Coaching Pre-Training Self-Assessment

Instructions: For each statement, circle the number which best reflects the attitude you
typically exhibit. Don’t worry, this is confidential.

After you respond to all the statements, turn to the score sheet, transfer your ratings,
and calculate your total score. Next, read the interpretation; it will provide insight into
your effectiveness as a coach.

Finally, you will have a better understanding of areas you may want to focus on to
improve your coaching skills.

Purpose: To help you understand more about the attributes of an effective coach and gain
insights into which behaviors you now practice and where you need to develop stronger
skills.

To what extend do you typically exhibit the following attitudes? You:

Almost Occasionally Frequently Very Almost

Never Frequently Always
1 Understand what my employee needs. 1 2 3 4 5
2 Take a goal-focused approach. 1 2 3 4 5
3 Help the employee see mistakes as opportunities 1 2 3 4 5
to learn to do things better.
4 Encourage the employee to do his or her best. 1 2 3 4 5
5 Are willing to teach an employee something new. 1 2 3 4 5
6 Avoid distractions when coaching others. 1 2 3 4 5
7 Take the time to understand the employee’s 1 2 3 4 5
important concerns.
8 Help set goals for improvement. 1 2 3 4 5
9 Ask an employee, “What do you think you need to 1 2 3 4 5
do differently?” or similar questions.
10 Openly express a desire to see the employee 1 2 3 4 5
succeed.
11 Provide specific ideas or suggestions during a 1 2 3 4 5
coaching session.
12 Listen to what the employee needs from me at 1 2 3 4 5
the moment.
13 Make sure I listen to the employee’s issues and 1 2 3 4 5
concerns.
14 Work with the employee to create a clear plan for 1 2 3 4 5
achieving coaching goals.
15 Talk through how to overcome blind spots or 1 2 3 4 5
obstacles.

1
 Almost Occasionally Frequently Very Almost
Never Frequently Always
16 Encourage the employee to stretch his or her 1 2 3 4 5
skills.
17 Share my experience with the employee. 1 2 3 4 5
18 Maintain employees’ confidentiality. 1 2 3 4 5
19 Help the employee assess strengths and 1 2 3 4 5
weaknesses.
20 Carefully consider what I want to accomplish in a 1 2 3 4 5
coaching session.
21 Help the employee think through difficult issues. 1 2 3 4 5
22 Tell the employee you believe he/she can take 1 2 3 4 5
performance to the next level.
23 Carefully decide what suggestions to make during 1 2 3 4 5
the coaching session.
24 Value employees’ ability to solve their own 1 2 3 4 5
problems.
25 Explain your rationale when advising the 1 2 3 4 5
employee what he/she should do to solve a
problem.
26 Show employees how their performance impacts 1 2 3 4 5
the entire work unit, even to the bottom line.
27 Listen to the employee in order to identify good 1 2 3 4 5
ideas.
28 Let the employee know you have confidence in 1 2 3 4 5
what he/she can do.
29 Advise the employ how to overcome performance 1 2 3 4 5
blocks.
30 Devote the time needed for coaching. 1 2 3 4 5
31 Talk with employees about lessons learned to 1 2 3 4 5
provide insight about what to do in the future.
32 Discuss long-term professional goals. 1 2 3 4 5
33 Give employees lots of time to express their views 1 2 3 4 5
when discussing performance improvement.
34 Make sure employees know how you will support 1 2 3 4 5
them.
35 Wait to give advice until the employee is open to 1 2 3 4 5
hearing what you have to say.
36 Respect who the employee is as a person. 1 2 3 4 5
 Coaching Pre-Training Self-Evaluation—Score Sheet
Discerns Needs Demonstrates Results Works as a Thinking Partner
Orientation
1 2 3
7 8 9
13 14 15
19 20 21
25 26 27
31 32 33
Subtotal Subtotal Subtotal

Encourages the Employee Provides Advice Demonstrates Respect

4 5 6
10 11 12
16 17 18
22 23 24
28 29 30
34 35 36
Subtotal Subtotal Subtotal

TOTAL SCORE (Add the six Subtotals):

(Adapted from American Management Association’s The Importance of Coaching)

 Analysis of Pre-Training Self-Assessment
The self-assessment is based on the following attributes of an effective coach.

Discerns Needs. Effective coaches discern what an employee needs by:

 Seeking to understand what the employee needs to do to turn performance around

 Uncovering what the employee needs to do to move to the next level of performance
 Identifying the employee’s strengths and weaknesses
 Identifying gaps between actual performance and desired performance

Demonstrates a Results Orientation. Effective coaches demonstrate a results orientation by:

 Encouraging the employee to see new possibilities

 Helping the employee set goals for improvement or growth
 Creating and executing a coaching plan
 Showing the employee how his/her performance impacts the entire team

Works as a Thinking Partner. Effective coaches act as a thinking partner by:

 Listening deeply and with empathy

 Helping employees thing through issues and identify what thy need to do
 Drawing out ideas and knowledge
 Asking questions and reframing issues when the employee has made incorrect
assumptions

Encourages New Behaviors. Effective employees encourage new behaviors by:

 Encouraging employees to change

 Talking about how to close performance gaps
 Brainstorming ways to overcome performance obstacles
 Encouraging employees to stretch their skills

Provides Advice. Effective coaches provide advice by:

 Advising employees what to do in a way that is candid and caring

 Being sensitive to timing and providing advice when employees are open to hearing it
 Listening carefully to the employees before giving advice
 Being willing to teach the employee something new

Demonstrates Respect. Effective coaches demonstrate respect by:

 Devoting full attention to the employee during coaching discussions

 Listening carefully to the employee needs
 Maintaining confidentiality
 Seeking and valuing the employee’s input
(Adapted from American Management Association’s The Importance of Coaching)
 Score Analysis
108-144: Your score indicates strong coaching attributes. You demonstrate skills in discerning the
needs of an employee, maintaining a results orientation, and showing a willingness to
act as a thinking partner. You also encourage new behaviors and, as needed, are willing
to provide advice. Finally, you work with the employee to stretch skills, you express
confidence in the employee, and you demonstrate respect for the employee as an
individual.

143-115: Your score indicates you have good coaching skills. Review your assessment and note
any patterns with respect to the question where you scored 3 or less.

114.92 : Your score indicates a need to improve your coaching approach. There are several areas
in which you need to focus on development. Think about the aspects of coaching which
you find most difficult to deal with. This will give insight into which areas to focus on.

Below 92: Your approach to coaching needs considerable improvement. It is likely you find
coaching difficult, or perhaps you have not had much experience coaching. Your scores
indicate an opportunity to improve. Select one or two areas that are most important
and set goals around them.

