Coaching methods
Coaching methods commonly used by coaches are often used for the purpose of increasing productivity within an area of the client's life. Coaches will often use methods and techniques that they believe will increase an individual or team's performance and overall productivity.
Coaching methods: embracing a coaching culture
Embracing a coaching culture within the workplace, can enable employees who are underperforming, to improve their productivity, through employees developing plans and setting shared goals to aim towards.
By aligning employee goals with the organisations goals, coaches can ultimately help your business to succeed.
Coaching methods: coaching models and techniques
Two well recognised coaching models are the GROW model and the FUEL model.
GROW model: The GROW model is a well recognised and proven coaching model and method which lead to results for the client. It involves defining a goal, then identifying the reality of the clients situation and evaluating their options and developing the will or motivation to achieve their stated goal.
- Goals: Coaches should encourage clients to set goals. Goals should be SMART, for example, they should be specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic and timely. Goals will be based within an area of the clients life which they deem important and should be specific/clear enough for the client to determine when they have achieved the goal.
- Reality: This involves encouraging and facilitating self reflection and self evaluation from the client. This should help to determine what barriers and challenges are holding the client back. This can involve examining what problems have been occurring , what went wrong and what went right and why is this a problem, thus helping the coach to find the best methods for their particular client.
- Options: This is when, after examining the clients current reality, the coach will encourage and support the client to brainstorm and formulate ideas and then select the most plausible option. The coach and client might evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of options and the barriers and facilitators for each option.
- Will: This is where the client would choose one of the options and develop an action plan for it. The coach would then determine how to motivate the client to achieve their goal. Action plans are an important method/technique for effective coaching
FUEL Model:
- Frame: this stage of the model involves framing the conversation to ensure that the coach and the client both understand and are in agreement about what the conversation is about. This coaching method can involve encouraging the client to identify a situation or/and behaviour. It will also involve determining what the outcome of their conversation should be.
- Understand the current state: This is when the coach will start to analyse and understand the clients point of view by exploring how they think about situations and how they approach situations and events. This coaching method will often involve open-ended questions that will help the coach gain more information and a deeper insight into the clients views and perspectives. It can also involve helping the client reflect on situations and possible blind spots in their thought process.
- Explore the desired state: This coaching method involves a coach encouraging their client to articulate their vision for success and what an ideal future state might look like for them. It will involve setting SMART goals and indicators of performance. The coach should also encourage the client to explore alternative options and approaches and should identify potential barriers that the client may come across.
- Layout a successful plan: This last step within the model will involve developing the action plan. The action plan will detail which specific steps should be carried out in order to achieve the clients goal(s). This will enable greater structure and ability to measure and monitor results in their journey towards achieving their goals and vision. The coach and client should construct each stage/step in the plan to ensure the clients actions can be monitored, reviewed and evaluated. The coach should support their client in the best way possible throughout the various stages/steps. The coach should be able to review the plan at certain intervals to ensure alignment with the clients goals and vision.
Coaching Methods: The GROW model - MindTools.com - https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_89.htm
