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REACHYOURPEAK

Coaching in the Workplace

by RAMONA ELENA VLAD

Noble Manhattan Publishing

Ramona Elena Vlad

The views and opinions expressed in this eBook are strictly those of the author. Any views and opinions may not represent those of Noble Manhattan Coaching and its affiliates.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. HOW DOES IT WORK?1.1. What is coaching?.............................................................................................. page 21.2. The importance of coaching in the work place…………………………………………..........page 3 1.3. The truth of coaching ……………………………………………………………………………………….page 4 1.4. Team dynamics …………………………………………………………………………………………. .page 5

2. THE MANAGER AS A COACH PROS AND CONS2.1. Pros………………………………………………………………………………………………………………page 7

2.2. Cons …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….page 9

3. How can a manager coach………………………………………………….page 11 3.1. Coaching the team …………………………………………………………………………..……….. page 11 3.2. Required skills …………………………………………………………………………………………..page 12

4. What issues does it raise?......................................................page 14

4.1. Potential issues………………………………………………………….…………………………..…… page 14 4.2. Resolution of the issues ……………………………………………………………………………… page 15

5. Conclusions …………………..………………………………………………………………………page 17

6. Resources ……………………………………………………………………..………………………page 20

Reach Your Peak Page 1

1. HOW DOES IT WORK?

1.1. What is coaching?

If every person on the planet had a coach the world will be a better place. When coached, people feel empowered to take responsibility for their education and their future, they feel inspired and motivated to learn, lead and serve others.

The spirit of coaching has been around since the beginning of humanity, but the term itself did not appear until the 19th century. In 1830 the word coach was used to describe a tutor who ‘’carried’’ a pupil through an exam. Yet in 1972, the word took on new meaning with Tim Gallwey’s book ‘’The Inner Game of Tennis’’. This book highlighted the inner structures that athletes face. The personal coaching industry emerged in the late 1980s.It further solidified its place in the marketplace with Sir John Whitmore’s GROW model published in 1992. Since then, several coaching models have been designed and coaching books published, adding to the profession’s increased popularity. (1)

As of 2015 coaching is used to support executives and managers to reach performance targets, increase motivation and enhance wellbeing within a business environment.More recently coaching has made headway in other contexts including education, youth development and parenting. (2)

I was aware that by writing about this topic will actually help me make a positive change at work, and would be a first step in improving the efficiency and productivity within my team therefore I have decided to do my final dissertation around this subject.

Coaching a group in comparison with coaching an individual is different and the difference goes well beyond the added complexity of numbers. A team, an organization, even a partnership or intimate relationship exists as a living system, not simply as a collection of individual parts. A human system can be thought of as a group of interdependent members with a common focus. The behaviour of the system emerges out of the interaction of its players and is greater than the sum of its parts. Executive or leadership coaching for team members or key individuals will likely improve their performance and can have secondary impact on the team, but the coach is still interacting with an individual. Coaching the system as a whole leverages the power of the coach to impact the entire team or group.

Practice shows that when there is individual coaching for team members, the system may resist, sometimes even reject, the individual change. The system has his own homeostasis. The preferred approach is to have both; one to one coaches as well as a team coach to provide optimal value to the system.


In today’s organisations the frequently perception is that a team is composed of functional parts (team members) and that repairing or replacing a broken part will fix the team as a whole. But the theory and reality of living systems are different. Every individual has an impact on the system, but is also true that the system has an impact on the individuals. (3)

Also the team players have different roles based on their values. Based on their values, they don’t get on very well, they have conflicts. The bottom line in coaching a team is identifying what is the key issue and help the team discover and use the skills they already have to improve.

1.2. Importance of coaching in the work place

Facing the issues with my team lately, made me realized that coaching could be the solution to help them be more efficient, and supporting my colleagues to develop their skills and abilities would enhance the wellbeing within the company. My other intention was to make them participate constructively and actively into the meeting in order for them to feel valued and appreciated.

By implementing a coaching culture, I am aware that the people will reveal who they are truly and that would only benefit the company and the team leading to high performance and employee engagement.

Based on my experience I am encouraging my senior managers to understand that coaching should not been seen as a corrective tool, used only when things have gone wrong but to be considered a positive approach for helping others explore their goals and ambitions.