(Adapted from American Management Association’s The Importance of Coaching)

 Coaching Course 1:
---------Coaching Series Training Design – Breakdown of Coaching Series---------

Over the next three day courses you will have an opportunity to learn what coaching is and how it is
different from mentoring and managing. We are excited to present this training series to you in an
effort to enhance your supervisory skills. We’ve spent countless hours exploring evidence-based
coaching models and programs. We’ve done our very best to integrate these models into a training
series we know you will find valuable as you work to develop your coaching skills. We recognize you
currently possess many coaching skills already. Our goal is to remind you of these skills and will work on
enhancing them. We ask upfront for your participation and comments. One of the important elements
of this training series is YOU! You sharing what works and what you’ve tried that may not have worked.
We are going to ask that you step outside of your comfort zone a bit and engage in role playing and
sharing with your peers. After all, aren’t we in this together! We hope you each will feel comfortable
enough to share your success stories, and lessons learned.

During Course 1 we will explore coaching and define what it is and what it is not. We will look at
elements of effective coaching and where mistakes will be made. We will explore the reasons behind
coaching and ways in which it will be powerful for you and your team.

During Course 2 we will be exploring the world of communication: what are the effective elements and
common stumbling blocks. We will look at ways in which we can develop effective working
relationships with our team. We will explore ways to motivate and praise our team. And finally, how to
conduct effective coaching sessions.

In Course 3 we will get active!!! This is where we will have an opportunity to practice the principles we
have undertaken in the last two coaching courses. You may be wondering to yourself, “Is this
everything?” “Am I expected to know how to coach my team after these three courses?” The answer to
those questions is an emphatic “No!” The purpose of our time together these three courses is to begin
building a foundation of coaching. Additional skill development will come in the form of monthly skill
building activities we will call “Workout Wednesdays” and will be included in each of the upcoming
trainings associated with FEP Refocus. During the upcoming months you will have the opportunity to
practice the concepts you learn here as well as everything else we couldn’t share with you in nine hours.
This is where the growth takes place. There will be activities for self-reflection as well as activities you
will do in management meeting and team meetings. There will be follow up discussion encouraged with
your direct supervisor. These activities will be sent to you in an email and they will also be posted on
the DWS Intranet.

In front of you is a binder entitled “Playbook.” This Playbook is designed to be a repository of coaching
information. You will place the handouts and monthly activities you receive in this training in the
playbook. As a resource review the Playbook often in an effort to keep your skills and knowledge fresh
and vibrant. The monthly activities you receive each month will be entitled, “Drills.”

1|Page
 ---------Coaching Series Training Design – Implementation Science---------

Each of us has had the opportunity to listen to the FEP Refocus Kickoff videos from earlier this year. One
of the videos shown was pertaining to coaching and how it will be different from the program specific
training we’re all familiar with. We made the coaching training series different from anything we’ve
ever done in the past.

---------Coaching Series Training Design – Future Training Topics---------

An exciting aspect of FEP Refocus is the training opportunities that will be available to all to employees
in the form of Motivational Interviewing, Case Management, Trauma Awareness, and Executive
Functioning. As WDD leadership you will be expected to be knowledgeable in these areas. With that
said, you will not be left alone during the learning process. As part of Implementation Science and the
coaching design, we will be developing the monthly Workout Wednesday skill building activities to
coincide with the training topics received across the state. This means when Motivational Interviewing
and Case Management are rolled out, the Workout Wednesday activities will be centered on helping
you effectively coach your team through the implementation of those topics. We will be asking you to
participate in training by taking an active role in leading discussions.

With all of that now behind us, let’s get to the reason for which we’ve all gathered here
today….Coaching!

---------What is Coaching?---------

Coaching Analogy Activity: Divide participants into small groups, based on their
seating arrangements. The purpose of the activity is to get participants thinking
about what coaching is to them without first providing any context or additional
information. Instructions for the activity, for both the facilitator and participants
are outlined in a separate handout!

Over the past six months you’ve known Coaching is coming. You had the opportunity of viewing a brief
clip on coaching as presented by Matt Davis in the FEP Refocus videos.

Question/Discussion: What kinds of thoughts come to mind when you hear the
word “Coach?”

You may have thought of a person wearing a headset, pacing up and down the sideline as they anxiously
surveys the field. (Display picture of a coach in a headset) You may think of a person huddled around a
group of swimmers instructing and encouraging them (show picture). When you hear the word “Coach”
you may think of athletes on a field, or of musicians or actors/actresses. You may also think of a
business or life coach.

If you were to google the word, “Coach” on the internet your returned results would be 248,000,000.
The topics may range from “What is coaching,” “How to coach,” to available jobs across the globe. A
search in available jobs on jobs.utah.gov would result in approximately 676 employment opportunities
with the keyword of “coach.” “Coaching” seems to be a buzzword in today’s business world and even
Hollywood.

Question to Group: Has anyone seen the television series, “The Voice?” With
participants ask them to summarize the background and purpose of the show. The
below text may be helpful to the presenter…
You may have heard of the television show known as, “The Voice.” You may even be one of the millions
of viewers watching the show each week. The premise of the show is to allow amateur singers to
compete on a stage for a large cash prize and possibly a music contract. Each contestant auditions in
front of a panel of four “coaches.” These “coaches” are individuals who are successful in the music
industry. The “coaches” are seated in chairs in front of the stage with their backs turned to the
contestant. They are judging each person based on their singing ability only. The goal of each
contestant is to get as many coaches to turn around in their chair, indicating they are desirous for the
contestant to be a part of their team. If two or more “coaches” turn around in their chair, they each in-
turn attempt to persuade the contestant to join their team. The contestant then chooses his or her
coach, who will help them enhance their singing ability, stage presence, etc in an effort to win the show.

In today’s world of competition, whether athletics, music, or drama, there seems to be a demand for an
individual to help get a team or individual to the next level. For these teams and individuals finding the
right coach can make all the difference.

A coach can help a team or individual:

 Find opportunities in every mistake

 Build on their successes
 Work on sharpening skills and improving technique
 Plan tactics ahead of important events
 Stay at the top in a very competitive world

Athletic teams and individuals are willing to go to great lengths and money to find the best possible
coach for their organization.

Question/Discussion: What are the characteristics of an effective coach?

Explore with participants how they currently view an effective coach.
Brainstorm with participant’s ways an effective coach can benefit the
department and its employees. The following are several characteristics that
may be added to the list compiled by the cohort:

- Is committed to the players

o Work as a partner, and provide ongoing encouragement and respect
- Concentrates on improving performance
o They are able to discern the needs of all team members
o Addresses both mistakes and successes as learning opportunities
- Talks of ‘we’ and ‘us’, not ‘you’ and ‘them’
- Imposes no limits to the performance of individuals and teams
- Acts a role model for others to follow
- Patiently works with individuals on the specific details of their performance
- Stands back and let’s others take the credit
- Possesses the desire and willingness to be a coach

A coach helps members of their team perform better than they are currently doing, and assists in the
development of their skills and confidence over a period of time. Coaches know that results rarely
happen overnight. They take time to develop. But there is good news. With practice comes
competency, and a greater chance the skills or behavior is learned and engrained.
A coach thinks and operates in a way that: (Think of yourself in this role)

- Let’s go rather than follow me

- Shares knowledge rather than keeps it private
- Adopts an open style with others by being available
- Encourages others to go beyond their current level of ability
- See’s the relationship as a partnership

An effective coach:

- Builds a relationship of mutual respect

- Learns from failure, or what went wrong, as well as success
- Gets results by doing rather than simply talking
- Provides opportunities for growth

Coaching is the key to unlocking the potential in your employees, the department, and yourself. It is
based on the concept that individuals learn most from the everyday application of skills and by trying
things out in deliberate practice. Coaching is an interactive process that helps another person learn
something, improve, and take performance to the next level.

