Psychology of Coaching - Essay Example

Running hed: PSYCHOLOGY OF COCHING Psychology of Coching nme Nme of the School Over the pst 10yers, life coching hs become stndrd development offering in most lrge orgniztions. Surmounting its reltive expense, scrcity of outcome reserch, nd implied "fix it" strtegy, the coching trin hs chugged long, gining speed nd populrity, spwning surprising number of professionl ssocitions, conferences, nd certifying curricul. recent study in the Journl of Public Personnel Mngement found tht trining improved mngeril productivity 22.4% while trining plus coching improved productivity 88%. (www.coachtrainingalliance.com) lthough this growth does mirror other mcro trends, such s mss customiztion in mrketing nd personl triners in physicl fitness, its fme seems overstted given the ctul dollrs spent nd numbers enrolled in coching, s compred with typicl orgniztionl budgets. Present pper provides discussion on the question of life coching necessity in modern orgniztions. It emphsizes contemporry trend of life coching mong orgniztions nd suggests fctors tht led orgniztions to tke pth of coching s wy to retention nd mximizing the power of employees. Finlly, present reserch leds to conclusion bout effectiveness of investment in life coching in orgniztions s wy to mximize growth nd profits. Coching is one individul working with nother to help them improve their performnce nd rech their potentil. Effective implementtion of coching within ll levels of n orgniztion is essentil in mximizing the return on trining investments, enhncing employee motivtion nd performnce, nd creting noticeble improvement in the bottom line. Defining life coching mens seprting this prticulr kind of coching mongst number of other coching techniques currently used in psychology. Generlly, life coching implies working with person from ny wlk of life. More specificlly, life coching is professionl prtnership between the coch nd the client tht supports the growth of the client through the use of requests nd powerful questions from the coch nd commitment nd responsibility of the client. Through the process of coching, clients focus on the skills nd ctions needed to successfully produce their personlly relevnt results. Life coching my include physicl, intellectul, emotionl nd spiritul spects of the client's life. This type of coching focuses on holistic view of client: his ctivities, drems, gols, visions; in short, his spiritul component. "business" coch, prticulrly one working within lrge corportion, focuses on performnce. This coch tkes into ccount the corportion's mndtes nd gols, s well s the individul's performnce. The two types of coching often overlp how ever both types re importnt in orgniztionl ctivity. (Hendricks, 2004) In fct clerly defining who the clients would be (the orgniztion nd the individul end-users), s well s how informtion would flow between their orgniztion nd the coching compny, re mjor fctors in the successful outcome. When n orgniztion brings coching into its rnks on scle tht requires more thn one or two coches, it's presumbly to increse productivity, improve performnce, nd retin top tlent. Numerous studies--such s those completed by Xerox, Public Personnel Mngement, Mnchester Inc., IBM, nd Coching.com--show tht coching positively influences productivity, qulity orgniztionl strength, customer service, nd retention of best employees. (Meister,2005)Knowing tht positive benefits ccrue from coching, the burning question is, Who is the primry client Is it the client orgniztion becuse it pys for the coching Or is it the individul end-user becuse coching requires n environment of trust to be effective ccording to McDde nd nderson, the nswer is resounding, "Both." They see the vlue in the compny being the client of the coching orgniztion nd in the individuls being the clients of their coches. Coching employees generlly serves the following gols: 1. rticulte the orgniztion's vision, purpose, direction, strtegies, mjor gols nd ctions. 2. Involve/include members to cquire understnding, connection, commitment, pssion nd ownership. 3. lign member gols, ctions nd expecttions with those of the orgniztion. 4. Remove brriers nd provide resources. 5. Follow up nd hold people ccountble. 6. Promote feedbck, input nd ide-shring from members. 7. Chllenge nd inspire the orgniztion nd its individul members to stretch for gretness. 8. Develop nd grow people through meningful work. 9. Increse work/creer stisfction nd personl fulfillment. 