Coaching: who and why?
Featured in the People Development Methods training manual
By Beverley Williams
Category: People Management and Motivation
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
One-to-one coaching can be an excellent development method, particularly for someone who has covered the theory in a training course and now needs someone to coach them as they meet the first problems. It can also be used to improve performance, to prepare team members for the next stage in their career and to give them support in a new role. The most important element of recommending one-to-one coaching is selecting the right coach. To be really successful, a coaching relationship will involve high levels of trust and rapport. This is not always a straightforward task; the coach needs to be extremely knowledgeable about the topic and have the ability to pass on that knowledge effectively. This training activity considers the qualities needed to coach successfully and examines the advantages and disadvantages of involving particular individuals such as line managers in coaching.
Begin the training activity by explaining that one-to-one coaching is an ideal development method in many circumstances and go on to talk about when it is particularly suitable. You then briefly cover the difference between coaching and mentoring before explaining that appointing the right coach is crucial if one-to- one coaching is to be successful. You ask the participants to work in pairs to think about the qualities of a successful coach. You put their responses on the flipchart and then ask the participants to come up with specific people who could take on the role of coach, for example, their line manager. The participants work in pairs again to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each proposal. You take feedback on their findings, asking questions to bring out points where appropriate. The participants then work in groups to recommend suitable coaches in some case studies. Each group in turn presents their findings to the others. Ask questions to bring out detail if necessary. Conclude by taking key learning points from the participants before distributing a key learning points handout and commenting on the contents where appropriate.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants to develop key questions to consider when recommending one-to-one coaching as a development method.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 10 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:25:00 |
| No of Pages: | 17 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with participants, probably line managers, who are involved in the development of others. Ideally, participants will have already covered, ‘Investigating development methods’, prior to taking part in this training activity.
Download the training activity, Coaching: who and why? as featured in the Fenman training manual; People Development Methods