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Coaching Skills for Managers

Chapter · April 2008

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Gladeana Mcmahon
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Gladeana McMahon

Background

The 'coaching culture' continues to expand such that coaching is

now a component mainstream part of Human Resource

Development for many organisations (Palmer, Neenan, 2001.

Sommers, 2001). There are a number of definitions of Coaching,

but one that relates directly to managers is that coaching is:

"A process that enables learning and development to occur and

thus performance to improve. To be a successful a Coach requires

a knowledge and understanding of process as well as the variety of

styles, skills and techniques that are appropriate to the context in

which the coaching takes place" (Parsloe, 1999)

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Coaching is growing in popularity because of the value it adds to

staff relationships, team working, as well as individual and

organisational productivity. No one has yet been able to provide a

globally agreed model for evaluating the ROI that coaching makes.

However, what studies do exist demonstrate a variety of return

figures. Examples include the Metrix Global Study (Anderson,

2001). The lack of consensus and continuity in these studies leads

one to question the figure but not the fact that ROI is a fact.

It is now common place for managers to be required to take on

more of a coaching role with their direct reports (Parsloe, 1999). A

‘Coaching Culture’ means moving away from the traditional

control and command model, into one which encourages

independent working and responsibility amongst employees. A

coaching approach fosters a more self-directed way of working. As

Redshaw states in his 2001 article, “Do we really understand

coaching? How can we make it work better?” for the Industrial and

Commercial Training Journal:

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“Coaching has enormous benefits for both organisations and for

the individuals they employ. When good coaching is widespread,

the whole organisation can learn new things more quickly and

therefore can adapt to change more effectively. Individuals not

only learn the new skills they are coached in, they also become

better and proactive learners. For coaching to be effective in an

organisation, a supportive climate is required; one where

coaching is regarded as a normal part of managing and where

greater importance is placed on learning from mistakes than on

blaming people for them. This is too often overlooked by many

organisations which wish to introduce coaching. Effective

coaching requires that both organisations and the learning

establishments that support them, adopt a more informed strategy

to develop coaches and to build and maintain a climate where

coaching can happen”

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What are Coaching Skills?

A number of different approaches to coaching exist. Currently,

these include Transpersonal, Solution Focussed Coaching,

Cognitive-Behavioural and Co-Active. Although many individuals

train as professional coaches, with a number of courses, being

university accredited starting from basic certificated training

through to that of PhD, the basic skills of coaching are now often

taught to managers in the form of two to four day training

programmes (Leimon, Moscovici, McMahon, 2005).

In the late 1980s and early 1990s managers were often offered the

opportunity of undertaking “Counselling Skills” training as a way

of improving an individual’s communication skills within existing

teams thereby enabling the manager to deal more effectively with

the people side of management, and with an individual’s

development.

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However, the term ‘counselling’ was often felt to be an

inappropriate one as it tended to suggest that those who would

benefit from such interventions, were linked to the needs of a

clinical population. The term coaching has none of these negative

connotations and is regarded as a way of helping individuals to

maximise their performance. Indeed the term “performance

coaching” is now commonly used. However, it is interesting to

note that the basic communication skills used in coaching such as

paraphrasing, summarising and use of body language are taken

directly from counselling skills but are now usually renamed either

‘coaching’ or ‘basic communication skills’.

One very common model for helping managers develop coaching

skills is that devised by Sir John Whitmore (2002) entitled ‘The

GROW Model’. It provides a simple framework that can be

applied by the Manager.

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Goals – The setting of goals is intrinsic to coaching – if you don’t

know where you are going how will you know if you have

achieved that which you set out to. The coach asks specific

questions of the individual in order to ensure that the goal is in the

best interests of the client and those closest with whom he/she

interacts.

Reality – the client needs to have a realistic grasp of where they

are now, where they are starting from, and whether his or her goal

is a realistic goal and can be achieved.

Options – the coaching manager guides the individual in thinking

of a number of ways of achieving the goal(s) and the individual

decides how he or she will pursue this. Although the manager

needs to manage, and no one wishes to deny the fact that there will

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be times when he or she has to direct an individual when using the

coaching process, the manager does not aim to lead the individual

but rather assist the person explore possibilities so they can decide

which option is best for them. The philosophical position being

that by doing this, the individual is more likely to develop creative

ways of approaching problems that can be used successfully in the

future without the need to resume the coaching process. In effect,

this part of the process is more akin to self-directed learning.

