use the tool to draw out different people’s understanding of the term ‘coaching’.  For example, ask all the key stakeholders to mark a cross on the dimensions indicating what they consider ‘coaching’ to involve.  By comparing answers, a discussion can emerge through which you can gain shared understanding.

Exercise 3:  This tool can also be used in the coach selection process.  You could ask the coach to discuss their approach with regard to the different dimensions, perhaps even marking it on the diagram.  This can then be referred back to your original map of the key coaching characteristics you were looking for in a coaching approach.  All of these dimensions could also be turned into questions to gain greater understanding of the coach’s approach, for example to what extend does the individual lead the agenda?

Directive —————————————— Non-directive

Individual leads the agenda —————————- Organisation leads the agenda

Holistic —————————————— Specific

High personal content ——————————————- Low personal content

High business content —————————————— Low business content

Short-term —————————————— Long-term

Developmental —————————————— Remedial

Because of the terminology issues that surround coaching, all parties concerned should check that there is shared understanding.  You can’t assume that people are talking about the same thing when they refer to coaching or mentoring,  In reality, it doesn’t really matter whether the activity is labelled ‘coaching’,  ‘advising’, counselling’ or anything else, as long as everyone involved understands what it means in their specific situation.

Coaches should therefore be encouraged to provide clients with a clear understanding of what they mean by the terms they use and the approach they offer.  In this way, the client or organisation can make informed judgements about the nature of the activities on offer.

To avoid any serious misunderstandings you should check the definitions, and more importantly the intended outcomes.  The terms should be discussed by the users so that the overlaps in meaning are understood and the differences appreciated.

As a rule of thumb it is probably best to simply pick the terms that most people find acceptable and then provide definitions to prevent misunderstandings.