Coaching is an interactive process, which means it is a dialogue of give-and-take between the coach
(you) and the players (your employees). Coaching is not a monologue, and effective coaches listen as
much as, and sometimes more, than they talk. Coaching has multiple purposes. Sometimes the
purpose is improvement, and the coach helps an individual overcome a problem. Sometimes coaching is
about learning, and the coach enables the employee to master a new skill, task, or behavior. Sometimes
coaching is about growth, helping good performers maximize their potential. Coaching usually takes
place in the context of a conversation – it is a conversation with a purpose. But coaching also occurs
when you invite an employee to sit in on a meeting to observe how you handle it, or when you assign a
special project that stretches the individual’s skills. (Put these last two paragraphs in a summary that is
post card size)

Video: https://youtu.be/zYcn4GHxnD0 We’d like to show you a video of a

volleyball coach in action. After you view this video we’d like your
thoughts on this coach’s style and effectiveness.

---------What Coaching is Not: Coaching vs. Mentoring & Managing---------

Activity: To better help us understand what coaching is, let’s talk about what
coaching is NOT. Brainstorm with participants at your table and make a list of the
daily activities a manager and supervisor engages in. The groups may use the
sheets of paper found on their tables. Ask participants to categorize these
activities as either Coaching, Mentoring, or Managing. Encourage participants to
retrieve the handout in their Playbook and use the worksheet to document where
the activities fall (this document is entitled What is Coaching. Tell participants we
recognize they haven’t had these three activities defined to them beyond what
they may have read in the pre-activity. This is intentional. We want to see how
they would categorize their activities based on their current understanding of
coaching/mentoring/managing.
Coaching is not managing: Last week you were sent two separate articles that touch on the subject of
Coaching, and what it is. We added the two articles in the playbook for you to reference. These two
articles specifically dealt with coaching versus mentoring and coaching versus managing. Continuing in
your small groups, we would like you to discuss any new insights you had as a result of those articles
highlighting the differences between coaching and managing. Please discuss your thoughts as a group.
As a supervisor there may be an appropriate time to manage certain aspects or activities on your team.
To continue with the sports theme, consider this:

The head of a baseball team is called a “manager” and the head of a basketball team is called a “coach.”
The reason is not for the obvious differences in the sport itself. Rather, it is how the players are coached
and managed during the games. Just as baseball and basketball are two very different sports, coaching
and managing are two very different activities. One has to do with “telling them what to do” and the
other has to do with “helping them do it better.”

Add these boxes to ppt---

Coaching involves learning and improving a skill Managing is all about telling, directing, authority,
that will lead to a long-term improvement of an immediate needs, and a specific outcome
outcome

During a baseball game the manager focuses primarily on strategy and managing the flow of the game.
They decide who pitches and when. They position the player in the field based on the tendencies of the
batter. They relay commands to coaches, who then tell players when to swing, when to take a pitch,
and how to run the bases.

In basketball the coach has the same authority as a baseball manager, but they get more involved in the
action on the court. They call out plays and defensive schemes to the players, but they are then free to
implement those plays (using their skills and knowledge of the game) as they see fit. During time outs,
the coach draws up a play on the clipboard. They offer encouragement, support, and checks for
understanding. They also instruct players on how to react to the many possible outcomes depending on
what the other team does.

In our daily work we have to be both coaches and managers. To lead effectively, we need to know when
to wear each hat. Managing involves a more directive, task-oriented style that is best used under
certain conditions. It usually produces the best results in a crisis situation, when someone has never
done the task before, or when they have little or no confidence in their ability to get it done.

Knowing when to direct, delegate or develop is critical to managerial effectiveness. Determine which
style is appropriate based on the task at hand rather than the individual. Often, 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.

Return to Activity: based on what we talked about you may want to make changes
to your lists. Take 2 minutes to make any needed changes.
Guiding questions: what did you change on your lists and why?
Coaching is not mentoring: We’d like you to get back into your small group and discuss the article you
read regarding the differences between coaching and mentoring. We defined coaching as: The
interactive process that helps another person learn something, improve something, and take
performance to the next level.

The scope of mentoring is vastly greater than coaching – coaching is a subset of mentoring. It addresses
the whole person and their career.

Just like we said there are some Key Differences between coaching and managing. There are also
differences between coaching and mentoring:

Make a hand out for these but add managing--

Coaching Mentoring
Coaches are experts in specific areas A mentor is a developmental facilitator
- Content expertise is a requirement for - Content expertise is not as critical for the
effective coaching. The coach is the one mentor. What is more important is to
who guides and directs the employee in have the interpersonal skills to create a
learning safe learning environment
Coaches use terminology such as, “How can I Mentors use terminology such as, “My
support your learning? And Where would you like experience is….., and I know how…..”
to go from here?”
To correct inappropriate behavior, improve To support and guide personal and career growth
performance, and impart skills
The coach directs the learning The protégé is in charge of the learning
Focuses on immediate problems and Long-term personal career development
opportunities
Short-term and as-needed Long-term
Coach is often the boss Mentor usually is not the boss
Coaching helps all your employees or team Mentoring is for your exceptional employees,
members people who show promise but need help to
- When you coach employees, you become top performers
improve their ability to do their current - Give pep talks
jobs and increase their potential to do - Give instruction on the political waters
more in the future - Provide contacts and resources

Discussion: Using the list of activities previously categorized, reassess the identified
activities to see if what you are currently doing fits more within mentoring or
coaching. Have members of the workgroup adjust any of the activities as needed
by re-categorizing them under the desired heading.

Wrap up activities, guiding questions: what did you change on your lists and why?

