Overview

Coach employees to ensure maximum performance, motivation and retention.

Following a seven-step coaching process, Coaching for High Performance gives managers the tools to help their people excel at their jobs and meet competitive challenges with confidence. This course teaches managers how to communicate performance expectations, assess employee skill levels, establish the purpose of coaching, and agree on a coaching contract. Managers will learn the critical skills needed to conduct coaching conversations, adapt one’s coaching style to fit changing situations, and create a coaching plan.

Course Objective: Develop the skills to coach employees to ensure maximum performance, motivation, and retention.

Selected Learning Objectives

• Establish your mission and role as a coach

• Deliver feedback in any situation

• Use coaching skills to motivate and retain employees

• Coach employees across generations and throughout the employment life cycle

• Enhance team performance and channel conflict constructively

• Handle difficult coaching situations with insight and skill

Testing Format

This course contains one mulitple choice test valued at one Continuing Education Unit (CEU).

Table of Contents

About This Course

How to Take This Course

Pre-Test

1. The Importance of Coaching 1

What Is Coaching?

Why Coaching Is More Important than Ever

Keeping Customers Happy

Producing High Quality Products and Services

Managing Continuous Change

Retaining Top Talent

Working in Collaborative Networked Organizations

Building Personal Capability to Match Performance Demands

Reinforcing Business Practices

Empowering Breakthrough Results

Attributes of a Good Coach

Discern What the Coachee Needs

Demonstrate a Results Orientation

Work as a Thinking Partner

Encourage the Coachee

Provide Sound Advice

Demonstrate Respect for the Coachee

Desire and Willingness to Be a Coach

Getting Ready to Coach

Recap

Review Questions

2. Getting in Shape to Coach 21

Clarify Your Coaching Mission

Understand Your Coaching Role

Coaching to Develop Others

Coaching to Maximize Performance

Coaching for Learning

Coaching for Change

Build Strong Rapport with Coachees

Invest in Coaching Relationships

Understand Your Coaching Style and Approach

Recap

Review Questions

3. The Coaching Process, Steps One to Four 41

Step One: Communicate Your Expectations

Step Two: Assess Coachees’ Competence and Motivation Level

Low Competence and Motivated

Low Competence and Not Motivated

Competent and Motivated

Competent and Not Motivated

Highly Skilled and Highly Motivated

Highly Competent and Not Motivated

Coaching Each Skill/Motivation Level

Step Three: Define the Purpose of Coaching

Step Four: Agree on a Coaching Contract

Recap

Review Questions

4. The Coaching Process, Steps Five to Seven 57

Develop Effective Listening Skills

Staying Focused

Understanding the Message

Respecting the Coachee

The Listening Process

Example: Effective Listening

Answer to Exercise 4–1: Improving Kristen’s Listening Skills

Your Listening Skills

Formulate Strong Questioning Techniques

Qualities of Effective Questions

Answer to Exercise 4–3: What’s Wrong with This Question?

Major Types of Questions

Step Five: Conduct Coaching Conversations

The Appraisal Conversation

The Encouragement Conversation

The Teaching Conversation

The Probing Conversation

The Correcting Conversation

The Commitment Conversation

Answer to Exercise 4–4: Your Coaching Conversation

Planning Your Coaching Conversation

Step Six: Create the Coaching Plan

Step Seven: Monitor and Learn

Example of Monitoring and Learning

Answer to Exercise 4–6: Monitoring Coaching Effectiveness

Recap

Review Questions

5. Delivering Coaching Feedback 79

Getting Ready to Give Feedback

Giving Effective Feedback

Most Common Complaints About Feedback

Characteristics of Effective Feedback

The Do’s and Don’ts of Coaching Feedback

Example of Delivering an Effective Feedback Message

Preparing to Conduct Your Feedback Meeting

Delivering Difficult Feedback

Just-in-Time Feedback

Peer Feedback

Asking for Feedback

Recap

Review Questions

6. Coaching for Motivation and Retention 97

What is Motivation?

What Motivates Employees

Example of What Motivates Employees

Understanding Akim’s Motivators

Coaching and Motivating

Baseline Expectations of All Employees

Understanding the Demographics of Your Workforce

Coaching the Multigenerational Workforce

Description of Each Group

Coaching Each Generation of Workers

The Employment Life Cycle

Coaching Throughout the Life Cycle

Recruitment and Selection

Orientation and Acclimation

Performance Management

Rewards and Recognition

Recap

Review Questions

7. Coaching Teams for High Performance 115

The Role of the Team Coach

Coaching Long Distance

Coaching for Continuous Improvement

Step 1: Initiate Discussion

Step 2: Pursue Improvement Goals

Step 3: Pursue More Significant Improvements

Step 1: Make Continuous Improvement a Way of Life

Dealing with Failure

Example: The Failed Membership Drive

Answer to Exercise 7–4: Ed’s Plan for Dealing with Failure

Peer Coaching

Recap

Review Questions

8. Handling Difficult Coaching Situations 135

Identifying Coaching Pitfalls

Sample Coaching Situations

Sample Responses

Building Trust in Difficult Situations

Difficult Coaching Situations

Coachee Is Not Committed

Unrealistic Expectations

Passive Approach

Failure to Take Risks

Fear of Failure

Dependency on the Coach

Blaming Others

Strategies for Dealing with Common Coaching Problems

Coaching Teams Through Conflict

Conflict on Karen’s Team

Answer to Exercise 8–1: Resolving Conflict on Karen’s Team

Recap

Review Questions

Bibliography

Recommended Resources

Post-Test

Index