Coaching Approach

Agenda Setting

To ensure that the organisational agenda and those of the individual being coached are appropriately incorporated into the coaching programme, it is preferable for the coach to meet with the individual receiving coaching and the organisational sponsor (usually the line manager) before coaching begins. Ideally this should incorporate:

1:1 meeting - sponsor and coach, to clarify the agenda from the organisational perspective, to help the sponsor prepare to communicate that agenda clearly and discuss the sponsor's role in the coaching programme.

1:1 meeting - individual and coach, to clarify the coaching agenda from the individual's perspective and establish whether a productive coaching relationship can be established.

3-way meeting - individual, sponsor and coach, to ensure that all parties understand and agree to the agenda to be addressed in coaching. What changes are expected, how will they be measured and what, if any, will be the consequences if those changes don't occur.

If there is no organisational expectation of the coaching programme, this needs to be stated explicitly.

Objective Information

One of the main roles of the coach is to help individuals recognise the impact of certain aspects of their own thinking and behaviour on their performance in their role. The coach therefore often needs to constructively challenge the individual's beliefs and assumptions and this process can be greatly enriched by collecting input from colleagues in the organisation, either through a 360° feedback or interviews carried out by the coach.

Psychometric test reports, performance appraisals and other sources of information are also useful to this process.

Communication Flows

Once the agenda has been agreed and coaching begins, it is important that any input from the organisational sponsor is communicated appropriately. This can either be directly to the individual being coached or in a three-way meeting with the individual and the coach.

What should be discouraged is communication directly between the sponsor and the coach about the individual's progress. If this happens then the coach is likely to be perceived by the individual as an agent of the sponsor. Also the sponsor may be left with an expectation that the coach will act on what they have been told, although this is often not possible without direct communication between line manager and the individual being coached.

Evaluation

It is useful to have a three-way review of the progress achieved during the coaching programme between the individual, the line manager and the coach, near the end of the coaching programme. For longer programmes, review meetings can be arranged at regular intervals.

In addition, written feedback can be requested from the individual, the line manager and colleagues to provide information to any departments monitoring coaching programmes centrally.