Xenonex – Coaching for Success
It’s been a busy few weeks lately with the Xenonex team delivering coaching programmes all over the UK. In Bristol we are working with employees from a number of senior teams in order to start to embed a coaching culture within the organisation.
Whilst in Essex our leadership development programme develops staff to become leaders and managers by providing them with the relevant knowledge, skills and awareness to take practical action to improve their individual and organisational performance.
I was therefore keen to share with you this edited article by Dr Jon Warner (an author, management consultant and executive coach based in the USA) which reinforces that coaching is of use across the board and can be effective at all levels within an organisation.
Coaching is for everyone
Coaching is not a specialist occupation reserved for the very few, but a basic way of operating for everyone who is trying to get the best out of their people and get their people to be their best. It is a key skill which helps us to develop people in today’s organisations.
The role of a coach
It doesn’t matter in what field the coach operates, their key role is to help someone improve what they are doing. They do this by giving the person they are coaching feedback about their performance. They also help them plan their development so that they can improve their skills and do the best they can. To be a good coach you don’t have to be an expert in the field, you just need to want to help someone achieve.
Coaching in business
In business, or in any organisation, coaching is fundamentally concerned with helping people to learn to develop themselves. The process usually involves the individual being coached in identifying areas for improvement and then developing skills or competencies on the job, undertaking informal or formal “training” sessions or even taking on further study.
Good coaching is therefore not about developing other people, but focusing them on their own development goals and helping them to achieve them.
Coaches need to be able to work at three levels:
1. Working closely with people “one on one,” giving feedback, setting goals and tasks which will “stretch” them and supporting them through difficulties.
2. Setting up a climate or environment which encourages people to take the risk to do things differently and to learn from their experience. This can involve getting people to reflect on their experiences and getting them to draw learning out of those experiences, to find ways of learning from others, to challenge themselves and to find opportunities to learn new things.
3. Actively setting up learning opportunities for individuals by giving them the chance to work with different people, by linking them to others who can help their development, by providing new and challenging work experiences and by giving them access to people and situations that they would not be able to access easily on their own.
To be an effective coach at work you will have to be able to do at least a little of all of these things.
Do you agree? Please tell us about your experience of developing coaching within your workplace.
Xenonex has extensive experience in developing and embedding coaching within organisations. To find out more contact Jo Watson, Business Development Manager on 01423 876371 or email jo.watson@xenonex.co.uk