Will/Wrap-up – the client will only achieve a goal if he or she is

motivated to do so. Therefore the manager assists the individual to

look at the possible obstacles he/she may encounter and how these

can be overcome. In addition, the manager helps the person

consider whether there is a secondary gain to be had in the client

not achieving the goal. For instance, it may be more comfortable to

remain in the current position than make the effort it takes to

achieve the goal he/she has in mind.

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The GROW Model works because it ensures that there is nothing

which might prevent the client from going for the goal. It checks

whether the goal itself fits with the individual’s capabilities,

ambitions, personal and professional values and establishes

whether the client needs to change current behaviours or requires

new skills in order to successfully obtain their desired goal(s).

Another Model that is also successfully used to hold the coaching

process together is the Seven Stage Problem Solving Model

(Wasik, 1984).

Neenan and Palmer (2002) assert that presenting individuals with a

problem-solving model to follow may seem at first glance to stifle

their creativity, but thinking things through in a structured and

systematic way actually encourages it. McMahon (2002) also used

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this model as a way of providing individuals with a structure that

can be used for both professional and personal goal setting.

The seven-step problem-solving sequence and accompanying

questions that people can ask themselves at each step:

Steps Questions/Actions

What’s the
1. Problem identification
problem/challenge?

What do I want to
2. Goal selection
achieve?

3. Generation of What can I do to achieve

alternatives my goal?

4. Consideration of the What are the pros and

consequences cons?

5. Decision making What am I going to do?

6. Implementation Time to do it!

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 What worked and why

7. Evaluation and do I need to amend

my action plan?

Once the person becomes adept at using the seven-step model, he

may want to use a shorter model to quicken the problem-solving

process (Neenan, Palmer, 2002). For example, STIR and PIE:

Select a problem Problem definition

Target a solution Implement a solution

Implement a solution Evaluate outcome

Review outcome

These shorter models of problem-solving are usually used for rapid

processing of a problem in order to deal with a crisis or make a

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quick decision. With these shorter models, deliberation is

exchanged for speed, so it is possible that a less satisfactory

outcome may be experienced by the person.

The models above provide the structure for coaching to take place,

and once the process is understood, the manager is then provided

with the basic coaching skills that he or she will require in order to

make the coaching effective.

The micro-skills of coaching include helping the manager develop

the skills and attitudes to help and individual manage situations

from within their own resources (Egan, 2004). During this stage of

the training, the individual is introduced to the concepts of

Empathy, Respect and Genuineness.

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Empathy being the ability to put oneself in the shoes of the other

person which requires the manager to be able to tentatively explore

the individual’s thoughts and feelings while putting aside personal

thoughts and/or prejudices. In addition, by showing an

understanding for the individual, this assists the person concerned

to explore his or her own ideas and feelings in a safe way.

Respect is the ability to refrain from judgement of the person as an

individual, regardless of individual responses to that person’s

actions. If an individual fears being unfairly or less favourably

judged, then he or she may provide the information the manager

wants to hear and not that which is actually attached to the

situation in question. As a manager is involved in the appraisal of

staff, this can prove a challenge for both the manager and his or her

direct report. After all, the Manager is making judgements about

the individual’s ability and there is an expectation that he/she will

do so by the organization. Indeed, he or she may be responsible for

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providing information that could directly impact on an individual’s

promotion prospects and/or any bonuses that may be due. For the

manager to use effective coaching skills he or she needs to be clear

with the individual as to the boundaries that exist between those

occasions when he or she is engaging in what could be termed

good management practice using coaching skills, and those

occasions when a more formal direct line management approach is

being used. However, if a manager is using coaching skills to

assist an individual improve performance, this process is unlikely

to be successful if the individual perceives the manager as being

antagonistic.

Genuineness relates to the ability to remain sincere and genuine. If

a manager has a reputation for breaking confidences, or speaking

to others in an indiscriminate manner about individuals, it is likely

that any protestations of assistance will be seen as genuine.

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The qualities of empathy, respect and genuineness being those

identified by Carl Rogers (Thorne, 2003) as being core to

developing effective rapport.

