Introduction

Training, development, and keeping the best employees, are critical business strategies. Moreover, because of the limited distribution of exceptional talent in society in general, we are faced with the necessity of achieving extraordinary results from ordinary people. It is not ethical and not legally possible simply to fire people whose job skills are inadequate.

It is also not fair to promote people into higher positions without giving them guidance and help. We therefore need an effective and reliable process, making up specific activities and skills, to involve and develop our staff. This is coaching.

Coaching is a developmental process. It helps people to “grow” – if it is conducted by facilitated-discovery and hands-on experience. Delivering an oration about a performance problem is completely ineffective. Telling is not coaching.

May managers have not bothered to master the art of coaching because they are unwilling to “give their power away”. They believe that developing knowledge and skills in team members will reduce their own power. However, this is completely wrong, because the development and empowerment of your staff enhances their ability to help you meet your own personal and corporate targets. If you do not have capable and empowered persons in your team. You stay a prisoner of your work environment, unable to move away, even for short spells, without the anxiety and stress of worrying how things are going back at the office.

To coach effectively today, you need to think of yourself as a steward, not as a supervisor or policeperson. Your responsibility is to manage the assets of your coaches for the benefit of the organisation. This involves moving out of a command and control approach to one of training the coaches to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes which enhance the functioning of the whole organisation.