What is coaching
Coaching is a tool for personal and business growth.
Coaching ...
Coaching is a tool for personal and business growth.
• an interactive process in which the coach
• using special techniques
• triggers thought processes,
• that help individuals and companies, organizations and institutions
• to achieve better results faster and more efficiently.
According to the definition of the Austrian Coaches Association, it means
• “an interactive counseling and monitoring process,
• which is person-centred’ (ACC 2015).
If we combine the meaning of these words and the basic goal, it is
• the purpose of coaching is to bring someone from where they are (current state),
• to where he wants to be (desired state).
The International Federation of Coaches defines professional coaching as
• continuous process,
• that helps people achieve exceptional results in all areas of life and work.
Coaching is a skill and an art. It is necessary to say that we do not yet have a suitable translation in the Slovenian language that corresponds to the meaning of the word coaching, so the original English word and notation is used. (From the paper Coaching with horses for top managers and teams, M.Sc. Natalie C. Postružnik, at the 34th International Conference on the Development of Organizational Science).
• 60 percent of companies’ budgets are not geared towards implementing strategy;
• 30 percent of variable payments to employees are unrelated to strategy;
• and only 10 percent of employees state that they know and understand the company’s strategy (Kaplan and Norton 2008);
• only 15% of employees are truly committed and come with the desire to contribute to added value (Gallup, Zlata nit, Hewitt Associates…).
If we want to achieve greater engagement of managers and key employees and thus the long-term success of the company, we must know how to awaken and use the potential of each individual.
Why coaching for managers and (key) employees?
Why an individual approach?
The vast majority of clients (individuals or companies) decide on an individual approach, which is a very intimate matter because it affects the person per se:
• with all its traits,
• characteristics,
• habits,
• knowledge and
• experiences.
The personal approach is aimed and tailored toward
• individual wishes,
• goals
• and abilities,
therefore, an individual approach is also very effective. Time and attention are devoted to only one individual,
• which is therefore easier to relax,
• concentrated
• and ready for a completely open and honest conversation.
This is the only way to provoke the customer to speak up about
• her/his deepest beliefs,
• “put them on the table”,
• that the client can look at them completely impartially,
• she/he sets her own goals and
• then determine the necessary steps to achieve the desired.
Effectiveness of coaching at the individual level:
• 96% of organizations reported a visible improvement in individual performance after implementing coaching. In almost the same percentage (92%), progress was also observed in the field of leadership and management effectiveness (“Coaching Counts” 2007).
• 70.7% to 93.8% of respondents confirmed that coaching contributed to lasting behavioral changes (Genger 1997).
The impact of coaching at the organizational level:
• 77% of respondents said that coaching has a significant or very significant impact on at least one of the nine business goals. Productivity (60%) and employee satisfaction (53%) were cited as the most significant impacts of coaching (Anderson 2001).
The participants emphasized that at the organizational level they witnessed a lower rate of absenteeism of subordinate employees (Talboom 1999).
• 35% of participants improved leadership skills, 28% of participants advanced as a management team, 33% of participants improved business results, and 67% of participants improved personal balance and dynamics (Landale 2005).
(From the paper Equine Assisted Coaching for top managers and teams, M.Sc. Natalie C. Postružnik, at the 34th International Conference on the Development of Organizational Science).
How effective is coaching?
Goals
What can we achieve with coaching?
The main goal of every coaching is to achieve the result(s), set as the goal(s) in the introductory conversation of the client/coach (and possibly the client’s so-called “sponsor” – the one who monitors progress within the company).
The objectives of coaching are (and can be mainly in the following areas):
– to upgrade the individual’s competencies in order to improve performance,
• changing behaviors that represent obstacles for an individual, for better personal and team functioning,
• improvement of work efficiency and goal orientation of employees,
• elimination of obstacles and individual limitations of the individual,
• building team affiliation,
• discovering obstacles in interpersonal relationships,
• setting and defining business goals and defining the first steps on the way,
• introducing a new process,
• introducing a new product/service to the market and thus changing the dynamics of the team’s work,
• building managerial/leadership competences,
• detection of obstacles in managers’ communication,
• review of mutual communication between team members,
• detection of “silent” or informal leaders,
• detection of limiting patterns (management, communication, mutual relations, delegation of tasks…)
• …