Skills Training then goes on to include the skills of what has been

termed ‘Active Listening’. Active Listening is a process whereby

through using a set of micro-skills, the listener is intent on listening

for meaning. The goal of active listening is to improve mutual

understanding.

The micro-skills of active listening include:

• Attending ( i.e. mirroring and matching the body language

of the other person)

• Listening to the end of the sentence

• Paraphrasing – content ( i.e. encapsulating the factual essence

of what is being said and feeding this back)

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 • Reflecting feeling – emotion ( i.e. catching the explicitly

expressed or inferred emotion. For example: it sounds as if

you were disappointed”)

• Summarizing information

• Asking for examples of what an individual has tried in order

to deal with the situation or about the ways that the

challenges being faced are impacting on performance

• Using Open Questions ( i.e. those starting with what, where,

when, how and why as a way of getting an individual to

expand on his/her situation and/or thoughts or emotions)

• Minimal Encouragers ( i.e. the use of simple terms such as

“ah ha”, “mmm” etc to acknowledge that information has

been understood without interrupting.)

In Egan’s Problem Management Model, there are three stages.

Stage One is termed, “Exploration” and here the manager would be

encouraged to simply allow the other person to fully expand upon

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his or her situation, thoughts and feelings. During this stage, the

manager, using coaching skills, would attempt only to fully illicit

information about the situation rather than attempting to assist the

individual resolve it. Egan believes that the success of this stage

lies in the ability of the individual to fully explore the situation

while the manager facilitates this process.

During Stage Two, entitled “Understanding”, the manager as coach

would use the skills of probing and challenging to assist the

individual to think more deeply about what is happening thereby

helping the person look for his or her contribution to the situation,

those aspects that he or she has not explored, or those aspects that

could be termed, ‘blind spots.

Stage Three is called the ‘Action’ Stage and it is during this stage

that the individual is encouraged to consider what he or she needs

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to do in order to change the situation and how to go about enacting

such changes.

One aspect of successful coaching is ensuring that the goals set by

the individual are clear and realistic and as such, managers are

often introduced to the SMART model for goal setting (Neenan,

Dryden, 2001) in order to achieve this. The concept of SMART

goals is one that has been used on a variety of training courses

within business and industry to assist individuals in their problem

solving efforts.

Specific = ensuring that a goal is stated in specific terms (i.e.

‘to make a presentation to the board at the next quarterly meeting

regarding the advantages of a global strategic response’)

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Measurable = ensuring that goals can be measured (i.e. either

the individual will make the presentation concerned or not)

Achievable = checking to see that the goal can be achieved

(i.e. can this goal be achieved in the time available or is the goal

itself even achievable?)

Realistic = is this goal within the person’s ability (i.e. is

this a subject the person knows about, can talk about and is within

their professional scope or does the person need additional

training?)

Time Bound = what timeframe does the goal need to be

achieved in (i.e. the date of the next quarterly Board Meeting)

Behavioural Contracting is another way of achieving a clear set of

measureable outcomes (McMahon, 2005). A Behavioural Contract

sees the manager asking the client what general objectives he or

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she may be seeking and then seeks to break these down into a set

of measurable outcomes. For example, an individual may be

taking on too much work some of which is of a non-essential

nature due to his or her inability to say ‘no’ and may state that he

or she wants to be able to be more “assertive with others” which

would be seen as an overall objective. However, this would then

translate into a series of outcomes such as, “identifying

mechanisms to identify non-essential pieces of work” and

“demonstrating the ability to say ‘no’ to non-essential items”.

Both of these outcomes can be measured as the mechanism for

identifying non-essential pieces of work as well as identifying

those situations where the individual said no can be noted and

observed by the individual him or herself as well as others.

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Case Study

John was the Branch Manager of a group of 10 branches of a major

High Street Retail organisation. He had recently taken up this

appointment having spent the previous 5 years successfully

managing a group of 5 branches in the North West. His previous

success had resulted in his recent promotion.

John was enthusiastic and his high-energy style had always served

him well in the past. He came across as self confident. However,

he confided in his manager, the Regional Director, that he was

starting to lack confidence in his ability to tackle these new

challenges and his Director offered to support him in his new role.

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At the initial meeting, his manager helped him establish the two

areas that required attention - his leadership style and his lack of

change management skills. One of his goals was stated as “to

identify my leadership style together with the associated strengths

and weaknesses”.