Assessing how my team carries out the daily responsibilities made me want to discuss with them the reasons for coaching and how this could improve their performance and help them achieve their full potential.

I was aware that by making them understand how coaching could benefit them, it will make the transition very smooth.

By being exposed to research and my resources from my coaching course I knew that if I will use my coaching knowledge and skills at a practical day to day level that will enable me to;

Have more impact conversations Run more efficient meetings Improve personal time management Improve the management of priorities Have an increased self-awareness as a people’s manager.


Before starting my new venture I had to analyse my team's daily activity, to identify what people are actually doing with their time, resources, and energy. I have noticed that by having a relaxed attitude and by not being strict with my team, some of them got this message wrong and wouldn’t support the customers completely. I have identified the problem areas and started to work on a strategy of how I could improve the overall team effectiveness.

That’s when I understood that coaching them could be the solution, but probably my challenge will be to separate my management role from the coaching role.

I am the type of manager that would empower his team and engage them with solutions that they are coming up from them rather than forcing them to do something, therefore I know that coaching will be the best way to achieve that. As through coaching several things can be successfully achieved.

The examples of some goals that I want to achieve with the help of coaching are the following:

How could my staff manage their time better to achieve their daily /weekly tasks?

How could they reduce the stress at work or life? What skills they need to grow and develop further? How can they achieve a better balance between work life and home life?

And most importantly it will help them understand how they can improve relationship with their co – workers.

But also it will enable me to increase their productivity and engagement.

In order for me to conduct a good coaching session I have considered the bellow point of views on coaching.

1.3. The truth of coaching

Coaching is founded on Confidentiality and Trust

Coaching can be successful only if coachees are able to discuss every aspect of an issue or challenge with their coach. The coach may need to listen to personal problems or private information that must be kept confidential.

The solution to the coachee's issue lies within the coachee.

The coach's job is to ask the right questions to help coachees arrive at their own conclusions. This is a very powerful way of helping people to change.

As a manager, you probably have useful knowledge and experience, and you're


responsible for helping people find the right answers to questions they're asking.


However, be sensitive and humble in the way you help people – situations may be more complex than you initially think!

There's no Judgment or Fixed Agenda, but Have an Agreed Goal for Each Session

For a coaching session to work well, there should be a lot of relaxed conversation, and the session should be free from the fear of judgment and should not follow any set pattern. At the same time, coaching conversations must be focused in order to be effective.

Coaching is About the Whole Person

Although a coaching session will probably focus on one issue, coaches must remember that they're having a conversation with a whole person who has specific experiences, emotions, and patterns of behaviour (4)

1.4. Team dynamics

My approach to improve the effectiveness in my team with the benefit of coaching came by contemplating on the benefits of coaching and how great it is for helping people develop their skills and abilities and for resolving issues before they become serious.

Coaching is useful in many different situations, and I am considering using frameworks such as the TGROW model to help me structure my sessions.

Having in mind that the coachee's interest is at the forefront of coaching sessions, I would encourage coachees to come up with their own conclusions through open questions, rather than giving them the answers. The coach‘s role is to ask, not tell.

People get most done when they work together effectively. So when team members don't work well together, performance and productivity can suffer. With this in mind I have approached my team and explained my strategy.

Team coaching helps people understand how to work better with others. It's an effective method for showing teams how to reduce conflict and improve their working relationships. The team can then focus on its real work, and achieve its objectives.

To coach my team, I have to emphasise on interpersonal skills and interactions instead of on individual development (as opposed to individually-focused coaching). The way people act with their teammates, and the way they communicate with one another – these are important drivers of effective team performance. After all, high-performing individuals could be placed on a team and still have performance problems.

People must learn to work together and understand how to relate to one another – otherwise the team's output will be less than it could be, and I get a sense that at the moment some of my team members need to polish those qualities.


I appreciate that everybody is different and coming from different company cultures but certainly the best place to start team coaching is by understanding the dynamics of the team and people values. This is the process of figuring out how team members relate to one another, and what could be their ethics and priorities.

I understand that we all have different styles of working and communicating, and when we encounter a person with a style that's different from our own; we can often get frustrated with that person, and fail to recognize his or her unique strengths. That is something that I noticed it’s happening most of the time with my team members.

