I hear this term “coaching” a lot. What IS coaching?

What coaching is runs the gambit between giving someone a sense for how they are showing up in a particular endeavor (feedback) and making corrective suggestions (telling) to inspiring real creativity to solve problems and get the job done (asking).

Most people when they hear the word “coaching” think of that which is done on sports fields all over the country on a daily basis. While this is absolutely coaching, coaching on the sports field is mostly a tell experience for coachees focused on shoring up weakness…here is what you did wrong and how to fix it. Coaching in the corporate environment is a greater balance between asking and telling focused on developing strengths and aimed at forward momentum for coachees…how do you think that went and what would you do differently to achieve what you want to achieve?

Skilled coaches disrupt patterns of thinking and behavior that may be holding individuals or teams back from realizing greatness. To do this they ask provocative questions and listen actively and are truly in service to coachees in this respect. Skilled coaches assume many roles during the course of the coaching relationship including consultant, coach, mentor and friend. Instead of solving problems for coachees, skilled coaches deliver feedback respectfully and inspire creativity and self-sufficiency within individuals or teams to solve problems.

In today’s society, many people want quick fixes for problems…”give me a pill for that” or “tell me what to do”. Worse yet, some individuals and teams are not even aware of problems that are hindering success because they are moving too quickly to get the sale or the promotion to get a sense of the true nature of problems. Teams are engaged in brainstorming solutions when problems arise. Then the same old solutions are put in place to solve the same old problems yielding the same old results. Yet what would truly benefit the team is brainstorming questions that would need to be answered in order to solve problems effectively and creatively. Creative solutions would be put in place to solve fully fleshed out problems leading to optimal performance. What would more creative solutions do for you and/or your organization. Think about what it did for Apple Inc.

At Forte™, our Sales Coaches are skilled and intuitive in the right balance of ask and tell that will propel the success of your salespeople. Sometimes coaches bring information (knowledge). Other times they may demonstrate a winning practice (skill). Still other times coaches may dialogue to uncover barriers to success (will).

For additional information about Forte™ please visit myforte.com.