How does coaching support Leadership & Managing:

- Leading – There are several different skills that make an individual a good leader. Let’s take a
look at a few skills that are identified as making a person an effective leader and see how
coaching compliments them:
o Honesty and Integrity – Effective leaders create an organizational culture built on these
two core values and hold all employees accountable to them. Effective leadership must
 also be trustworthy. Coaching compliments honesty, integrity and trustworthiness.
These three values are at the heart of coaching. We will have an opportunity to explore
these values in greater detail in course 2. An individual who is an effective coach also
demonstrates effective leadership.
o Vision - Effective leaders see the whole picture and are able to convey this picture to
employees. They are excellent at establishing clear goals for their teams. Coaching
compliments vision. It is the engine of individual performance, which translates directly
into team performance. Coaching focuses on accomplishing the specific tasks that are
directly tied to the vision.
o Communication – Effective communication skills are paramount in leadership. Leaders
communicate in a way that generates buy-in and support. Effective communication
skills are essential in effective coaching. Coaches are able to demonstrate active
listening, asking open-ended questions, and are cognizant of non-verbal
communication.
o Team Builder – Leaders must have outstanding team building skills. A good leader is
often more of a facilitator of the team, able to generate discussion and consensus. They
know that if the team believes in, and is committed to a plan, the chance of success
goes up immensely. Coaching is about the employee and team development is at the
heart of coaching.

Discussion (5 Minutes)- Explore with participants where they see leadership

and coaching crossing over. How does coaching compliment leadership in their
minds?

- Managing – To help distinguish the differences between “Leadership” and “Management,”

consider the following: Leadership involves creating a compelling vision of the future,
communicating that vision, and helping people understand and commit to it. Managing, on the
other hand, is responsible for ensuring that the vision is implemented efficiently and
successfully. Let’s take a look at a few skills that are identified as making a person an effective
manager and see how coaching compliments them:
o Delegation – The top priority of team managers is delegation. No matter how skills you
are, there’s only so much that you can achieve on your own. With a team behind you,
you can achieve so much more. Coaching compliments and support delegation by giving
employees an opportunity to learn new skills and grow. Coaching is a process that
allows the employee an opportunity to reflect on their own strengths and areas of
improvement, and sets out to develop specific skills in the employee. Delegation
provides an opportunity for an employee to learn and practice a new skill
o Motivation– The ability to inspire and motivate employees towards a common vision is
part of managing. These values are also at the heart of coaching. Effective coaches are
able to build energy in employees and inspire them in accomplishing the tasks assigned
to a goal.
o Communication – Effective communication skills are paramount in managing people.
Managers communicate in a way that generates buy-in and support. Effective
communication skills are essential in effective coaching. Coaches are able to
demonstrate active listening, asking open-ended questions, and pay attention to non-
verbal communication.
o Approachable– Above all, managing is a people job. When an employee needs to talk to
you with, being available and approachable is critical. Just as approachability is crucial
 for managing a team, it is equally imperative when coaching. In fact the skills learned as
an effective coach are transferrable to managing.

How will coaching help you do these activities better.

We will discuss more of these in more detail in Course two.

Discussion - Explore with participants where they see managing and

coaching crossing over. How does coaching compliment managing in their
minds?

Discussion: Now that we’ve defined coaching/mentoring/managing let’s

re-examine our list of daily activities. Do we want to change any of the
activities? Inform participants they have a handout in their Playbooks
entitled What is Coaching that contains a worksheet with three columns.
They are encouraged to write down the activities from the board.

---------Coaching Myths---------

In 2002 a television series made its debut on the Discovery channel known as MythBusters. The idea
behind the show was to take popular myth’s and either prove or disprove them using the scientific
method. The myths commonly portrayed in this television series were popularized by Hollywood
movies. We would like to do our own version of myth busting, even though there won’t be things
exploding and people jumping out of airplanes.

Myth: Coaching is a nice employment perk

Reality: Coaching is as much a perk to your employees as their computers are. If done correctly
coaching can drive employee engagement, creativity, workplace satisfaction and program improvement.
In a study conducted in 2011 by a Manchester Consulting Group, Wellness programs have been shown
to provide approximately a 300 percent return on investment. The return on investment for coaching is
even more astonishing. According to this group in their study of Fortune 100 executives, the Economic
Times reports “coaching resulted in a return on investment (ROI) of almost six times the program cost as
well as a 77 percent improvement in relationships, 67 percent improvement in teamwork, 61 percent
improvement in job satisfaction and 48 percent improvement in quality.

Myth: Coaching is for “problem” employees

Reality: Coaching used to be a euphemism for, “you’re doing lousy work, but, before we can fire you, we
need to first show we’ve done everything we can to support you.” According to Paul Michelman, editor
of Harvard Business School’s Management Update, “Whereas coaching was once viewed by many as a
tool to help correct underperformance, today it is becoming much more widely used in supporting top
producers. In fact, in a 2004 survey by Right Management Consultants, 86 percent of companies said
they used coaching to sharpen the skills of individuals who have been identified as future organizational
leaders.”

Myth: Coaching is the same as training.

Reality: Training and coaching are different activities, although sometimes the skills are similar. Training
is normally giving someone new information, skills or knowledge. Coaching is not giving anything, it is
allowing the employee to formulate their way forward, aligning their energy with their goals. It is
working with the skills and knowledge they already have and applying them to the real world in a
business environment.
 ---------A Case for Coaching---------

Research has demonstrated the importance of coaching within an organization. We would like to
highlight several benefits to both the department and its employees as a result of coaching:

Discussion: How do you see coaching effecting the department? What are
the benefits?

Benefits to the department:

- Managing continuous change – Coaching plays a vital role in equipping individuals to adapt, to
learn quickly, and to master behaviors required to deal with continuous change. Coaches use
their communication skills to overcome resistance. Once a coach understands where there may
be resistance in an employee, they can build the individual’s confidence in their ability to meet
the demands of change.

Discussion: How does coaching assist in managing change?

- Building personal capability to match performance demands – As demands for higher

performance continue to rise, the gap between performance expectations and personal
capabilities widens. Take a minute and think about how your work has changed over the past
12 to 18 months;
o What new skills have you had to master?
o What new responsibilities have you added to your job?
o What challenges are you facing that require you to develop new ways of doing things?
It takes coaching to fill these performance gaps. Coaches explain not only what new skills are
required, but also why they are important. They encourage employees to stretch beyond
perceived personal limits and provide the guidance and feedback indispensable for skill mastery.

Discussion: How does coaching assist in building personal capability?

- Boost productivity – Coaching provides the avenue in which teams work smarter, not just harder

Discussion: How does coaching assist in managing change?

- Empowering breakthrough results – Most organizations experience various rounds of cost

cutting, reengineering, and similar measures designed to survive, trim expenses, and improve
processes. What has become clear is that the leadership skills required for these organizational
improvements are very different from leading for breakthroughs. Breakthroughs mean
achieving heights the organization has never reached. It means engaging the hearts, minds, and
talents of everyone to create innovating solutions.
Coaches encourage new approaches and challenge old assumptions, as well as facilitate creative
thinking. The managing director of a major Boston distribution center said, “In coaching
conversations, both one-on-one and with teams, I help people understand they can accomplish
things they think are impossible. There’s an assumption that only “special people” with “unique
talents” achieve breakthroughs. But in reality, most of the important innovations we’ve seen
over the last several years were done by people who had a vision of what’s possible and made it
happen. Invariably, you find out that the person or team responsible for the breakthrough was
 the recipient of strong coaching.” Organizations seeking to create a powerful future understand
that wherever high performance is required, coaching is essential!