Effective working relationships are built by understanding team member’s needs, preferences, and styles of work. By helping people understand their own styles and appreciate the different styles of others, you can work with them to change their behaviours and use everyone's strengths. (5)

A dictating style was never my piece of cake, even though as a child I was always being told what to do. I believe in the freedom of speech and giving people the opportunity to express themselves, but I have learned that as a manger, people might sometimes take advantages of this style. Therefore the best way is to coach them, support and challenge my team to develop the awareness, ability and skills that enables them to become even more effective, efficient, and focused in reaching agreed planned objectives.

The process of improving team performance takes time, and it may involve looking deeper than team processes.

The reason I am coaching the team is for their performance to improve, both as an individual and as a member of the team. I want to make sure that they understand what they did wrong and how to avoid it. Most of all I have to make sure I won’t demotivate them. My plan is that after the coaching session, my team should be fired up to go out and do better, not cowering at their desk afraid to do anything.

I would expect resistance from some of them but I won’t have any rest until I make them understand the benefits of coaching. However, the end result of this work is usually well worth it; improved collaboration and communication will benefit the organization as a whole.


2. THE MANAGER AS A COACH – PROS AND CONSGreat leaders move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us. When we try to explain why they are so effective, we speak of strategy, vision, or powerful ideas. But the reality is much more primal: Great leadership works through the emotions. No matter what leaders set out to do—whether it’s creating strategy or mobilizing teams to action—their success depends on how they do it. Even if they get everything else just right, if leaders fail in this primal task of driving emotions in the right direction, nothing they do will work as well as it could or should. (6)

To summarize the attributes of coaching leaders, they are individuals with a genuine interest in helping others succeed. They do this by focusing on the development of others, while using their keen sense of empathy and their own self-awareness.

I have enjoyed a lot reading the book ‘’Emotional Intelligence’’ by Daniel Goleman and it resonates with me a lot, because while I look after the best interest of the company I am concerned about my teams welfares also.

While business coaching has been around for quite a while, it’s only lately that the companies are starting to use this as a resource to vitalize the teams.

As described by Daniel Goleman, the coaching leadership style is best summed up by the phrase "try this." They're able to tie together career aspirations and personalgoals. They help followers to see how everything fits together. And because of this ability and interest in helping others, they're good at developing a long-term plan to reach long-term goals.

These leaders provide plenty of feedback on performance; but they are also experts at delegating and giving employees assignments that are challenging too. They won't hold someone's hand through the rough times, but they will tell them how to weather the storm. (7)

2.1. Pros

One of the advantages of the manager being a coach is that people can fit it around their schedule rather than having to dedicate an entire day to training. Coaching the team also clarifies how to think through important problems that need to be solved in an enhanced manner, no more quick decisions, we will have the tools to thoroughly think out the ramifications of the suggestions and then decide which solution is best.

Additional benefit could be that by knowing the culture of the business, knowing the people it’s easy because any personality conflicts could be avoided. I am aware exactly what needs to improve and I am working on addressing those issues. I consider this as a big advantage instead of outsourcing a coach for the business.


By constantly interacting with the team there will be many more opportunities to influence them than an external consultant would have, therefore this is another advantage.

While an external coach has the luxury of a laser-like focus on the coachee and his progress and performance, the manager-coach needs to balance the needs of the coachee, other team members and the organisation as a whole.

By assessing the situation at my work place I have identified those challenging areas where coaching skills can be applied and are the following;

Working relationships with colleagues and senior managers Team building and better team performance Customer support

Coaching skills will serve me by particularly giving a competitive advantage. Skills such as; listening, taking in, reflecting, questioning, and giving feedback, rest in the ability of coaching to help improve performance. With the help of coaching skills, problems could be evaluated, assessing the implications and then work out solutions.

There is this idea that managers think they don’t have the time to have these conversations, and many lack the skill.

But according to the Harvard Business review yet 70% of employee learning and development happens on the job, not through formal training programs. So if line managers aren’t supportive and actively involved, employee growth is stunted. So is engagement and retention. If there’s anything an effective, resonant coaching conversation produces, its positive energy (8)

I totally agree with the above statement as from my experience a lot of knowledge and skills are gained on the job.

