BlessingWhite recently posted an excellent article on why coaching (by workplace leaders and managers) doesn’t work.
The article focussed on the five main causes of failed internal coaching and a general direction for the remedy for each cause.
This post covers the fourth cause and together with the next and final post I’m giving you specific and actionable solutions for each cause for you to follow.
I’ll then wrap the solutions up into an e-book and make it available to you with my compliments. This e-book will include many of the techniques I offer in my $7 e-book ‘Ask or Tell – the power of asking and the force of telling’.
Cause 4 – Waiting for That Perfect Time to Coach
Let’s say a manager sees an incident that warrants coaching. Now she waits for the right moment, which depends upon whether she can frame the conversation appropriately, find a private occasion or until the person asks for help. Meanwhile the flow of daily work continues and prevents that opportunity from happening, until...it’s too late. The incident may be forgotten, something else has happened.
It is not possible to wait for a perfect time to coach.
It is possible to create the right time and place, as soon as practicable, to coach.
As described in my previous post there are some false myths about coaching amongst which is waiting to be asked.
The leader must take the initiative and proactively ask for an opportunity to help.
Alternatively the leader has regular formal and informal coaching sessions.
Since coaching is a leadership and management function, waiting to coach is waiting to lead or waiting to manage. That is simply not acceptable, is it?
Can you look now for such an opportunity?
Please let me know how you go.
Standby for part 5 – Treating Coaching as an Event
