Coaching and Development Plan - Coursework Example

COACHING AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN (Degree for which this dissertation is being submitted) Submitted in part fulfillment of the Date of Submission COACHING AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN Introduction Coaching is a procedure which a superior teaches knowledge and skills to subordinate. He briefs the trainee about what is expected of the latter and suggest how it may be done. He also checks his performance and advices him to improve his mistakes. The objective of coaching is not only to teach the subordinate the necessary skills for doing his assignment but also to provide him with diversified knowledge so that he may grow and advance. Coaching should be distinguished from counseling, which involves discussion between a superior and the subordinate of areas concerned with the later hopes, fears emotions and aspirations. It reaches into very personal and delicate matters. In many cases, the superior has to play he role both of coach and counselor. Principles of coaching The coaching principles which should be taken into account in designing a training programme and be summarized as follows: a. The learner should be motivated to learn b. The Reponses should be meaningfully related to each other and to the motives which the learner brings with him into the situation c. The new responses should be enforced by some reward or information that the response has been made correctly d. The new responses to be learnt should not be in conflict with old responses. If they do, the coaching should provide an opportunity for the olds responses to be unlearnt before the new responses are learnt e. The learner should be an active participant in the coaching process f. The coaching situation provides opportunities to practice the new responses and allows for ‘plateau’ periods of little improvement which often precede marked improvements g. Coaching should be available to help the learner develop new responses. h. The learning situation should allow for individual differences in the speed of learning, the depth of learning and should be designed as per individual requirements. The model for coaching and development plan First know yourself, your skills, style, and coaching needs Understand the trainee’s job. Make out the important and desirable Skills that affect performance and results Assess the learner’s skills, style, attributes, situation, and in particular their learning style Be in agreement and explain everything with the other person. Keep doing it Identify and agree development priority – the basic coaching plan. Break down each skill to train. Recognize and agree elements and standards of each part but not too many at once. Evaluate and be in agreement current ability per element. Identify and agree tasks, activities and objectives to train each element to the required standard. Apply follow-up, review. Encourage, measure, record and support. Adjust the plan and priorities if appropriate. Ongoing recorded review. Source: Taken from Ahuja K, (2005). Coaching & Training Manual: Human Resource Management, page190: fig 6 Specific actions to develop a strategy for coaching others Coaching and development is an organized procedure for increasing the knowledge and skill for people for a definite purpose. The purpose of coaching is to achieve a change in the behavioral of those being coached. For example: Coaching enables the employees to get acquainted with jobs and increase their aptitudes, skills and knowledge. It helps the newly recruited employees to be productive in minimum amount of time. Even for the experienced workers, it is necessary to refresh and enable them to keep up with new methods, techniques, new machines, and equipments for doing the work. Thus coaching is not a ‘one step process’. It increases the knowledge and skills of new employees in performing their jobs and it serves as refresher course for the new employees The specific actions to develop a strategy for coaching are described as: 1. Identifying training needs or goals, involving a clear concept of knowledge, skills or attitudes which he trainee is supposed to acquire during his training period 2. Selecting a group of trainees. This involves the selection and preparation of learner’s who require coaching 3. Designing the coaching experiences in terms of the appropriate learning theory, taking into account the nature of what coaching is to be done and who the trainees are? 4. Preparations of the instructions and selecting the methods and techniques 5. Evaluating the outcomes of coaching with a scientifically designed evaluation scheme. The evaluation programme should involve observation of trainee’s back on the job for some period of time after training and should also determine whether changes observed are attributable to coaching efforts. Measurable goals to achieve the vision. In any coaching process, after a certain level of proficiency, a span of time arrives in which no improvement takes place in the trainee. This period is later on followed by the increase in skill if the he situation is handled intelligently. The period during which very little or no improvement takes places is known as ‘plateau’. The plateau in the coaching and learning curve can be eliminated by improved method of coaching and instructions. This curve shows that when coaching is given to a trainee he first begins to lean a new style; he is likely to find himself unusually clumsy. During the early stage, the learners need the coaching’s encouragement. The duration of the first stage, will depend upon the complexity and newness of the skill being learnt. After this period, the typical coaching rate is rapid This is the stage of increasing returns, in which small additional amount of practice by the trainee produce substantial increase in work proficiency. During this period, the trainee’s confidence and satisfaction rises. After more coaching time has elapsed, a plateau develops. Now additional training time does not result in significant increase in proficiency. At this stage the trainee begins to feel that there is nothing further to learn now at the place of his coaching. But this is only an illusion created by the plateau in the trainees coaching and leaning curve In order to push the curve of coaching further up, what is needed is motivation to make renewed and vigorous efforts. This is where the trainee’s ability to learn on his own is really put to test. Therefore a trainee should not be taken away by this phenomenon and should go ahead with renewed zeal for achieving his goals. The plateau in the training curve seems to be the result of two factors Loss of motivation because of the fact that further progress becomes more difficult, and The trainees need for substantial blocks of time to develop new and improved skills. At the beginning, the trainees may be forced for coaching a new skill in segments, but a great deal of practice is required before a real breakthrough takes place which permits these separate parts to become merged and the motions to be joined into a single coordinated sequence of actions to break away the plateau and to establish high level of proficiency some sort of motivation in the form of financial and non financial incentives is required. Such motivation produces greater concentration effort and a new attitude towards the work by which trainee can coordinate the elements of the job in a new way expressed as a whole C Discouraging increasing plateau Peak Over learning O Performance returns proficiency A C H I N G Coaching time Source: Taken from Ahuja K, (2005). Coaching & Training Manual: Human Resource Management, page210: fig 14 COACHING CURVE SHOWING PROFICIENCY Over learning One the trainee has achieved coaching a higher skill. He should be asked to continuously repeat the coaching‘s learning’s so that over learning takes place in the near future. An experience swimmer can refrain from swimming for six months or even six years and still he will be able to swim when it is required. This is largely the result of over learning which reduces the likelihood of forgetting the skill. The rate of forgetting varies with the type of information, the extent to which it was originally learnt and he nature of individual. The re-learning of material takes much less time than the original coaching. Spacing of coaching periods In most of the coaching situations the length and spacing of coaching periods are more important factors for carrying out efficient training. Coaching is more effective when it is split into periods rather than being continuous. The length and spacing of the material depends on to a great extent on the material to be learnt if the coaching is split into more steps, there are fewer mistakes. When the coaching periods are of optimum duration and suitably placed the efficiency of coaching is more. Final Words… Coaching can only provide facility and help for individual development and development cannot be a substitute for individual responsibility for self development. As such each individual should be made to realize that he is responsible for his own development. Organizations on the other hand should provide a climate where an individual should be able to develop himself according to his own need and desire. He employee will make efforts for self-development if there is a Desire for development Right climate Proper encouragement Proper reward To introduce the above, the coaching specialist must interview experienced person and should get heir ideas on training needs, goals, and appropriate techniques to satisfy hem. *** References Ahuja K, (2005). Coaching & Training Manual: Human Resource Management. Kalyani Publishers, Calcutta, Pp 119-210 Bhatia B S & Batra G S. Coaching in New Organizations. Human Resource Development. Deep & Deep Publications. Rajouri Garden. 1999, p.45-55 David C. McClelland: Achievement Motive can be Developed, Harvard Business Review, Nov.-Dec., 1965, p. 22. Yvonne Mc Laughlin, (1999). Learning & Development: A Practical guide for Managers, Supervisors and Administrators, Business Information Books, Pp 105-189 Read More