Week 2 Coaching Assignment #1

By Noora Haraholma

This post aims to define coaching based on the discussion during the first lecture of the course “Communication in group and organizations”, the article “Coaching from the inside out: Creating Exceptional Results” by Baastian Heemsbergen and my own thinking. Even though every coaching process is unique due to the different goals and participants I also try to outline some key characteristics that I consider important in order to succeed in coaching.

Coaching is a shared process between a coach and a coachee, which aims to help the coachee to reach his goals. These goals can be related for example to personal or professional growth. Besides reaching the goals the purpose of coaching is also to help the coachee to find their inner strengths and to come up with the solutions that are the most suitable for them. The role of the coach is to support the coachee and provide him necessary tools during the coaching process.

The relationship between the coach and the coachee is the most important part of the whole coaching process. Trust is vital to successful relationships and this also applies to coaching. At the beginning of the coaching process the coach and the coachee should aim to create an environment that is safe and allows an open discussion without judging. In this kind of environment the coachee is able to make mistakes that help him to learn and develop his skills. When the benefits of both the coach and the coachee are aligned and they have similar values and common ground this safe and open environment is easy to create. Coaching is a dynamic process and both the coach and the coachee are responsible for actively building their relationship and thus, helping the coaching process to move forward toward the goals.

The coach helps the coachee to define the goals, to draft an action plan and finally to implement this plan. However, a good coach does not give advice since the coachee has to come up with solutions by himself. This is because the coachee knows best what works for him and he is also more likely to engage in solutions that he has come up with himself. The coach is supposed to listen to the coachee and make him feel validated. It is important that the coach makes sure that he is actually paying attention and listening consciously. A good coach also asks questions in order to help the coachee with their thinking process. The world is uncertain nowadays and therefore advocating something is not enough. The coach should be curious and able to question the coachee in order to help him to explore his options and to adapt to the changing environment. The coach is supposed to concentrate on keywords and emotions while listening to the coachee. This allows them to summarize the discussion and therefore to help the coachee to understand what he is actually saying. Finally a good coach is also able to catalyze and empower the coachee by bringing in his energy and full attention.