Using the GROW Model his Manager assisted John to identify that

whilst he perceived his style to be fairly inclusive and democratic,

his new team saw him as highly directive and having little

tolerance of under-performance. Although this style had worked

for him in the past, it was apparent that he needed to try a more

collaborative approach with his new and more experienced

management team.

From discussions, it was apparent that John had received minimal

training in the skills required to effectively lead change. His

manager suggested that he should contact the training department

who, in turn, recommended a reading list which included a number

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of books, articles, and case studies for him to read in his own time

as well as arranging for him to attend a series of management and

managing change seminars.

In combining his desire to develop a more inclusive leadership

style with his increasing knowledge of effective change

management, he worked on a strategy for his new role. This

included identifying a core team from within his group who would

guide and inform the process; including both managers and clerical

staff. The core team were responsible for identifying a vision for

the newly structured group, communicating this within their teams,

and feeding back both best practice and obstacles to the

programme.

His manager met with him at first on a regular basis but as it

became apparent that John was now managing his team more

effectively on a less frequent basis. The coaching skills approach

used by his Regional Director strengthened their relationship

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which, in turn, led to a more productive way of working between

them and also helped John develop a new set of skills that

benefited the organisation, his staff team and the profitability of

the organisation.

Summary

Coaching skills are now part of everyday corporate life and

managers from all sectors are being increasingly asked to take on

the style of a ‘coaching manger’ for which appropriate training is

given. A number of different training models to teach coaching

skills exists some of which are philosophically at odds with each

other. However, at the most basic level they are all based on what

can be called ‘basic coaching skills’ using the techniques of Active

Listening within a structured framework. Managers who are

trained in such skills have found them useful in dealing with the

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day-to-day issues of person management and in creating a more

self-directed learning environment for staff.

References

Anderson, M, C, (2001) Metrix Global ROI Study, Metrix Global ,

LLC, USA.

Egan, G, (2004), 7th Edition, The Skilled Helper: A Problem

Management and Opportunity Development Approach to

Helping/Skilled Helping Around the World, Wadsworth Publishing

Company, California, USA.

Leimon, A, Moscovici, F, McMahon, G, (2005) Business

Coaching, Essential Coaching Skills and Knowledge Series, Eds.

McMahon, G, Palmer, S, Leimon, A, Brunner Routledge, London,

UK.

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Neenan, M, Dryden, W, (2001) Life Coaching – The Cognitive-

Behavioural Way, Brunner Routledge, London, UK.

McMahon, G, (2002), Confidence Works – learn to be your own

Life Coach, Sheldon Press, London, UK.

McMahon, G, (2005), Behavioural Contracting in Organisations,

Coach The Coach, Fenman Publications, Kent, UK.

Palmer, S, Neenan, M (2001), Cognitive Behavioural Coaching,

Stress News, July 2001, Vol. 13, No 3. London, UK.

Parsloe, E, (1999), The Manager as Coach and Mentor, CIPD,

London, UK.

Redshaw, B, (2000), Do We Really Understand Coaching? How

Can We Make It Work Better?, Industrial and Commercial

Training Journal, June 2000, Vol. 32, Issue 3. MCB UP Ltd.

USA.

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Sommers, M, (2001), Coaching in Call Centres: Summary Report,

Articles, Coaching and Mentoring Network,

www.coachingnetwork.org.uk

Thorne, B, (2003), 2nd Edition, Carl Rogers, Key Figures in

Counselling and Psychotherapy, Ed. Windy Dryden, Sage

Publications, London, UK.

Wasik, B. (1984) Teaching Parents Effective Problem-Solving: A

Handbook for Professionals. Unpublished manuscript. Chapel Hill:

University of North Carolina.

Whitmore, J, (2002), 3rd edition, Coaching for Performance –

growing people, performance and purpose , Nicholas Beasley

Publishing, Boston, USA.

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 Gladeana McMahon is Co-Director of the Centre for Coaching and

Head of Executive Coaching for Fairplace. An internationally

published author she was listed as one of the UK’s Top Ten

Coaches by the Independent on Sunday and Sunday Observer and

is a Fellow of the Association for Coaching, British Association

for Counselling and Psychotherapy, Institute of Management

Specialists and Royal Society of Arts.

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