Coaching (Skills and Performance)

Coaching is a key leadership skill. It enables leaders and technical experts to develop capable, independent and highly motivated workers.  Excellent coaches have the capability to help those they coach develop key technical job skills, positive attitudes, and the ability to work independently to solve technical and interpersonal problems and to accept personal responsibility for excellent performance. This “skill based” coaching combines a holistic approach to personal development with the ability to focus on the core skills employees needs to perform in their role. Skills coaching programs are tailored specifically to  individuals, their knowledge, experience, maturity and ambitions and is generally focused on achieving a number of objectives for both the individual and the company. These objectives often include the individual being able to perform specific, well-defined tasks.  It does this while taking in to account the personal and career development needs of the individual and often uses a facilitative, rather than directive approach.

Job roles are changing at an ever increasing rate. Traditional training programs are often too inflexible or generic to deal with these fast moving requirements. In these instances one-to-one skills coaching allows a flexible, adaptive ‘just-in-time’ approach to skills development. It is also possible to apply skills coaching in ‘live’ environments rather than taking people away from the job into a ‘classroom’ where it is less easy to simulate the job environment.

In developing a coaching program we will:

  1. Assess the culture and strategic requirements of your company in relation to readiness and goals relating to using coaching as a development strategy.
  2. Work with you to determine your coaching program strategy and goals.
  3. Design a coaching program that fits your current and long term business needs. This can include a formal, structured on the job training system that includes formal work skills analysis, development of structured coaching session plans, and a system for keeping training records.   It can also include an informal system that focuses on developing the coaching skills of supervisors.
  4. Develop and deliver training for coaches (supervisors and/or technical experts) to prepare them to deliver skills coaching.  This includes how to analyze skill requirements, monitor and assess skills, set expectations, motivate high performance, and train employees in job-related skills, including the use of a facilitative style of communication.
  5. Develop tools to manage the program including work skills analysis worksheets, individual coaching planning forms, lesson planning worksheets, competency checks and training records.
  6. To determine how you will evaluate the success of the program and assist in implementing evaluation activities.