10. Crete positive, productive community of members who volunteer their best nd fulfill their potentil. s it ws lredy mentioned, life coches serve to mximize the outcome of employees' work. They use number of methods tht strengthen connections between employees nd mngers nd ultimtely led to successful orgniztionl tem. Life coches first interview employees s well s use ssessment tools like shdowing in order to define client's personlity. Coches try to emphsize tht the compny is spending the money for improvement, rther thn on replcement executive. Then they develop pln with the client s to how performnce might improve nd wht steps need to be tken. (Hendricks, 2004) Usully life coching implies the following fundmentl steps: 1. listening nd identifying with clients nd wht's importnt to them --not wht should be but wht relly is; 2. using informtion gthered from listening nd identifying with clients needs in guiding the choices tht they're mking. life coch works one-on-one with client to support personl growth, behvior modifiction, nd gol-setting. Bsed on the premise tht most people cn chieve their gols if properly guided, life coch will ct s mentor, ssisting the client in the process of tking the life-improving ctions necessry to tke control of the future. life coch does not focus on reviewing pst events or nlyzing previous filures. Through series of ttinble steps, life coch helps clients overcome fers nd chieve blnce in both their personl nd professionl life. Usully, clients hve intuitive wisdom nd knowledge of wht their future looks like. But they my hve old hbits tht ren't ligned with their more intuitive direction. The tsk of life coch thus is to orient people to the wy tht best fits their inspirtions nd tlents. (Hendricks, 2004) Some coches re dmnt bout considering the inevitble connection between wht goes on fter hours nd in client's professionl life. "How cn you decide wht kind of job you wnt if you're not tking inventory" sys Ptterson, "if you're not sking wht the impct is going to be in other res Whenever I've worked with people who sy, 'I only wnt to look t how I'm doing in terms of my job performnce nd mking this project fly,' those re the people who most often then go on to tlk bout whtever else is going on in their lives." Tlking bout wht is going on is doorwy into trove of informtion hrbored within. The coch's job is similr to tht of guide holding flshlight on ncient symbols written on cve wll, while their uthor deciphers the originl intent of the messge. But how fr tht explortion goes leds into gry re pproching professionl therpy. Though the choices re plentiful, the gols of most modern coches re united. With focus on the "whole" person, coches trin employees to fcilitte self-discovery. "Coching is relly bout wht is the opening you wnt to crete in your life," (Hendricks, 2004)It's hugely intuitive field with high regrd for the inner wisdom of the individul. nd by coching, it is possible to turn out employees who cn effectively engge in converstion tht cn ctully chnge their bilities to work. Mngers often ssume tht the mjority of performnce deficiencies cn be resolved by sending employees to trining progrms, workshops, or seminrs. The dynmics of mny progrms concentrte on the "tell" side of the formul nd consequently provide the trinee with miniml, if ny, experientil prctice or instructor feedbck. Progrms of this nture re generlly not cost effective nd hve little impct on employees who require mentoring intervention. (Hendricks, 2004) common performnce deficiency for mny employees, for exmple, is time mngement. The mnger-mentor solution in this cse is usully to hve employees ttend progrm on this subject Employee feedbck from those ttending such progrms is often quite positive. This feedbck, of course, mkes the mnger feel good nd he or she ssumes tht the time-mngement prctices of the employees will improve. On short-term bsis, this my be true (the trining impct will probbly lst one or two weeks). However, in the long run, without follow-up from the mnger-mentor, mny employees will return to their old hbits. In this scenrio, the mnger-mentor needs to provide periodic reinforcement of time-mngement skills tht the employees should be implementing. The mnger, for exmple, cn provide positive reinforcement using the JIBE pproch. Tht is: (1) the employees observe their mnger utilizing time-mngement techniques nd (2) the mnger periodiclly provides feedbck to employees on one-on-one bsis bout their use of time-mngement prctices. This pproch reinforces time-mngement principles tught in the trining course nd encourges vlue-dded time-mngement behvior mong the employees. (www.coachtrainingalliance.com) The coch's overll responsibility is to identify employees with P profiles who hve not relized their full potentil for continuous improvement or creer growth nd ssist them in n instructionl or consulttive cpcity. Shdowing employees on periodic bsis nd providing them with immedite feedbck nd consulttion cn be n effective communiction strtegy for sustining nd improving performnce behvior. Over time, utilizing effective mentoring strtegies cn move n P employee to the HP level. lthough life coching will never be pplied in ll coching cses, especilly considering orgniztionl level, confidentility, complexity, nd other fctors, it is robust offshoot of the coching world nd growing well. The existence of "competing" life coching cpbility keeps externl experts shrp nd spreds the benefits of coching more widely or less expensively. The bility to drw on internl coches lso supports sophisticted multi-rter feedbck nd development plnning processes tht orgniztions incresingly use. (Hendricks, 2004) Ironiclly, lthough the logic is compelling nd the role is here to sty, life coching hs been flying under the rdr of minstrem coching. Even with the prolifertion of coch trining progrms imed t externl coch "wnn be's," there is little content for internl coches. Similrly, little is written on the topic, nor re there professionl meetings to spek of for internl coches. Further isolting internl coches is tht they cn be housed under mny different HR ctivities, from mngement development to succession plnning, from multi-rter performnce pprisl to orgniztion development. Best prctices nd stndrds need to be shred by orgniztions using life coches. In lieu of tht, guidelines cn be offered on key chllenges for internl coching. 