Discussion: How does coaching assist in empowering breakthroughs?

- Improve retention – Employees are more loyal and motivated when their bosses take time to
help them improve their skills.

Discussion: How does coaching assist in employee retention?

- Talent development – One of the many responsibilities of a supervisor is developing his or her
team members for employment opportunities. This may include a promotion or lateral transfer
into a different division or position. Coaching provides tools to supervisors to assist them in
developing their team who can step into their shoes. This is one of the rewarding aspects of
supervision.

Discussion: How does coaching assist in talent development?

What do you think the individual benefits to the employee are?

Benefits to employees:

Discussion: How do you see coaching effecting employees? What are the
benefits?

- Skill building – Employees develop valuable skills and knowledge they can use to advance in
their individual careers
- Feeling of support – Employees feel supported and encouraged by their supervisor and the
department
- Personal satisfaction – Employees experience the pride and satisfaction that come with
surmounting new challenges

---------Course 1 Wrap Up & Summary---------

Summary or Review of what we discussed today -

Discussion: Ask participants to summarize the information they learned in course 1.

What specifically do they recall from the discussions that took place? As participants
to reflect back to the various discussion and answer the following questions:

What is coaching to you? What is an example of when coaching can be used?

What is mentoring to you? What is an example of when mentoring can be used?

What is managing to you? What is an example of when managing can be used?

What are the benefits to the department as a result of implementing coaching

principles?

What are the benefits to the employee as a result of implementing coaching

principles?
 Let’s take a moment to review the information we reviewed today.

What is coaching? – As we’ve thus far discussed, coaching is the key to unlocking the potential in your
employees. It is based on the concept that individual’s learn most from the everyday application of skills
and by trying things out in deliberate practice.

Coaching is an interactive process between the coach and the player. This means it is a dialogue of give-
and-take. Coaching has multiple purposes. Sometimes it is improvement and sometimes it is about
growth that enables high performers to maximize their potential.

We compared ways in which coaching is different from managing. We defined managing by telling and
directing. It comes from a place of authority and is designed to meet an immediate need with a specific
outcome in mind. Coaching on the other hand involves learning and improving a skill that will lead to
long-term improvement of an outcome.

In addition to comparing ways in which coaching is different from managing, we also compared how it is
different from mentoring. Coaching is designed for each member of a team, whereas mentoring is
generally reserved for high performing employees looking to advance in the organization. The
relationship is another area where there are differences. A coaching relationship is short-term and as
needed. A mentoring relationship is long-term.

Skill Building Take Away Activity - Over the next week you will have an opportunity to engage in
interactions with your team. Today you learned the differences between coaching, mentoring, and
managing activities and interactions with your team. During your time between Coaching Courses 1 and
2, we ask that you make every effort to change a mentoring or managing interaction with your team
into a coaching interaction. We ask that you document your experience in turning these interactions
into coaching opportunities. Please fill out this form and bring it next week to Course Two’s Coaching
training. We look forward to seeing you there! The form we want you to use is found in your Playbook
and entitled, “Turning Management/Mentoring Opportunities into Coaching.” Please come prepared to
discuss your experience when we next meet in a month.

Conclusion of Course 1: As we’ve talked today one of the characteristics of an effective coach is his or
her ability to motivate members of their team despite the current conditions. The following videos
portray coaches motivating their teams.

In the first short clip you will see a scene from the movie entitled, We are Marshall. The story is about
the Marshall University football team and overcoming a tragic plan crash that killed several players,
among others. The setting of this scene is the cemetery memorial where six of the players are buried.
The coach is attempting to inspire the team prior to their first game.

Next you will see a short clip from Remember the Titans. In this clip the Titans are behind on the
scoreboard. The players are emotionally and physically drained and discouraged. In an effort to inspire
his players to action, the defensive coordinator gathers his players together. You will see his message to
the team.

The third clip is from the West Virginia football team. Its halftime and you can tell the players are
exhausted and tired. Before retaking the field he delivers a rousing message.

The final short clip is taken from the move Miracle. The story in this movie is about the 1980 USA
Hockey Team. The setting is the gold medal round, where USA is matched up against Russia. The
Russian team is by far the best team in the world. In this clip you will hear Coach Herb Brooks rally his
team before they take the ice.

Show video collage: https://youtu.be/NGVJTAsc5b0

Discussion: What are participants actively doing with their teams to inspire and
motivate them? Are they holding a standup meeting each morning to kick off the
day? Is there something else they are doing that is working?

Motivation without substance is fluff and a waste of time. We have to build the
skills first before we have the substance. In course 2 you will learn the
characteristics.
 Let’s Coach!

Review the Goals & Expectations: The first step in the skill development process is to review the current
performance goals or expectations. Put simply, does the employee understand what is expected from them?

Assess the Performance: In informal coaching this is quickly accomplished by the observation of the
supervisor. For example, a supervisor can quickly assess an employee’s performance by listening in on a
conversation or phone call, or by statements made by the customer.

Provide Feedback & Guidance: In this step the supervisor has an opportunity to discuss with the employee
their individual performance in a specific area. The objective of the coach is to get the employee to self-
identify their strengths and weaknesses and formulate their own action plan. For example, an interaction
between a customer and an employment counselor didn’t go so well. Through a series of questions a
supervisor may help the employee review the interaction with the customer and identify where
improvements can be made.

Establish an Action Plan: Successful coaches are able to engage their employees in developing an action plan
that contains the following elements: Specific goal, Steps to achieving the goal, how to measure progress,
resources and support needed, and target dates. In Informal Coaching, these steps do not necessarily need to
be written down; although it may be helpful to write it down. An example of this is when a supervisor
observes a meeting between a supervisor and employment counselor. The customer comes into the office
visibly overwhelmed and on the verge of tears. She shares her frustrations and concerns with her
employment counselor. Unfortunately, her concerns are not validated. The customer leaves the meeting
feeling even more frustrated than before. The supervisor assists the employment counselor in identifying a
goal to practice active listening and reading non-verbal cues with the next customer. They explore ways in
which they can achieve the goal and agree that the supervisor will observe the next appointment.

Follow-Up & Measure Progress: The next step in the skill development process is to follow up and measure
progress. This step is crucial in the process. It is an opportunity for the supervisor to demonstrate their
commitment to the employee and their growth. Using the example from Establishing an Action Plan,
following the next appointment with a customer, the supervisor sits down with the employment counselor
and they discuss what went well and areas for additional growth. If necessary, the process is repeated.
What is Coaching?
Note Page
Characteristics of Effective Coaches?
Note Page
How Coaching Compliments Leadership
Note Page
 Benefits from Coaching
Note Page
Benefits to the Department:

Benefits to the Employee:

 Mythbusting Coaching
Note Page
Myth: Coaching is a nice employment bonus

Reality: Coaching is as much a bonus to your employees as their computers are. If done correctly coaching
can drive employee engagement, creativity, workplace satisfaction and program improvement.

