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I am often asked how long a coaching session should last and how often they should take place. I'm afraid that's a question up there with how long is a piece of string?
What we do know is that coaching is an extremely flexible tool and there are a great many ways to use it to good effect.
Typically coaching is prearranged for a specific date and time the coach and the individual normally retire to a separate area and conduct the coaching in a fairly formal setting.
Once again, provided the underlying principles of coaching are followed, this can be extremely effective. However, it does not have to be done in this way and much effective coaching takes place chatting around the coffee machine or talking in the lift.
It all depends on the preferences of the person being coached, the complexity of the subject and how much time we have available.
Similarly we need to think about who decides whether coaching is needed at all. We, as managers, might need to instigate coaching because of some organizational change or we might prefer to invite people to seek our coaching when they become aware of an issue they would like to move forward.
Trust is the key because as long as the people we coach trust that we are doing it for their benefit and with their needs paramount, they will be honest and open in the responses and participate in the coaching in a meaningful way.
Following up
We should perhaps consider replacing the coaching ARROW with the coaching ARROWF! Where the F stands for Follow up.
Case Study
Many years ago I had a problem with workload management. I was in the habit of organizing my in-tray with the easy, straightforward tasks at the top and the more important work at the bottom. Unfortunately this sometimes meant I was spending time on the easy tasks at the expense of the more important ones and creating pressure for myself as a result.
I sought coaching on this issue and decided on the option of continuing to organism my in-tray in exactly the same way but to then turn it upside down so that, in effect, I was working from the bottom upwards.
I tried this for a few days with some success but was struggling to break old habits. Unexpectedly, my coach phoned me up and asked how I was getting on. We chatted for a few minutes and by the end of the conversation I was fully committed once more to my plan. I stuck to my task and eventually broke the bad habit and began to develop other ways of prioritizing my work.
Without follow up the chances of our coaching being successful are lessened. Coaching is normally about aiding people to change behaviours that are proving unhelpful. But these sorts of behaviours do not give up without a fight and the ongoing support of a coach can be the difference between successfully establishing a new pattern or slipping back into old habits.
But just like coaching itself this does not need to be a huge task. A two minute phone conversation or a three-line e-mail can be just enough to let the people we coach know we are there for them.
Useful questions to ask include:
What actually happened?
Is that what you wanted?
What have you learned?
How can you improve on this?
Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years' experience. He works with a host of clients in North East England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides a simple yet elegant key to this lock. His popular guide "Coaching for an Easier Life" is available FREE at http://www.mattsomers.com
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