1. Life coch selection should be formlized. Csul selection or selection by "defult," without defining required competencies, will be ineffective nd highly risky. 2. n ongoing developmentl progrm is needed for life coches. Some or ll of such progrms could be wived in individul cses bsed on professionl trining nd experience, but life coches need common philosophy nd pproch, forum to consider orgniztionl chllenges nd opportunities, nd cse review process. 3. Beyond the "who" of life coching is the "wht." Before n orgniztion offers life coching, gols for the service should be defined. Where it is housed is often linked with gols (i.e., HR plnning versus trining & development), so tht must be considered too. ligned with gols, coching progrms must be defined nd stndrdized. Some orgniztions hve defined coching progrms well-suited for delivery by internl coches, such s ssimiltion coching nd 360-degree feedbck coching connected with executive development progrms. Tying together ll three of these points, set of ssessment tools nd concepts should be selected, their use tught, nd their ppliction woven into the progrms offered. 4. Life coches re more likely to be chllenged by confidentility issues. Orgniztions need to decide in dvnce how to hndle those chllenges nd provide opportunities to discuss especilly complex or pressured situtions. Some nswers to confidentility issues reside in how life coching progrms involve the cochee's boss nd re dvertised internlly. Coch support group my help sort through chllenges to confidentility. Deling with this issue needs to be somewht over engineered for internl coching to tke hold nd grow. There is some controversy surrounding life coching, primrily becuse of its current unregulted, unstndrdized nture. Critics ssert tht the prctice of life coching mounts to little more thn method of prcticing psychotherpy without ny restrictions, oversight, or regultion nd is merely wy of getting the "coched" person to py for wht is essentilly meningless friendly cht. However, coches, nd the mny stte legisltures tht hve left them to their own licensing fter mny herings on the mtter, mintin tht coching is unlike therpy in mny wys, not lest the criticl distinction tht it does not focus on exmining or dignosing the pst, but rther focuses on effecting chnge in client behvior going forwrd. (Hendricks, 2004) In the controversy tht exists over the term of life coching in orgniztions, benefits of employee effectiveness tht re results of such procedure previl over the drwbcks discussed by critics. Being involved in coching gives employees n opportunity to chieve specific results. It enbles them to receive feedbck on their plns nd ides. It llows them to express self in neutrl environment nd helps to her how plns sound when they sy them loud. Being involved in coching is sign of strength. It's sign of dediction. It's sign of forwrd thinking. The frequently cited benefits of coching include chieving desired results more quickly, ddressing res needing development, cpitlizing on strengths nd skill-sets, nd building self-confidence. You lso receive benefit becuse your individul needs nd desires crete the gend nd the methods nd techniques used during the process re specific to you. The coch offers employees n objective perspective nd different point of view. nd, perhps the most importnt benefit, the coching process obligtes is to be fully involved nd responsible for the outcomes. In summry, life coching is live nd well, but hs not grnered the "cchet" of externl coching. s result, little is openly discussed bout internl coching nd even less is well-ccepted. In the belief tht more internl coching mens more coching in generl, these few suggestions re offered to guide the thinking of internl coches nd encourge them to shpe professionl identity for themselves. Bibliography: 1. Hendricks, W., ed. (2004). The Manager's Role as Coach. Shawnee Mission, KS: National Press Publications. 2. Meister, J. C. (2005). Corporate Quality Universities: Lessons in Building a World-Class Work Force. New York: Irwin Professional Publishing. 3. Thomas, Edward G.(2000). Employee Development Through Coaching, Mentoring and Counseling: A Multidimensional Approach. Review of Business 4. http://www.mindtools.com/php/coaching/CoachingForm.htm 5. http://www.coachtrainingalliance.com/opportunities/corporatecoaching.php Read More