John Whitmore , one of the fathers of modern coaching, says that coaching “unlocks a person’s potential to maximize their performance. It involves helping them learn, rather than teaching them . ”
I would say there are six elements that sum up the essence of coaching:
Awareness
To acquire knowledge of something through observation, analysis and reflection. Awareness requires self-knowledge of strengths, weaknesses, beliefs, emotions of oneself and others, etc.
Responsibility
To choose between alternatives, make decisions and accept vp facility managers email lists the resulting consequences.
Action
To execute the selected alternative, evaluate the results and modify something if necessary. In coaching, the future is more important than the past. The “why” (objectives) is more important than the “why” (reasons).
Orientation
Orientation toward a desired goal, result or situation.
Commitment
To persevere until reaching that goal.
Accompaniment
Expert support from a facilitator (coach) who drives change.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” says a well-known proverb. This seems to say that there are more possibilities of going far if we have someone (a coach perhaps?) who gives us perspective, makes us see things that we ourselves don’t see, who challenges us. The coach listens and asks questions; and does both very well.
In the business field, coaching can be applied:
For executives: to improve a professional skill needed by the organization they work for. Both the company and the executive will benefit from improved performance, improved negotiation techniques, conflict and problem resolution, etc.
For work teams: to achieve changes in groups of people who work together with different roles, complementary skills and common goals. This type of coaching is a variant of systemic coaching, where the system is approached as a whole. It considers that each person is connected to other people and elements that form part of their system. Therefore, a change in one of the members of the system causes changes in the others with whom they interact. In addition, the systems provide feedback and this interdependence means that the system is in constant movement. In teams, coaching serves to define mission, vision and values, improve communication and cohesion between members, increase involvement, detect and change inefficient processes, etc.
It is clear that in business processes where there is a lot of interaction between people belonging to different systems (companies) and who also have different (if not contradictory) objectives, coaching can have several applications and benefits. Which ones? I describe them below.