Myth: Coaching is for “problem” employees

Reality: Coaching used to be a euphemism for, “you’re doing lousy work, but, before we can fire you, we
need to first show we’ve done everything we can to support you.”
 Mythbusting Coaching
Note Page
Myth: Coaching is the same as training.

Reality: Training and coaching are different activities, although sometimes the skills are similar. Training is
normally giving someone new information, skills or knowledge. Coaching is not giving anything, it is allowing
the employee to formulate their way forward, aligning their energy with their goals. It is working with the
skills and knowledge they already have and applying them to the real world in a business environment.

Myth: Coaching takes too much time

Reality: You are already coaching your employees. You just may not realize it
What does it mean to Mentor?
Note Page
**The content found in the table below is portrayed in the pr esentation. However, because of limited size on the slide, not all
of the information is displayed. The table below contains the information in its entirety.
Coaching Mentoring
Coaches are experts in specific areas A mentor is a developmental facilitator
- Content expertise is a requirement for - Content expertise is not as critical for the
effective coaching. The coach is the one mentor. What is more important is to
who guides and directs the employee in have the interpersonal skills to create a
learning safe learning environment
Coaches use terminology such as, “How can I Mentors use terminology such as, “My
support your learning? And Where would you experience is….., and I know how…..”
like to go from here?”
To correct inappropriate behavior, improve To support and guide personal and career growth
performance, and impart skills
The coach directs the learning The protégé is in charge of the learning
Focuses on immediate problems and Long-term personal career development
opportunities
Short-term and as-needed Long-term
Coach is often the boss Mentor usually is not the boss
Coaching helps all your employees or team Mentoring is for your exceptional employees,
members people who show promise but need help to
- When you coach employees, you become top performers
improve their ability to do their current - Give pep talks
jobs and increase their potential to do - Give instruction on the political waters
more in the future - Provide contacts and resources
What does it mean to Manage?
Note Page
How Coaching Compliments Managing
Note Page
 Coaching vs.
Mentoring
In the field of employee development, an area that creates much confusion, are the differences between
coaching and mentoring.
The confusion often causes organizations to opt for mentoring or coaching without understanding they
serve a different purpose and follow different paths to employee development. A failure to understand
these differences often leads to disappointing results and the tendency to blame coaching rather than
realizing the incorrect system was implemented.

Mentoring and Coaching Defined

Mentoring systems are designed to promote professional development by
linking an employee with a mentor who will focus on the overall development
of that employee. Mentoring is transformational and involves much more
than simply acquiring a specific skill or knowledge. Mentoring is about
developing both a professional and personal relationship between the mentor
and the employee. In may ways, mentoring is like counseling.

Coaching is about skills and knowledge acquisition. The primary focus is

professional. In many ways, coaching is similar to teaching.

Coaching vs. Mentoring: Six Ways They Are Different

Coaching is task oriented. It seeks to bring the Mentoring is relationship oriented. It seeks to
employee to a different level of competence in provide a safe environment where the employee
terms of learning new skills or knowledge. This can share whatever critical issues affect his or her
requires a coach who is capable of teaching the professional and personal success. Although
employee how to develop these skills. What is specific learning goals or competencies may be
necessary for this used as a basis for creating the relationship,
to be successful is for the coach to have mentoring’s focus goes beyond these areas to
credibility and be able to communicate include things like work/
effectively with the employee.
life balance, self-confidence, self-perception and how
a personal life influences the professional life.

Coaching is short term. A coach can successfully be Mentoring is always long term. To be successful,
involved with an employee for a short period of mentoring requires time in which both partners
time. Coaching lasts for as long as needed can learn about one another and build a climate
depending on the purpose of the coaching of trust that creates an environment in which the
relationship. employee can feel secure in sharing the real issues
impacting their success.

Adapted from Forbes, Know When to Manage and When to Coach, May 1, 2012,
Department of Workforce Services
http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/05/01/know-when-to-manage-and-when-to-coach/

Department of Workforce Services

Coaching is about performance. The purpose of Mentoring is about development. It’s purpose is to
coaching is to improve the individual’s develop the individual not on the current job, but
performance on the job. This involves either for the future.
enhancing current skills or acquiring new skills.
Once skills are acquired successfully, coaching is
no longer needed.

Coaching can be done for remedial purposes. Mentoring is never remedial. Mentoring does not
An employee on the verge of low performance focus on the employee’s immediate job. Mentoring
can often turn performance around through the does not get involved in trying to “save” a poor
intervention of an effective coach. performer.

Coaching is one-directional. Coaching focuses on Mentoring is bi-directional. Both mentors and

the employee’s needs. Whether a coach gains employees benefit from the relationship.
insight into himself or herself as a coach or learns Mentors often articulate they gain new
anything new from the employee is irrelevant to perspectives, a renewed sense of their own
effective coaching. abilities, and expertise and the satisfaction in
knowing they assisted another person in
developing professionally and personally.

Coaching is concerned about behavioral Mentoring is concerned about personal

transformation. Coaching focuses on getting transformation. Mentoring is concerned with
someone to do something better and gain new assisting an employee in maintaining his or her
expertise. genuine identity a a member of the agency.

Describe three times when you’ve been Describe three times when you’ve been
........................................

coached. (Does not need to be in a mentored. (Does not need to be in a

professional setting): professional setting):
1.
1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

Adapted from Forbes, Know When to Manage and When to Coach, May 1, 2012,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/05/01/know-when-to-manage-and-when-to-coach/
 Know
when to Manage
and when to Coach

Have you ever wondered why the head of a baseball team is called the manager and the head of a basketball
team is called the coach? The answer has to do not just with the obvious differences between the two sports,
but also with how the players are coached and managed during the games. Just as baseball and basketball
are two very different sports, coaching and managing are two very different activities. One has to do with
directing, the other has to do with teaching.
.....................................................................................
Managing
............................................................. Coaching
Managing is all about telling,
directing, authority, immediate Coaching involves exploring, facilitating,
needs and a specific outcome. partnership, long-term improvement and
many possible outcomes.

In basketball, the coach has the same

authority as a baseball manager, but he gets
more involved with the action on the court.
He calls out plays and defensive
schemes to the players, but they are then
free to implement those plays using their
skills and knowledge of the game as they
see fit.
During time-outs, the coach draws up
During a baseball game, the manager
plays on the clipboard. He offers
focuses primarily on strategy and
encouragement, support and
managing the flow of the game. He decides
suggestions. He also instructs players on
who pitches, and the positions of the how to react to many possible outcomes
players in the field based on the tendencies depending on what the other team does.
of the batter. He relays commands to
coaches, who then tell players when to Coaching works best for performance
swing, when to take a pitch and how to run purposes, teaching and facilitating.
the bases.
Managing involves more authority, a
more directive, and a task-oriented
style. It usually produces the best results in
a crisis situation, when someone has never
done the task before, or when they have
little or no confidence in their ability to get
it done.