The advantages to coaching as a personal development tool are strengthened by my role as a coach as an impartial guide in helping employees understand and change the patterns that are preventing them from achieving their goals.

According to the survey conducted by the Institute of Leadership and Management, coaching highlights the flexibility and responsiveness of staff and it equips managers with the tools to respond to situations in a timely and effective manner. In the survey results, 43 percent of respondents said that coaching improved self-awareness and 42 percent said that it increased their confidence. These are identity and attitude-based characteristics that influence the culture of an organization. (9)

Therefore, coaching can be used as a means of refining organization culture by creating a more productive and positive workplace and challenge the beliefs of senior


management.


A distinct advantage of coaching is that it helps demonstrate the value of the organization to potential and existing customers.

2.2. Cons

From my experience a manager that is considering coaching the team, has to be cautious because his opinion will differ widely from the business owner. Although most people agree that coaching is a wise investment, it does have a few drawbacks. Smaller companies need to carefully evaluate and decide if the cost of team coaching is worth the outcome.

This may sometimes lead to personality conflicts, as business owners may feel that their ideas and strategies are undermined and in my case my role is to clarify what strategies I find appropriate, based on the assessment that will be carried out. Acting as first contact for our clients gave me a better understanding of what is required and by debating with the team the best resolution will be applied for the best interest of everyone involved in this process.

Team members being coached are benefiting after coaching, but sometimes the manager might not afford the time and effort required as he has other demands to cope with.

But on the other side coaching is not a case of ‘giving up’ the time and energy to helping others achieve their goals and solve their problems; it also benefits a manager in the following ways:

If a manager is coaching people in a cooperative, open spirit, people will feel more confident in coming to him with vital information, including telling the ‘bad news’ while there is still time to do something about it.

There is no doubt that in the short term it’s often quicker to take charge and give orders instead of coaching, I personally have an issue and every time a team member will come to me with the enquiry I have the instinct of taking over from him, which is even more time consuming.

On the long term, the more I give instructions, the more people will rely on me for directions, and more of my time will be absorbed up by it. Thus I have considered investing time in coaching so over time team members will require less and less direction. This way I will be assured in delegating more and more to them, freeing up my time for the tasks only I can accomplish.

If we are looking at pros and cons of the manager being the coach, and comparing the advantages of using an external business coach and managers act as coaches I believe they are complimentary and the table below illustrates this best.


www.free-management-ebooks.com (10)


3. How can a manager coach?

3.1. Coaching the team

Usually, managers meet their coaching responsibilities by giving reviews, holding occasional meetings and offering advice. For coaching to be effective, it needs to be understood why they are coaching and what specific actions they need to take. Coaching focuses on helping another person learn in ways that let him or her keep growing afterward. It is based on asking rather than telling, on provoking thought rather than giving directions and on holding a person accountable for his or her goals.

A manager needs to be aware what drives each person, help build connections between each person’s work and the organization’s mission and strategic objectives, provide timely feedback, and help each person learn and grow on an ongoing basis. Regular communication around development, having coaching conversations is essential. In fact, according to recent research, the single most important managerial competency that separates highly effective managers from average ones is coaching. (11)

The most important thing to do each day is to help the team members experience progress at meaningful work.

One of the most important aspects before beginning the coaching process is that I must ensure that I understand what my role as a coach is, that my coachee is aware of their responsibilities, and that the environment in which the coaching takes place is beneficial to this activity.

www.free-management-ebooks.com (11)


Although I have a high level of expertise that I’m used to share often in a directive manner, I am aware that in a coaching conversation, it’s essential to restrain my desire to provide the answers. A very important tool of coaching is open-ended questions, not answers. The success as a coach will be gained by helping the team members expressing their goals and challenges and find their own answers.

This is how people clarify their priorities and devise strategies that resonate with what they care about most and that they will be committed to putting into action.

A manager that coaches the team will help employees develop and challenge them in a way that truly builds new skills and enables them to learn from experiences.

3.2. Required skills

Research from the Centre for Creative Leadership has boiled down the skills managers need, to coach others into five categories:

Building the relationship. It’s easier to learn from someone you trust. Coaches must effectively establish boundaries and build trust by being clear about the learning and development objectives they set, showing good judgment, being patient and following through on any promises and agreements they make.

