Leadership Institute

Basic Coaching Skills

Recommended Solution for: Basic Coaching Skills

Through their daily interactions, frontline leaders must inspire associates to “give their all” so the organization can accomplish its goals.  This can only be accomplished through effective coaching. Leaders who master the basics -- identifying the coaching need, following through with coaching and support, and measuring results -- will be effective coaches.  They will:

  • Establish clear performance goals and objectives.
  • Encourage people to think through the situation themselves to encourage involvement and build commitment.
  • Expand their teams’ capabilities by coaching for success.
  • Provide specific, timely, and balanced feedback.
  • Address performance and work-habit issues in a firm, fair, and consistent manner.

Course Recommendations

The following courses help frontline leaders develop the skills they need to provide day-to-day coaching for success and improvement.

* Essentials of Leadership -- This prerequisite course teaches leaders how to get results through people.

  • Coaching For Success -- Teaches proactive coaching skills that leaders need to help people take on new tasks or solve problems.
  • Coaching For Improvement -- Builds the skills leaders need to help people with performance or work habit problems.
  • Managing Performance Problems -- Provides leaders with additional skills to address chronic performance or work habit problems.
  • Supplemental Courses and Development Tools

Supplemental Courses and Development Tools

  • Achieving Your Leadership Potential (No prerequisite required)
  • Developing Others (No prerequisite course required)
  • OPAL® (Online Performance and Learning) -- Provides Internet reinforcement and just-in-time coaching.

Rationale

Coaching will always be a critical component of effective leadership.  There is little time today for organizations -- and the workforce -- to learn from trial-and-error.  A successful coach prepares individuals and teams to accomplish a goal and moves them along the road to success by providing guidance, feedback, and recognition.  Successful leaders build new skills and knowledge in their teams by proactive coaching.  Their first approach -- the best approach -- is to “seek” instead of “tell” to encourage involvement and build commitment to the solution.  Good coaches also know how to get employees back on track without getting themselves or the organization into trouble.