Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Coaching is of paramount importance as it helps executives achieve goals, uncovers their hidden strengths, minimizes the effects of many weaknesses. It improves the overall morale, confidence & motivation of the coachee, while reducing stress levels. 

The coach enables the coachee to see the big picture. It also improves interpersonal effectiveness, thereby enhancing teamwork.

Coaching can also increase one’s self-awareness through constructive positive feedback, and provide fresh perspectives. 

It is human nature to interpret facts in the form of a story. Everyone has a story of victories and vulnerabilities that has shaped them. If you are able to tell yourself a story that empowers and uplifts you then eventually you will change your reality. A coach helps the coachee formulate a story that makes the person more resilient and ensures that they do not become a victim of their circumstances. 

We form our beliefs via these stories, and more often than not they are kept unchecked and unexamined. This leads to having multiple self-limiting or maladaptive beliefs. Through coaching, those beliefs can be broken and new self-liberating beliefs can be established so that one is able to live up to their full potential. The new story, mental models, and habits developed through coaching can create a positive behavioral spiral that transforms the everyday life of the person being coached.

A coach is able to increase the work motivation of the coachee by developing their understanding of what motivates them via identifying their needs, wants and fears. It enables the coachee to recognize the effects of their own defense mechanisms and cognitive biases, and how it affects their interaction with others. By being more aware of the gaps in their knowledge and being able to identify the sources of error in their own thinking, they are able to make better decisions and develop more effective approaches to interpersonal situations.

1. To improve the performance, productivity, efficiency & effectiveness of the coachee in well-chosen key aspects. Some of those key aspects are:

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  • Communication
  • Confidence
  • Decision-making
  • Presence
  • Leadership 
  • Managing and motivating people
  • Sales 
  • Working under pressure 

2. To keep the executive from derailing due to avoidable factors. 

3. Resolve conflict, gossip, and reduce stress. 

4. Develop a decision strategy to support the vision and standards to achieve goals.

5. Overcoming inertia to become who you want to be.

6. Rebounding with focus and optimism.

7. Navigating the social system in which you work.

8. Increasing self-awareness.

1) Adjusting the culture of the organization & mindset of its leaders, and placing sufficient value on coaching being a regular & essential component of the executive’s progress. 

2) Overcoming doubts and fears about coaching itself. For example, am I deficient in some way (not good enough to fix my own self), what will people think of me when they find out I have been nominated for coaching, is this a signal that I am being put on review before being fired?

3) Finding the right match between the coach & the client – style, personality, knowledge, interest & goals.

4) Adapting to the supportive spirit of coaching and expecting results at the same time.

5) Transitioning from a problem-centric to a solution-centric mindset.

Leadership development refers to activities that improve the skills, abilities, and confidence of leaders. Programs vary massively in complexity, cost, and style of teaching. 

Coaching and mentoring are two forms of development often used to guide and develop leaders.

Coaching is a common component of succession planning. High-performers are typically identified for future leadership positions, requiring broader programs focusing on longer term goals.

Some Strategies & Techniques For Leadership Development: 

1. Mentoring and Coaching Initiatives
2. Leadership Development Programs
3. Real-World, Real-Time Experiences
4. Regular Feedback
5. Cross-Departmental Learning
6. Team building events
7. Peer mentorship
8. Job shadowing assignments

Organizational development can be defined as an objective-based methodology used to initiate a change of systems in an entity. Organizational development is achieved through a shift in communication processes or their supporting structure. It involves studying the behavior of employees enables professionals to examine and observe the work environment and anticipate change, which is then effected to accomplish sound organizational development.

Organizational Development Process

A conventional approach in the organizational development process is the action research model. This model is used by many organizations to guide the OD process. It entails what its name describes – research and action. However, there is much more to the OD process than just research and development. There are multiple loops used to transmit feedback, which makes an organization more responsive to change.

Benefits of Organizational Development

1. Continuous development

2. Increased horizontal and vertical communication

3. Employee growth

4. Enhancement of products and services

5. Increased profit margins

There are many similarities. Both are a conversation with an aim of discovering the best ways to move forward given the goals & circumstances of the coachee. 

The difference is in the goals & circumstances. For Example – A homemaker would have a very different goals and circumstances compared to a retiree, a factory in-charge, a CEO of a non-profit, dean of a school, a private banker, CMO of a tech startup, a fund manager & a doctoral candidate in a university. 

If executive coaching is about resolving the issues for an external manifestation, then the primary focus of life coaching is examining inwards. The individual sees himself or herself as part of the problem or as a factor that hinders his or her own defined successes.

