Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 18

TAKING COACHING OUT
OF THE WORKPLACE
All conversations have an impact.
Given that, our interactions outside
of work are just as important as
those in the workplace. After all,
conversations happen everywhere
-not just at work.
Once you're invested in making
every conversation a coaching
conversation, you can use The
Three C's to guide and increase the
impact of your conversations in
your personal relationships as well.
Give the same care and effort to
conversations with your friends
and loved ones that you dedicate
to coaching conversations at work.

experience us as caring, candid and
constructive leaders.
What we believe about someone always
shows up in every aspect of our
communication. Ask people about the
best coaches they've ever had (from
any aspect of their life) and one of the
things they always report is that they
could tell their coach believed in them,
even on those dark days when they
couldn't believe in themselves, and even
when their coach needed to talk tough
with them.
Great coaches have a mindset anchored
in the belief that people have potential
to learn and grow, that everyone has
the ability to do and be better. That
belief inspires and encourages people
to engage in coaching conversations
- and when people are engaged, they
pay careful attention to what is being
discussed. In fact, attention, belief and
commitment (engagement) are the
ABC's of performance.

THE MINDSET
Not only does every conversation
matter, how we think about the people
we are conversing with matters, too.
What we believe about the person
we are communicating with will have
a powerful effect on whether they

THE PROCESS: HOW WE
ORGANIZE A CONVERSATION
It's no coincidence that doctors and
pilots use checklists to ensure they take
the appropriate actions to get the results

they want. This is exactly what the most
effective coaches do in their coaching
conversations. They almost always follow
some kind of consistent process, whether
consciously or unconsciously. You could
think of it as a map for navigating a
conversation or a checklist for ensuring
nothing gets missed. We can use
checklists to organize any conversation
so that it leads to the appropriate actions.

A GREAT COACHING
CONVERSATION IS CANDID,
CARING AND CONSTRUCTIVE.
Most conversations take place in order
to get to some kind of decision. There
is a current state at the beginning of
the conversation and a desired state at
the end of the conversation. The goal is
usually to have some kind of agreement
or action plan for the future. To determine
the best path forward, it can be useful
to explore many possibilities through
different stages. For short, we can label
these stages "Goal," "Reality," "Options"
and "Way Forward," which is how the
popular GROW® model came into being.

IS THERE A PLACE FOR COACHING CONVERSATIONS?
While great coaches should strive to bring the core elements of a coaching conversation into every interaction, there is still
a place for formal coaching conversations in the workplace.
These more detached, formal conversations are critical for solving complex or high-stakes issues, and can have a significant
impact when used consistently (and frequently) for both on-the-job and development conversations.
While it still is important to set aside time for these formal coaching conversations, the best coaches don't wait for a formal
opportunity to coach others: they create coaching opportunities in each and every conversation they have.

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Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019