Coaching and the Learning Process

by Sean McPheat

John Radshaw offers what I feel is an incredibly apt definition of what it means to be a coach. He says that coaching is:

“Systematically increasing the capability and work performance of someone by exposing him or her to work-based tasks or experiences that will provide the relevant learning opportunities, and giving feedback to help him or her learn from them”

He’s absolutely right.

The role of a coach is to get the coachee from A to B quicker than if they tried on their own. They are there to question, probe, push, align and provide a thought provoking sounding board.

A coach is a catalyst for change but the coachee has to want to change!

The coach does not have to know the answers either and they do not need to be the best in the field.

Don’t believe me? Well, what’s the name of Tiger Wood’s coach or Usain Bolt’s? Did their coach ever win major golf tournaments or win an Olympic gold? The answer is No!

But they know how to get the best out of their coachees and that’s what the role of a coach is all about.

As a coach you need to know how to get your coachee started - how do you jumpstart the learning process?

There are three things that need to be in place before you can teach anyone anything. They are:

Desire - the person you are coaching must want to learn as opposed to finding himself in a situation where he is forced to adopt a coach

Opportunity - you must have the time to coach your employee, he must have the time to dedicate to the things you are teaching him/her, and you must have the support of your organisation (in both time and materials)

Competence - you must be an expert in your area of specialty. Otherwise you’ll only cause confusion to the person you are coaching. The person you are coaching must be competent as well - he needs to care about his work, have the skills necessary to do the job, and be willing to work with you to make his job even better.

If these three main points do not exist you will have a very difficult time facilitating the learning process. Of course there are people who just do not want to be coached, but we'll deal with that in a later session! Take the time to review your situation before you get started. Doing so will enable to you make the changes necessary to ensure you are successful.

Sean McPheat is the Managing Director of management development specialists MTD Training. http://www.m-t-d.co.uk/