It’s been said that training isn’t telling. Well either is coaching. People often expect that a coach will tell them what to do – fix their problem. In reality, coaching is about asking questions and probing to get at the unspoken thoughts and feelings that often prevent people from addressing the toughest challenges.
Coaching has never been more necessary than now and into the future, where change will be the norm and individual resilience and performance will be crucial to team and organizational success. Coaching leverages individual strengths and abilities for maximum performance, provides for direct on-the-job learning as well as “just-in-time” learning tailored to the particular situation, enables behavioral shifts, and allows projects and people to move forward immediately and with less effort.
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On the flip side of this equation, people should also not be shy about asking for feedback. For example, my 8 year old recently learned a new skill – how to ride a stand-up jet-ski. He didn’t wait for feedback he solicited it. After practicing and trying to master this new skill, he came in toward shore and I thought he must be tired. But I was wrong, he came into ask, “How am I doing?” And before we could barely answer he hit the throttle and went back out. Over the course of the weekend, he repeated this process. He listened, applied the suggested improvement and in a very short time was feeling confident enough to ask, “When can start I racing?”