Coaching individuals and teams to success is a learned art form that encompasses some simple rules, which require intelligent application.

My twenty years of coaching taught me one thing above all else: clearly state the intention of the coaching exercise. The individual or team member needs to understand the coaching piece is intended to enhance or develop a particular skill, and that the exercise helps both participants.

Unfortunately, coaching is often equated with performance management issues. If the person you coach, views your action as disciplinary you will not produce improvement. Performance management is an entirely different issue. The two should not be blurred. I cannot stress this enough.

Before proceeding with any coaching take the time to ensure the individual is comfortable with the process, and that they understand that coaching is a compliment to their performance, not a punishment.

Once you have this clearly established, you can begin the coaching session.

Tips:

Establish the goal or purpose of the coaching session before you start and get agreement from the participant.

Set a time limit and stick to it. If you say, ten minutes be prepared to wrap up within the allotted time.

Announce the formal start to the session by saying something like, start, or we will start now.

Do not let an incorrect action run on. Stop the participant immediately, and clearly define what the participant needs to correct, and then restart the process. If the same pattern asserts itself, interrupt the participant again. Say something like, thats better, but try this Start them again.

If the participant is not improving, an earlier coaching step is missing, and you need to go back to the previous step and ensure the participants mastery of that step before going back to the current step.

Always refer people to the source of the information you coach, e.g. company training manual or reference chapter in a book. This way you back up your statement with authoritative proof.

Finish your coaching session on a high note with the participant feeling good about what he has learned. The participant is usually smiling, or appears more relaxed and confident.

Never go beyond this high point even if you feel more can be gained from the exercise. Come back to the coaching at another time. If you push on pass a good point you could get bogged down, and be force to end the session at an unsatisfactory stage.

Get the participant to talk about their experience, their learning, and successes. Have the participant writing a brief testimonial. This cements the learning while creating a demand for your coaching.

Exercise patience without fail. If you get frustrated easily, tend to show exasperation, and start to get annoyed or angry if the participant isnt getting it, you need to get coached on patience. Until you show considerable patience and calm, you should avoid any serious coaching.

Finally, the over all experience for coach and participant should be conducted in the spirit of fun.

There are many styles and ways to coach. A coaching session can be very informal and short. A simple coaching strategy may be to ask, how could you have handled that situation differently? Get the people involve to suggest different solutions. A longer formal session maybe used when new skills or behaviours are needed to master changing technology or policy.

With all my years of experience, I still find the process of coaching others one of the best ways to improve my own skills and specific tasks. The act of observing and expressing what you see with enough clarity to get your point across to another hones and sharpens the coach. I often ask people who are having trouble with a skill to coach others because they can see from the other side what is required.

Coaching is an art form that grows with use. Fortunately, the art of coaching can be learned through careful observation and practice.