Coaching Practice

Principles of Management

For your second journal, you will coach a friend, practicing the skills and process of coaching. the
friend will complete a rubric and you will write a journal on the experience.

Activity & Journal prompt 2:

1. Activity:

Ask someone with whom you have a comfortable and respectful relationship to partner with you for
this task. Going forward, they will be referred to as the “Coachee” or “they” and you will be referred to
as the “Coach” or “you.”

You can choose from any of these options for the base of your conversation:

a) A challenge or opportunity the Coachee faces at work or school – you do not have to use their
requested topic if you believe you will be emotionally involved or it is too complex for a first
time coaching conversation. You are learning not performing.
b) A challenge or opportunity you face at work or school – your Coachee can decline to use it as
the topic if they are uncomfortable with it or the challenge is with a person the Coachee also
knows.
c) A challenge or opportunity you make up.
d) Any of these:
a. The Coachee has been late to work by 5-10 minutes three times last week and twice the
week before. Timeliness is necessary for customer satisfaction.
b. The Coachee has been offered two different promotion opportunities and is unsure
which to choose.
c. The Coachee’s teammates have complained that the Coachee’s written reports are not
grammatically correct.
d. The Coachee does not use the department’s shared calendar to note their whereabouts
during the workday and you, their boss, have been frustrated several times this month
because you cannot determine the Coachee’s availability or location without extra phone
calls and emails.
e. The Coachee is deciding among several Coursera courses to take when they complete
their current course and would like your advice.

Coach’s instructions:

A. Plan ahead for your coaching conversation with the Coachee by

1) writing down your goal(s):
______________________________________________________________
2) writing down your Opening statement – remember: in the Opening stage, you must invite the
Coachee into an interactive coaching conversation and ensure you each have the same
definition of the challenge or opportunity:

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B. Schedule 15 – 45 minutes for the conversation.
C. Coach the Coachee and provide them the rubric to complete in private and in full before returning it
to you.
D. Complete the Coaching Reflection (see below) before reading the Coachee’s rubric.
E. Complete the Journal entry.

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 Coaching Rubric: Coachee
Coach: ___________________ Date: ____________________

Coachee: _________________

Completely Agree Neither Agree Disagree Completely

Agree Somewhat nor Disagree Somewhat Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

Rate your agreement using the scale above with the following statements:
Score
During the conversation, I believe the Coach listened to me with complete attention and
attempted to fully understand my statements and feelings.
During the conversation, the Coach asked me open-ended questions that encouraged me to
think through the challenge or opportunity under discussion for myself, without attempting
to guide me to the Coach’s preferred answers or outcomes.
During the conversation, the Coach reflected my viewpoints back to me several times.
The Coach’s reflecting statements were accurate (if the Coach did not reflect your
viewpoints, score this statement a 1).
The Coach did not diminish or judge my views, experiences, questions, and/or concerns.
The Coach summarized at least 3 times during the conversation.
I felt invited into the conversation – the Coach did not assume I was open to coaching on
the topic. If the topic regarded a performance shortfall, the Coach clearly identified the gap
between my actions or work and their desired end state.
If I felt defensive or ashamed at all during the conversation, the Coach acknowledged my
feelings and clarified that their goal was not to dwell on the past but to learn for the future
(if you did not feel defensive or ashamed, score this statement a 5).
Based on the Coach’s statements during the conversation, it was clear to me when we
moved from diagnosing the challenge or opportunity to generating options.
Based on the Coach’s statements during the conversation, it was clear to me when we
moved from generating options to selecting an option and determining next steps.
Based on the Coach’s statements toward the end of the conversation, it was clear to me
what I was to do and by when.
I believe the Coach has confidence in my ability to carry out my next steps.
I would accept coaching from this Coach again.
Total score
% out of possible 60 points

My next steps are:

I am expected to share the status of these steps with the Coach by (date and time):

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 Coaching Reflection: Coach
Coach: ___________________ Date: ____________________

Coachee: _________________

My goal(s) for the conversation were (copy this from the instructions page):

I met the goal(s): Yes / in Part / No

Whether or not I met the goal(s), I believe the Coachee would be willing to be coached by me in the
future: Yes / No

Why or why not?

Coaching skill Examples of statements I made that used this skill:

Actively listening

Interviewing, especially
using open-ended questions
Reflecting

Demonstrating respect

Authentically self-disclosing
(if necessary and possible)
Recognizing other’s stress (if
needed)
Summarizing

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Coaching rubric: Coach

Completely Agree Neither Agree Disagree Completely

Agree Somewhat nor Disagree Somewhat Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

Rate your agreement using the scale above with the following statements:
Score
During the conversation, I listened to the Coachee with complete attention and attempted to
fully understand their statements and feelings.
During the conversation, I asked the Coachee open-ended questions that encouraged the
Coachee to think through the challenge or opportunity under discussion for themseves,
without attempting to guide them to my preferred answers or outcomes.
During the conversation, I reflected the Coachee’s viewpoints back to them several times.
The Coach did not diminish or judge my views, experiences, questions, and/or concerns.
The Coach summarized at least 3 times during the conversation.
I made a clear statement that signaled to the Coachee that the Opening stage was
complete.
I made a clear statement that signaled to the Coachee that we were moving into the
Learning stage.
I made a clear statement that signaled to the Coachee that the Learning stage was
complete.
I made a clear statement that signaled to the Coachee that we were moving into the
Planning stage.
I made a clear statement that signaled to the Coachee that the Planning stage was
complete.
Before we ended the conversation, the Coachee stated their next steps.
We have a specific date by when the Coachee will follow up with me on the status of the
next steps.
I expressed my complete confidence in the Coach’s ability to carry out their next steps.
I believe this Coachee would coaching from me again.
Total score
% out of possible 70 points

Review your Coachee’s rubric and answers to questions at the end. Do the scores you gave yourself
align with theirs? In what ways did their experience differ from your expectations for their experience?
In what ways were they the same.

Use these questions to write your second journal entry for the Coaching module:

2. Journal Prompt 2:
What went well?
What was your Coachee’s experience of the coaching conversation? Did it differ from how you expected them to
experience it?
What might you do differently next time you coach someone?

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