Adapted from Forbes, Know When to Manage and When to Coach, May 1, 2012,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/05/01/know-when-to-manage-and-when-to-coach/
 What are 3 work-related examples of What are 3 work-related examples
when you would need to

............................................................................
of when you would need to
manage? coach?

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

Adapted from Forbes, Know When to Manage and When to Coach, May 1, 2012,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/05/01/know-when-to-manage-and-when-to-coach/
 What are the Differences?
Coaching Managing Mentoring
 Coaching Analogy Activity
Purpose:
To assist participants in warming up their thought process in thinking of descriptions,
adjectives, and comparisons of the term ‘coaching’ early on in the course so they are in the
right mindset quickly. Participants will be grouped together by seating arrangement. Warm
them up in helping them feel comfortable with each other and getting to know each other.
Instructions:
1. Divide participants into small groups.
2. The groups will brainstorm and list all the words associated with coaching.
3. The groups will rank their words by identifying the top 3 words that best illustrate the
essence of what coaching is and therefore the most important.
4. They will create an analogy of coaching by completing the following
sentence: Coaching is like_ _ because __.

Example: Coaching is like fishing because it takes a lot of practice and patience.
5. They will draw an illustration depicting their analogy on coaching.
6. They will explain their analogy to the large group.

Materials Needed:
Markers
Large Sheets of Paper
 Instructions:
1. As a group, brainstorm and make a list of all the words that come to mind associated with
coaching.
2. As a group, identify the top three words from your list that best illustrate the meaning
of coaching.
3. Create an analogy of coaching by completing the following sentence:
Coaching is like_ _ because __.

Example: Coaching is like fishing because it takes a lot of practice and patience.
4. Draw an illustration depicting your analogy on coaching.
5. Explain your analogy to the large group.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Instructions
1. As a group, brainstorm and make a list of all the words that come to mind associated with
coaching.
2. As a group, identify the top three words from your list that best illustrate the meaning
of coaching.
3. Create an analogy of coaching by completing the following sentence:
Coaching is like_ _ because __.

Example: Coaching is like fishing because it takes a lot of practice and patience.
4. Draw an illustration depicting your analogy on coaching.
5. Explain your analogy to the large group.
 Coaching Drills
Coaching Course 1

3) What are 3 things you learned about Coaching vs. Mentoring and
using your unique coaching style to Coach?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

2) What are 2 things you will put into Practice in the next 30 days?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

1) What is 1 thing you would like to learn more about?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _
 Coaching Drills
Module 2

3) What are 3 things you learned about Effective Coaching?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

2) What are 2 things you will put into Practice in the next 30 days?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

1) What is 1 thing you would like to learn more about?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _
 What is Coaching?
Review of Course 1
Coaching is an interactive process that helps another person learn something, improve something, and take performance
to the next level.

A coach helps employees perform better than they are currently and assists in the development of their skills and
confidence over a period of time.

Purposes of Coaching:
 Improvement - work on sharpening skills and improving technique; help an employee overcome a
problem and find opportunities in every mistake
 Learning – enable the employee to master a new skill, task, or behavior; or build on their successes
 Growth – help good performers maximize their potential and stay on top in a very competitive world

Coaching usually takes place in the context of a conversation – it is a conversation with a purpose. But coaching also
occurs when you invite an employee to sit in on a meeting to observe how you handle it, or when you assign a special
project that stretches the individual’s skills.

Characteristics of Effective Coaches:

• Committed to the players
• Concentrates on improving performance
• Talks of ‘we’ and ‘us’, not ‘you’ and ‘them’
• Imposes no limits to the performance of individuals and teams
• Acts a role model for others to follow
• Works patiently with individuals on the specific details of their performance
• Stands back and let’s others take the credit
• Possesses the desire and willingness to be a coach

Coaches think and operate as:

• “Let’s go” rather than “Follow me”
• Shares knowledge rather than keeps it private
• Adopts an open style with others by being available
• Encourages others to go beyond their current level of ability
• See’s the relationship as a partnership

An effective Coach:
• Builds a relationship of mutual respect
• Learns from failure, or what went wrong, as well as success
• Gets results by doing rather than simply talking
• Provides opportunities for growth
Coaching is not Managing:

Coaching Managing
*Learning a new skill *Telling
*Improving a skill *Directing
*Emphasis on long-term *Emphasis on specific outcome
improvement

In our daily work we have to be both coaches and managers. To lead effectively, we need to know when to
wear each hat. Managing involves a more direct, task-oriented style that is best used under certain
conditions. It usually produces the best results in a crisis situation, when someone has never done the task
before, or when they have little or no confidence in their ability to get it done.

Coaching is not Mentoring:

Coaching Mentoring
*Experts in specific areas *Developmental facilitators
*Improve performance *Support & guide
*Coaches direct learning *Employee in charge of learning
*Short-term & “as-needed” *Long-term
*Coach is often the boss *Mentor is not the boss
*Benefits all employees *Often reserved for exceptional employees

Coaching Supports Leadership & Managing:

Honesty & Integrity: Effective leaders create an organizational culture built on honesty and integrity.
Effective leaders are trustworthy. Coaching compliments honesty, integrity and
trustworthiness.
Vision: Effective leaders see the whole picture and are able to convey this picture
to employees. They are excellent at establishing clear goals for their teams.
Communication: Effective communication skills are paramount in leadership. Leaders
communicate in a way that generates buy-in and support. Effective
communication skills are imperative in effective coaching. Coaches are able to
demonstrate active listening, asking open-ended questions, and are cognizant of
non-verbal communication.
Team Builder: Leaders must have outstanding team building skills. A good leader is often more
of a facilitator of the team, able to generate discussion and consensus. They
know if the team believes in, and is committed to a plan, the chance of success
goes up immensely. Coaching is about employee and team development.
 Make Time for Above all, managing is a people job. When an employee needs to talk to you.
Employees: being available and approachable is imperative. Just as approachability is crucial
for managing a team, it is equally imperative when coaching.

Delegation: Coaching compliments and supports delegation by giving employees an

opportunity to learn new skills and grow. Coaching is a process allowing
employees an opportunity to reflect on their own strengths and areas of
improvement. Delegation provides an opportunity for an employee to learn and
practice a new skill.

Motivating Your The ability to inspire and motive employees towards a common vision is part of
Team: managing. These values are also at the heart of coaching. Effective coaches are
able to build energy in employees and inspire them in accomplishing the tasks
assigned to a goal.

Benefits to the
Department: Managing Coaching plays a vital role in equipping individuals to adapt, learn quickly, and
Continuous Change: to master behaviors required to deal with continuous change. Coaches use their
communication skills to overcome resistance. Once a coach understands where
there may be resistance in an employee, they can build the individual’s
confidence in their ability to meet the demands of change.

