The Coaching Context
Featured in the The Coaching Skills Activity Pack training manual
By Tony Gillen
Category: Mentoring and Coaching
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
Coaching encourages the development of a success environment in the workplace. The term ‘success environment’ implies that employees have potential which can be tapped-acorns becoming oak trees - as opposed to employees being seen as empty vessels waiting to be filled with a supervisors knowledge and experience. This training activity uses two simple exercises, one to expose the problems implicit in ‘command and control’ cultures and the other to demonstrate how competence can be increased by applying a simple coaching technique. Both exercises are fun and both deliver powerful messages in a simple and a direct way. This training activity is easy to lead. You’ll find all the background options, and examples you need to ensure that the participants get as much out of the session as possible.
You begin the training activity by explaining its purpose and content and introduce the idea of ‘acorns to oaks as opposed to empty vessels to be filled’ as a way of explaining a success environment. Participants pair up and spend 2 minutes giving instructions to their partner to enable them either to stand up from a lying position or to pick up and drink a glass of water. After 2 minutes, the partners switch roles. Then they consider the problems faces as either the performer (the person being ‘managed’) or the manager who gave the instructions. You then help the participants relate these problems to the workplace. Next, you demonstrate coaching techniques to improve performance using a ball-catching exercise. The participants review this and then, in pairs, practise coaching each other using the same coaching technique. The training activity finishes with a review of the coaching technique and its more general application at work.
Who is it for: The training resource is intended for use by trainers in order to allow participants to ‘grow’ and take responsibility for their own performance and channel it to improved results.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 6 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:15:00 |
| No of Pages: | 19 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Additional resources: tennis ball (per pair), an acorn, jug of water and glass,
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers as a peer coaching activity with any group of participants who are new to coaching techniques. It also has value as part of a team building event - it encourages bonding between individuals.
Download the training activity, The Coaching Context as featured in the Fenman training manual; The Coaching Skills Activity Pack