Providing assessment. Where are you now and where do you want to go? Helping others to gain self-awareness and insight is a key job for a coach. You provide timely feedback and help clarify the behaviours that an employee would like to change. Assessment often focuses on gaps or inconsistencies, on current performance vs. desired performance, words vs. actions and intention vs. impact.

Challenging thinking and assumptions. Thinking about thinking is an important part of the coaching process. Coaches ask open-ended questions, push for alternative solutions to problems and encourage reasonable risk-taking.

Supporting and encouraging. As partners in learning, coaches listen carefully, are open to the perspectives of others and allow employees to vent emotions without judgment. They encourage employees to make progress toward their goals, and they recognize their successes.

Driving results. What can you show for it? Effective coaching is about achieving goals. The coach helps the employee set meaningful ones and identify specific behaviours or steps for meeting them. The coach helps to clarify milestones or measures of success and holds the employee accountable for them (www.forbes.com (12))

As a conclusion to the above statements a manager should ask open questions to facilitate the process, guide the conversation not by giving directives but through questions, to a mutual agreement of the priorities.


I am always considering that an employee is at a certain point in his career, and not judging where it should have reached. I like to ensure that the feedback is understood by the employee, asking for clarification if in doubts.

A manager should support the employee through a shared commitment to their goals, responsibilities and action steps, but also making the individuals accountable for their goals it helps keeping them focused on achieving the desired goals.

Another important aspect is the personal perspective a manager has on people.

I enjoy discovering people's potential and not only judge people based on past or current performance. By trusting the person capabilities will only lead to optimal performance from the staff side.

It’s very important for the manager to develop coaching skills because there is a difference between taking a two-day seminar on coaching, and actually developing coaching skills. Coaching is a process which requires consistent work. Therefore the reason that made me want to step in my ‘’coaching shoes’’ is because I felt there were things to be improved in the way my team was operating, and my coaching course gave me all the essential tools and resources.

I sometimes feel a lack of support from senior management and it feels like a blockage. I was in a situation where I had to present the financial benefits of coaching, and make sure the long term benefits are understood. With commitment at all levels of the organization, coaching could drive up the results.


4.WHAT ISSUES DOES IT RAISE?4.1. Potential issues

Some people argue that it is impossible for a manager to act as a coach, given her position of authority over her team. While authority is an important issue, it need not be an insurmountable obstacle – as long as there is genuine trust and respect in the working relationship. It is also a fact that coaching frequently takes place between peers and even upwards on occasion, with some enlightened bosses happy to be coached by their team members. (13)

Authority, telling, directing, immediate needs, and a specific outcome are all about managing. On the other side coaching involves exploring first of all, long-term improvement, facilitating, partnership, and many possible outcomes.

According to the 2010 Executive Coaching Survey, conducted by the Conference Board, 63% of organizations use some form of internal coaching, and half of the rest plan to.Yet coaching is a small part of the job description for most managers. Nearly half spend less than 10% of their time coaching others. With such limited time devoted to coaching, organizations need to be sure their managers know how to do it right. (14)

Coaching is highly effective, complementary ways to raise the quality and impact of management and leadership but the manager-coach needs to balance the needs of the coachee, other team members and the organisation as a whole.

It’s imperative to explain to the team what coaching involves, as some of my responsibilities will amend slightly.

collaborating instead of controlling the work, delegate more responsibility, listen more to the people and talking less, giving specific feedback instead of making assumptions

The reason why is important for team members to be aware what coaching involves is because I do not want them confused about my performance, and my new approach.

According to John Whitmore in his book ‘’ Coaching for Performance’’ he raises the issue of managerial responsibility and authority, and asks ‘Can the manager, therefore, be a coach at all?’:

‘’Yes, but it demands the highest qualities of that manager: empathy, integrity and detachment, as well as a willingness, in most cases, to adopt a fundamentally different approach to his staff… he may even have to cope with initial resistance from some of his staff, suspicious of any departure from traditional management.’’ (15)

What could all this have to do with business leadership? More than we might think.


4.2. Resolution of the issues

In business, we have to be both coaches and managers. To lead effectively, we need to know when to wear which hat.

