On Being an Effective Coach
Paul Eitmant
Coaching in today’s world is a lot different than teaching/coaching your child how to step in while hitting a baseball or teaching them to drive a car with a five speed on the floor.
After 42 years in the electrical industry, the number one item on my list is you must create a working environment in which your message will be received. That said, always remember that respect is not given but earned. These two items have helped me in my career and hopefully will help you in your work environment.
In addition, lecturing to employees is not coaching. This may result in the complete opposite to your goal.
Doing some research on coaching, I came across a company called Mind Tools, founded by James Manktelow. The company makes some interesting points on coaching that follow my train of thought. Coaching is not just a useful way of developing people’s skills and abilities, and boosting performance. It can also help us prevent issues and challenges from becoming problems.
So with this in mind,
• focus your coaching on helping the coachee discover answers for themselves. “After all,” says Mind Tools, “people are much more likely to engage with solutions that they have come up with themselves, rather than those that is forced upon them.” !
• use coaching for more than correcting. Apply it as a way to help others achieve their goals.
• to be a good coach, you may need to use some of the same skills and tools as counselors, psychotherapists, gurus, teachers, trainers, or consultants “Qualified people who work with clients to improve their effectiveness and performance, and help them achieve their full potential carry out most formal, professional coaching,” says Mind Tools.
• Coaching works best when everyone involved understands the purpose of the coaching and works together to set coaching goals.
• Stay within your own skill set when coaching. Don’t try to be what you aren’t. Instead, build on your own skills and experience.
Where coaching can help
Mind Tools identifies five areas in our lives where coaching can help:
• what direction to take my career in
• how to reduce stress
• how to improve work/life balance
• how to grow and develop
• how to improve difficult relationships
In most companies, in-house managers will do most of the coaching and only a few companies will seek professionals to come in and conduct coaching seminars.
Just remember the old saying, with the right set of people who are, committed to the same goal, you can achieve anything.
Read what Mind Tools has to say about coaching: www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_15.htm
Read more from Paul Eitmant in CEW:
– A New Player in the Canadian Gray Market
– The Cost of Bad Leaders
– NAFTA Still a Good Show
– The Biggest Risks to Canada’s Economy In 2015 and Beyond
– Networks and Lighting Standards – Follow Up – One Year later
– How Healthy is Your Business?
– Social Media: Is It the Future for the Electrical Industry?
– Customer Service: A Key to Success
– The Right Price to Get the Order — the Last Look
– The Good Old Boys Club “Changing of the Guard”
– Who’s Next Within North America’s Electrical Distributor Channel?
– Generation Y – Next Generation – Never to old to Learn!
– LEDs: the Fastest Growing Product/Market for 2015
