People who hire a coach to work on skills or to get independent help with specific areas of concern are doing a very smart thing. Coaching helps you take giant steps forward, because you're gaining individual attention from someone who has been in your shoes, and has probably done it the wrong way themselves. Coaching is also an important skill to have in the toolkit for both change managers and people leaders in order to help others change their thinking, their approach and to see new perspectives.
On the benefits of coaching, you can download our free e-Booklet which contains evidence from organisations such as Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg and Forbes.
One frequently asked question by professionals considering coaching is 'what does a coach do?' or in other words 'what would we do in coaching sessions?' In today's blog we present a fictional example that shows you what a coaching session might look like.
This case study is drawn from real scenarios and demonstrates the transformative power of coaching to drive positive change and enhance performance. This case study sums up the approach over time, and the length of time required for coaching will depend on many factors.
Case Study: Coaching for Improving Job Performance
Background
Client: Jessica, a Senior Manager in her mid-30s, working in a multinational organisation.
Challenge: Jessica had recently been promoted to a new position, resulting in her reporting to a new line manager.
Coaching Approach
Understanding Jessica’s Context: Through conversation, questions and answers, understand Jessica's role, responsibilities, and the dynamics of her new position. In particular focusing on what has changed that prompted the enquiry about coaching.
Identifying Pain Points: Jessica expresses feelings of overwhelm, uncertainty, and pressure due to the promotion and new reporting lines.
Goal Setting: Together, set clear goals that will address the pain points while providing both initial improvements in confidence, and skills development over time.
Enhance Jessica's leadership skills.
Improve communication with her team.
Adapt to the new organisational structure.
Coaching Interventions
Self-Reflection and Mindset Shifts:
Through talking to an independent, supportive and objective coach, Jessica explores beliefs about leadership and her own capabilities.
Together, challenge limiting beliefs and replace them with empowering thoughts based on solid examples of Jessica's demonstrated ability.
Feedback and Communication Skills:
Jessica learns target areas for improvement from the sessions and gets help with how to practice active listening, empathy, and assertiveness.
Work on regularly occurring, challenging leadership conversations such as delivering constructive feedback or delivering unhappy news to team members.
Time Management and Prioritisation:
Through one on one conversation and workshopping, Jessica isolates areas of concern in organisational skills and learns techniques to manage her workload effectively.
Together, create a personalised time management plan.
Expected Results
Increased Confidence: Jessica gains confidence in her leadership abilities by identifying the skills in which she is highly competent but using in a new context, and identifying other skills in which she was not so confident but has received practical tools and advice to improve her performance.
Improved Team Dynamics: Jessica's team benefit from her openness to personal development, her improved communication style, and the coaching practices she can now role-model with her team.
Enhanced Performance: Jessica’s productivity and decision-making have improved significantly through her increased confidence and clarity; and through having an independent sounding board with whom to talk things over.
Lessons Learned
Adaptability: Coaching helps people like Jessica adapt to their new role and circumstances and navigate organisational changes.
Self-Awareness: Jessica's self-awareness grows, enabling her to lead more authentically and participate in new workplace networks and teams more effectively.
Continuous Growth: Coaching is an ongoing process, and Jessica will continue to evolve as she has a reliable way to explore scenarios and a confidential way to discuss challenges and release limiting beliefs.
Coaching can have a truly transformative impact. Personalised guidance and support can empower individuals to thrive and achieve confidence and clarity they never thought possible. This case study seeks to illustrate that by answering the question 'what does a coach do' or 'what would it look like for me?'
Should you have any further questions, have a look at the free resources on www.agenciachange.com or book us in for a free intro session to discuss further. Agencia change has two core coaching services: Grow - Mentor for individuals experiencing change and Grow - Coach for individuals and professionals seeking to focus on skill development. We're here to help.
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