Managing comprises a more directive, task-oriented style that would only be used under certain conditions. It usually creates the best results in a crisis situation, when someone is new to a task, or when they have little or no confidence in their ability to get it done.

On the other hand, coaching works best for developing purposes, and facilitating the learning process. Once it is outlined what’s best for the organization, team members may need guidance and support. But in most cases they shouldn’t need direction.

Knowing when to delegate, direct, or develop is critical to managerial success. Sometimes is best to determine which style is appropriate based on the imminent task rather than the individual. Frequently, people will need a combination of styles depending on the complexity of the task assigned, their experience with the task, and the competency levels required to complete it with excellence.

As a successful manager I need to choose when to either direct, delegate or develop, I have to balance what is the best interest of the individual and organisation to coach or manage.

By directing a person is when the employee has low to moderate competence with the skills and abilities needed to complete the task. Directing is more appropriate when a person is new in a role; has new responsibilities and tasks and even has a new ways of working

It is essential to make sure I define excellence (what, how and when), and provide details so the person can achieve the preferred result.

Delegating is when the employee has moderate to high competence, but it’s still important to define the ultimate goal so both sides have clarity around the objective. I settle with letting the employee determine the approach they will take and keep me informed as to their progress. I have learned with time only to ask questions and provide support when essential otherwise I will get overwhelmed by the amount of tasks I need to complete.

I am more comfortable to delegate when a person has confidence in their ability, has a tracked record of proficiency, and has some experience on the role.

I now come to my favourite part where I enjoy giving the people the chance to develop.

Developing is when I know the employee has high competence and high commitment to the task. My task is to define value and let the person achieve the final result. I am pleased to give plenty of recognition for successful completion of the task, as I know


how important that is to build someone’s confidence.


It is very important to then determine the person’s next challenge when the person has proved a high level of competency is trying new styles and has extensive experience.

Depending on the situation and task sometimes we are in a position where we have to coach and sometimes we have to manage. But what I have learned on the job is that the more time we can spend delegating and developing, the more effective we’ll be.


5. ConclusionsIn a business environment where performance is everything, business coaching can help improve performance, motivate employees and implement new strategies. In my opinion the advantages of business coaching far outweigh the upfront costs.

I think it’s important that the main goal of the coach is to motivate people and help them succeed in whatever they’re trying to achieve. I have witnessed a change in behaviour with at least two of my team members after coaching them; they wanted to help the company grow and enjoyed doing it. It is crucial to provide a positive work environment, where employees look forward to come to work, for two important reasons.

The people will be far much more efficient and secondly we are spending much more time at work than at home and I believe it’s important to have an atmosphere which invites the people to feel good, be relaxed and their input will be far much greater. It is fundamental to offer a positive work environment where employees are sincerely listened and taking their concerns to heart.

By engaging in regular coaching conversations with team members a manager could be significantly more effective.

As a manager who is determined to support ongoing learning and development of my team members I will consider the following:

Listen deeply. Consider what it feels like when you’re trying to convey something important to a person who has many things on his mind. Listening with full attention, and generate an excellent connection that invites team member to open up and to think creatively.

Ask, don’t tell. A manager will have a high level of expertise that it’s used to share, often in a ruling manner. If instructing the action steps for a project or when people come asking for advice, that is fine. It is significant that a manager understands that his path is not the employee path, and therefore in a coaching conversation, it’s crucial to restrain the impulse to offer the answers.

To conclude what I have been working on and researched for the last couple of months and from my experience in my work place I consider that the benefits of manager- coaches are:

More opportunities for influence - managers’ interaction with staff is not narrowed to formal business coaching sessions, they are constantly interacting with their team members and therefore have many occasions to influence them.

In-depth understanding of people and organisation - an external coach wouldn’t have the same level of exposure to an organisation and its people as the manager, and however well listens and observes, will never have the same complexity of knowledge about them.


Longer term relationships - the managers could build a solid foundation of mutual trust and respect, as they spend more time with their team. This will give a manager the opportunity to get to know them better and is important to an effective coaching relationship.

A more dedicated team – would be achieved by empowering the team members, making a genuine effort to include team members in making decisions, setting their own goals and implement their own ideas. If these things are happening employees are likely to become more committed and focused at work.