Building Personal As demands for higher performance continue to rise, the gap between
Capability: performance expectations and personal capabilities widens. It takes coaches to fill
performance gaps. Coaches explain not only what new skills are required, but also
why they are important. They encourage employees to stretch beyond perceived
personal limits and provide the guidance and feedback indispensable for skill
mastery.

Boost Productivity: Coaching provides the avenue in which teams work smarter, not just harder.

Empowering Most organizations experience various rounds of cost cutting, reengineering,

Breakthrough Results: and similar measures designed to survive, trim expenses, and improve
processes.
What has become clear is that the leadership skills required for these
organizational improvements are very different from leading for breakthroughs.
Breakthroughs mean achieving heights the organization has never reached. It
means engaging the hearts, minds, and talents of everyone to create innovating
solutions.
Wherever high performance is required, coaching is essential!

Improve Retention: Employees are more loyal and motivated when their bosses take time to help
them improve their skills.

Talent Development: One of the many responsibilities of a supervisor is developing their employees
for employment opportunities. This may include a promotion or lateral transfer
into a different division or position. Coaching provides tools to supervisors to
assist them in developing their team who can step into their shoes. This is one
of the rewarding aspects of supervision.

Skill Building: Employees develop valuable skills and knowledge they can use to advance in
their individual careers.

Feeling of Support: Employees feel supported and encouraged by their supervisor and the
department.

Personal Satisfaction: Employees experience the pride and satisfaction that come with surmounting
new challenges.

In a study conducted in 2011 by a Manchester Consulting Group, Wellness programs have been shown to
provide approximately a 300 percent return on investment. The return on investment for coaching is even
more astonishing. According to this group in their study of Fortune 100 executives, the Economic Times
reports coaching resulted in a return on investment of almost six times the program cost as well as a 77
percent improvement in relationships, 67 percent improvement in teamwork, 61 percent improvement in
job satisfaction and 48 percent improvement in quality
 Coaching Activity
Instructions: When you return to your office after participating in Course 1, please take a few minutes to
reflect on daily activities. Where do you anticipate time constraints and other challenges to
coaching? Please document these challenges in the left column. After you’ve had a chance to
ponder your daily activities and anticipate challenges, please take a moment and ponder
potential solutions to each identified challenge. Please come prepared to discuss this activity
during
Course 2.

Challenges I Anticipate to Coaching Potential Solutions to these Challenges

Effectively
 The Seven Hidden Reasons Employees Leave
The following information is based on an analysis done with the Saratoga Institute in California,
the world leader in third-party exit interviewing and employee-commitment surveying. Using a database
of 19,700 exit and current employee surveys Saratoga conducted for 17 different industries, Leigh
Branham identified the following seven reasons as the hidden reasons employees leave their jobs.

Offered in no particular order. All show employees left due to loss of one or more of the
following: trust, hope, worth and competence.

Employees share much of the responsibility for staying engaged, however, most levers
increasing employee engagement lie within the power of the direct leadership and senior leaders.

Reason #1

There is too little coaching and feedback. More than 60 percent of employees reported they didn’t get
enough feedback. Lack of feedback is the number one reason for performance problems. Many
managers give feedback once a year at performance reviews, which is like a basketball coach telling his
players at the beginning of the season, “You’re going to go out and play 30 games, and at the end of the
season, I’ll evaluate your performance.”

Great coaches give timely feedback. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reason #2

Workers feel devalued and unrecognized. Examples of different reasons why workers feel devaluated:
inequality of pay for similar work, not being acknowledge for a job well done, being treated with
disrespect, having their differences regarded as negative rather than prized, and not receiving the right
resources. Also, employees feel they are viewed as interchangeable, disposable, and easily replaceable.

The desire to be recognized, praised, and considered important is part of our human needs, yet 60
percent of employees say they feel ignored or taken for granted.

Great coaches start making people feel important on day one. Hallmark throws welcoming parties for
new hires. Another organization puts pastries on the desk of new hires on their first day of work so
other employees will have an incentive to drop by and welcome them. There are so many ideas on what
can be done to make new hires feel welcome and also to make incumbent staff feel important.

Reason #3

There is a loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders. Companies with high trust levels outperform
companies with low trust levels by 186 percent. So why do only 39 percent of American workers trust
their senior leaders? Why do only 50 percent of employees believe management is concerned with their
well-being of employees?

1
Adapted from http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/EUArticle.cfm?ItemNumber_11514
Employees in too many companies look at their senior executives and see self-interested, short-term
forced, ego-driven greed. There are, of course plenty of employee-focused, trustworthy and loyalty-
inspiring senior managers, but not enough to go around.

Great leaders have a “give-and-get-back” mindset that is typical of servant leaders. For example, CEO
David Neeleman, of Jet Blue Airlines knows many of his 6,000 employees by name, asks about their
personal lives, and is constantly thinking about ways to improve the morale of all crew members. He
stays behind after planes have landed to help clean the cabins and pitches in to pass out snacks when he
flies.

Because only 40 percent of workers believe their companies are well managed, senior leaders need to
build and communicate a solid plan and vision for successful employees will follow.

Reason #4

The job was not as expected. Approximately 35 percent of American workers quit in the first six months
because they have unrealistic expectations about the job or are misled during the interviewing process.
Examples: the employee realizes they have to report to a different boss or won’t be advancing to the
next position as soon as expected.

It is crucial to give job candidates a realistic preview of the job and not oversell the job or department
for fear the candidate won’t consider the job.

Reason #5

There is a mismatch between job and person. This can happen when the need to hire quickly leads to
hiring warm bodies just to fill spots. Or when hiring managers believe skills make people eligible for the
job more than talent. This also happens when hiring managers wrongly think training will transform the
wrong people into the right people.

If you cannot find the right person, postpone the hiring. Analyze talents and personality factors. Use
behavior-based interviewing and multiple interviews. Check references with skill and persistence.
Emphasize quality of hire over time to fill or cost per hire.

Reason #6

There are too few growth and advancement opportunities. Eighty-five percent of employees say career
growth is a key reward, only 49 percent say their companies are providing it. Many organizations now
provide self-assessment and career-growth workshops for employees, supported by a career-coach
training for managers. Such training prepares both parties to initiate meaningful discussion of talents,
needs, and new options within the organization.

Reason #7
Workers suffer from stress due to overwork and work-life balance. “Doing more with less” has taken a
toll on the American worker. More than 40 percent of Americans say their jobs are extremely stressful.
Another 70 percent say they don’t have a healthy balance between work and personal lives, and 60
percent would give up some pay in exchange for more personal or family time.

When First Tennessee bank allowed some of its branches to adopt flextime, it found that customer-
retention rates were seven percent higher in those offices, and employee-retention rates were twice
those without flex time. SAS Institute in Cary, North Carolina saves $67 million per year in avoided
turnover costs by constantly dreaming up new ways to take care of its employees.