In life coaching, the aim is to erode the internal barriers you wish to overcome as those tend to prevent you from getting what you want. For instance, your lack of self-confidence is impeding your ability to speak in public, close sales, find the right partner (in life or professionally). Hence the focus is mainly on what the individual can BE in order to see the wished results, while the external manifestation of it serves as a reality check on the internal shift.

The rapport between the life coach and client as well as the executive coach and client is based on a level of trust that grows stronger over time; however, the considerations of the coach/coachee relationship are vastly different.

While both a life coach and an executive/leadership coachwork to guide or facilitate the client in meeting specific goals, the executive coach takes into account the organizational culture and business climate.

Additionally, both a life coach and an executive coach seek to help their clients reach a deeper insight and understanding, but an executive coach works to help the client align this understanding with an organizational or business agenda or process.

Some Of The Coaching Techniques  Are:

1) Listening – The most important skill to effective coaching is the ability to listen to others. It’s vital for managers to understand that coaching is not about the coach, but rather about those that they are coaching.

2) Asking open-ended questions – In order to be on the same page with your employees about their comprehension and interest in the topic at hand, coaches need to master the ability to ask open-ended questions. This is the only true way of gauging your worker’s attitudes about the training and quizzing them about the material you presented to get a sense of their knowledge levels.

3) Collaboration – Leaders must know how to work effectively together with their employees, and thereby teach them to work collaboratively together. Awareness of groupthink, cognitive biases, limiting beliefs, and finding strategies that promote group learning is highly advantageous when it comes to effective coaching.

4) Making good use of time – While a coaching session will typically last a number of couple of hours, perhaps spread over a period of months, the coach must be able to make good use of this limited time in order for it to be effective.

5) Establishing teams – The manager must be able to create and motivate successful teams for a positive corporate culture and a productive workplace environment.

6) Emotional Intelligence – Emotional intelligence (EQ) describes the ability to understand the feelings of yourself and others, and properly react to them. Coaching sessions can be stressful and frightening for some employees, and managers must have the skills to calm them down and make them feel confident of their abilities.

7) Communication – Another vital skill is the ability to clearly and informatively voice your opinion in order for others to understand what you’re trying to say.

8) Setting SMART goals – Every coaching session needs clear objectives, otherwise, the employees will walk away feeling confused. A manager must know how to set specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-bound goals to make their employees accountable for the learning process.

9) Good judgment – There are many things that a leader may want to impart to their employees; however, time and resources often limit that desire. A manager must consider if the training session is valuable to the employees and consistent with the company’s vision and goals.

10) Follow-through – A coach’s job is not done after the training has completed. They must be available to monitor their employee’s understanding and implementation of the new skills in order to make sure the training was a success.

The coaching leadership style is about inspiring your team, building their confidence, and teaching them the skills they need in order to develop and work together successfully while ensuring they feel supported by the coaching leader along the way.

It relies on the coaching leader having good communication and social skills – as constructive feedback is important in this leadership style – but the most successful coach will also ask questions of their employees to encourage self-reflection, brainstorming and problem-solving.

Coaching leaders use one or several of the different recognized coaching styles. Some even use their own approach or model. But the most successful recognize that tailoring their style to their team, employee, or organizational culture is the best way to ensure good results.

It’s also worth noting that different people respond to different management cues: tapping into the different coaching styles will impact positively on your team’s performance and development, helping them achieve their goals.

Types Of Coaching Styles Include:

1) Democratic coaching

This method gives the team freedom and accountability, with the coach stepping in only when needed to keep the process going. Individuals will feel self-empowered and in control, and are encouraged to give input.

The result? Improved decision-making and communication, and greater cooperation.

It can take a little longer than other approaches to see the results, but when it comes to performance coaching styles, it can be very effective, as the onus is on the team to work together and explore solutions as a whole.

2) Holistic coaching

When it comes to life coaching styles, holistic coaching leads the way. With the belief that everything is connected, this approach theorizes that individuals are a sum of all their parts: in order to encourage growth in the workplace, a balance needs to be achieved in all aspects of their life.

As well as giving employees a sense of their role in your team, it can give perspective on their place in the wider business, helping them feel more connected and showing them how they matter.

It can shine a spotlight on personal stumbling blocks and repetitive behaviors that might be negatively affecting work, as well as offering solutions like stress management, and relaxation techniques.

3) Vision coaching

This style encourages and empowers employees by giving them clear direction and strategies for achieving objectives and encouraging focus.

Like a personal trainer, this approach feels like a partnership and draws on elements of feedback, reflection, and conversation to really motivate and influence employees.

Although intensive and short term, this approach can work well for high stress or overwhelming workplaces that need fast results and can be especially useful when driving teams to work on specific projects, by giving them a detailed plan.