Good business coaching encourages trust and collaboration, and leads to better working relationships. That doesn’t necessary mean the manager becomes everyone’s best friend, but it does mean working relationships can get easier and more enjoyable or less stressful for all involved.

When a manager gets into the habit of asking questions to stretch team members creativity, he can get pleasantly surprised at the excellent idea the team will start generating. After some time, the manager may not even need to enquire every time, as team members will get into the habit of bringing the suggestions.

The conclusion is that coaching leads to better performance due to its dual functions of managing performance and developing people.

As a coach the main goal is to motivate people and help them succeed in whatever it is they are trying to accomplish. If a manager has this type of attitude employees will want to help the company grow and will enjoy doing it, but it is essential to provide a positive environment where employees know the manager is supporting them 100%. Engaging in regular coaching conversations with the team helps to support their ongoing learning development.

I would also focus on the following when it comes to coaching my team:

Genuinely listening – I personally enjoy when I am discussing with someone who is completely focused on me and actively listening to what I have to say with an open mind and an open heart, therefore I know from experience that if I can start a coaching session with the purpose of actively listening, with full attention, will help individuals to uncover and to think innovatively.

Questioning and not giving instructions - . When it comes to giving direction to a team member on a task or new project instructions are essential but in a coaching conversation, it’s essential to restrain the instinct to offer the answers. Opened questions, not answers, are the tools of coaching. The success as a coach comes by helping team members establish their goals and challenges and find their own answers.

Focus on moving forward positively - The mind-set that I bring to a coaching conversation really does influence the nature of that conversation. Even if I have some presumptions about the issue to be discussed in the session I will focus on


adopting a positive mind-set, it is more likely that I will actively connect with a strengths based and appreciatively focussed approach.

Building accountability- When the work environment is designed for accountability, it will flourish. If a team is truly accountable, members will identify gaps, learn new roles and processes, and ultimately build a more capable team and my aim is to offer my team this opportunity where both parties involved are winning (employee and the organization)

WORD COUNT – 6195


6. RESOURCES(1) Graydin (2014)The Anatomy: foundational coaching course handbook (For People Managers) 2nd edition– page 13

(2) Graydin (2014)The Anatomy: foundational coaching course handbook (For People Managers) second edition– page 13

(3) Witworth L–Kimsey K. H Kimsey-H.H –Sandahl P- (2007)Co-Active coaching second edition - page 281

(4) Elizabeth Eyre and the Mind Tools Team - What is coaching? How to be an Effective Coach- Available at; www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newTMM_15 (Accessed 20.08.2015 )

(5) The Mind tools Team - Coaching for Team Performance - Improving Productivity by Improving Relationships- Available at www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newTMM_66.php?route=pages/article/newTMM_66.php - (Accessed 31.08.2015 )

(6)Goleman D. 2015 – Leadership - available at: www.danielgoleman.info/topics/leadership/ -( Accessed 15.Oct 2015)

(7) Money-Zine.com 2015 Coaching Leadership - available at: www.money- zine.com/career-development/leadership-skill/coaching-leadership/ - (Accessed 20.Oct.2015)

(8) Valcour M. 2014 You-can’t-be-a-great-manager-if-you’re-not-a-good-coach / Available at www.hbr.org (Accessed 20.Oct. 2015)

(9) Bradley J, 2015 The Advantages of a Coaching Method in Management Development Available at; www.smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-coaching-method- management-development-66215.html (Accessed 14.Nov 2015)

(10) Free-Management-Ebooks Internal and External Coaches – Advantages and Disadvantages Available at www.free-management-ebooks.com (Accessed 20Nov 2015)

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(15) Whitmore J. 2002 Coaching for Performance – 3rd ed London/Boston Nicholas Brealey - page 16


About Noble Manhattan Coaching Ltd.

As the longest established company that trains Professional Life Coaches and Executive Coaches in the world (first registered 1993 ) and well-established leaders in the field of personal development. We have, for years, worked with both individuals and companies to raise their level of self-empowerment and achievement. We are delighted that Starting in October 2010 we have begun working with strategic partners and licensed distributors worldwide and are now delighted to be trading in 27 countries around the globe.

Our motto is “fortune favours the prepared mind” and all of our courses, presentations and products are aimed at providing you with the mindset you need to make the most of the life ahead of you. We firmly believe everyone has the ability to be, do and have anything they desire. So if you have the willingness to learn we can provide the rest.

If you are interested in getting an international qualification to become a qualified coach, please get in touch – [email protected]

Noble Manhattan Coaching Ltd. Divisions and Opportunities

Noble Media –

Noble Media is here to help all coaches (both aspiring and practicing), personal development specialists, business owners/managers and everyone involved in the professional and personal growth sector enhance their practices. We offer two sections; ‘Market’ and ‘Improve’. If you are looking to market yourself, or your business, we have teamed up with a number of media outlets that may suit your needs. If you are looking to improve yourself or your business, we have teamed up with two of the most successful training, and peer-to-peer networking groups.

Noble Media is always searching for regional managers to sell products in their areas, for more information please contact [email protected]

The International Coaching News –

The International Coaching News is an online magazine created by leading figures in the coaching world. It has been developed to aid everyone in all areas of coaching and personal development; provide essential information for any practicing or future coach; and encourages visitors and subscribers to interact with us on general points of interest and suggestions.

International Coaching News is a quarterly online magazine which caters to a person’s need for self- development. ICN also delivers the latest news about the coaching world where coaches, future coaches and subscribers are always updated. With ICN, one will have the chances to read different perspectives in coaching, how and why coaching is disparate from counseling and therapy, and the profit one can gain with coaching not only as a way for personal development but also as a business advantage.

The International Coaching News has a number of opportunities, from advertising to submitting articles. For more information, please get in touch – [email protected]

Coach Radio International –

Coach Radio International is the worlds’ largest online radio platform for the coaching and personal/professional development world. Coach Radio International streams a number of pre- recorded radio shows 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each recording can be listened to again, both online and offline.

Anyone in the personal/professional development world is able to purchase their own show and become a Coach Radio International presenter.

Coach Radio International has a number of opportunities, from jingles/advertising to submitting your own show. For more information, please get in touch – [email protected]

Coach Finder –

Coach Finder is one of the worlds’ largest online coaching and personal/professional development directories in the world. Registration is completely free, or you have the option to upgrade for just£2+VAT a month.

For more information, or to register for your free listing, head to www.Coach-Finder.com

The Coaching Blog –

The Coaching Blog, run by master coach, Gerard O’Donovan.

Within this unique blog, you will come across thoughts and postings from the worlds’ leading thinkers in the coaching, leadership, management, personal development and fulfillment world.

We understand how difficult it is to keep up with countless blogs and newsletters and actually keep track of them all, which is why The Coaching Blog will deliver an aggregation of all the top thinkers’ thoughts and posts.

By marketing in the Coaching Blog, you will reach a wide audience of business professionals, many of whom are looking to receive professional and executive coaching for their businesses.

The Coaching Blog is now accepting sponsored submissions, for more information please contact [email protected]

Ebooks For Coaches –

E-books for coaches is an initiative and idea created by Gerard O’Donovan, the owner and founder of Noble Manhattan Coaching and the CEO of the IIC (The International Institute of Coaching).

As part of his vision and quest to help coaches to be all that they can be, and to assist them both on the road to mastery within the profession and to build a large sustainable and financially rewarding practice, he wanted to create a site where coaches could easily access information that would be of huge interest and benefit to qualified coaches and student coaches alike.

You are welcome to place an Ebook on the website to be sold, or to give away for free as part of your marketing scheme. For more information, please contact [email protected]

The Alpha Group –

The Alpha Group consists of peer-to-peer mastermind advisory boards targeted at business owners and managers helping them continue to thrive and make it to the “next level” wherever that may be for them.

The Alpha Group brings together entrepreneurs for peer-to-peer exchange and support in a unique, member-driven experience. Business owners and Managing Directors worldwide can be part of an exclusive group of qualified executives to brainstorm strategies, and realise the potential of increasing profit and growth.

Top professionals have teamed up with Noble Manhattan, a well-established leader in the coaching industry, and are anxious to take your success to the next level. Our Alpha Group Directors are specifically trained through The Alpha GOLD™ business growth strategies which can be applied to every aspect of any business.

For more information on the Alpha Group, including how you can get involved, please contact [email protected]

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