GROWING PEOPLE, PERFORMANCE AND PURPOSE

BY JOHN WHITMORE
Summarised by www.bookbytes.com with permission of Nicholas Brealey International

COACHING FOR PERFORMANCE:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Coaching is about unlocking a persons potential to learn. Potential is limited partly by fear of failure and lack of condence and self-belief. The underlying intent of every coaching interaction is to build the coachees self-belief. Coaching might occur in an hour-long session but it can also occur spontaneously in a brief exchange, if underlying principles are applied in everyday life. It is based on two key principles, awareness knowing what is happening around you and responsibility, taking ownership of what you do. Performance, learning and enjoyment are inextricably intertwined: if one is neglected over time, the other two will suffer. Motivation, that holy grail of business performance, depends on providing people with a way of meeting important human needs. Increasingly, the emphasis is shifting from basic to higher level needs and employees want their work to have meaning and purpose.

Leadership

About this book

Sir John Whitmore consults and lectures widely on coaching and teamworking for business, together with his colleagues David Hemery and David Whitaker of Performance Consultants. With Timothy Hallwey, he founded Inner Game Ltd, which introduced new approaches to sports and business training. He began his career as a professional racing driver. The book, a third edition, builds on the development of coaching methodology since the rst edition was published over 10 years ago and to put the matter straight about the nature of coaching, in the confusion created by its growing popularity. It has become widely accepted as the denitive book on coaching methodology in the business context and is published in a dozen languages. Organised as a workbook, it breaks down the elements of coaching and giving examples from structured coaching sessions. Examples come from both business and sport, to provide neutral contexts. There is also a table of standard questions, which could form the basis of a coaching session, and a short chapter on overcoming barriers to coaching within your organisation. A new section explores the importance of emotional intelligence to performance. Strategy

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Key points
Coaching is a call for a fundamental transformation of management style and culture. Regular coaching can have a valuable impact, but is curative rather than preventive. Problems rarely arise in the rst place if coaching is part of the companys management ethos. Too many executives and managers live to work rather than work to live. Coaching is a gentle way of raising awareness of the imbalances that exist, and of helping people to nd a way forward that will benet their work and play. Coaching is a skill that all people who teach or manage others would do well to acquire. Anyone who truly understands coaching will also soon begin to coach themselves on everything from career choices to their golf swing.
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Personal Development

COACHING FOR PERFORMANCE

BY JOHN WHITMORE

What is coaching?
Coaching is dened as to tutor or train, but it is as much about how these things are done as what is done. It delivers results because of the supportive relationship between coach and coachee and the style of communication used. Coaching is about unlocking a persons potential to learn, rather than seeing him as an empty vessel to be lled with knowledge. A useful metaphor is the acorn, which contains all that is needed to become an oak tree if it receives nourishment, encouragement and light. The coach provides that stimulation. Good coaching or mentoring should take a performer beyond the limitation of the coachs own knowledge. We know there is untapped potential from our own experience, for example seeing what people are capable of during a crisis. Coaching provides an alternative catalyst. The coach thinks of his people in terms of their potential, not their performance. Potential is usually limited externally by company practices and lack of encouragement or opportunity, and internally by fear of failure and lack of condence and self-belief. The underlying intent of every coaching interaction is to build the coachees self-belief. The elimination of internal obstacles often cuts external ones down to manageable size. The most common role model for managers is the autocrat, who tells people what to do. It gives the person the feeling of being in control but behind his back, people are resentful and inefcient. People also do not remember well when they are only told something they also need to be shown, and to apply it for themselves through experience. In coaching, the manager uses a non-threatening dialogue to help the employee become aware of the actions necessary, enabling that person to choose to take responsibility. The manager, hearing the employees answers to his questions, knows not only the action plan but also the thought process that went into it, gaining real not illusory control. Coaching might occur in an hour-long session but it can also occur spontaneously in a brief exchange, if underlying principles are applied in everyday life. An example is given where employee Sue tells her manager: I did what we agreed but it isnt working. One response might be to tell her she has done something wrong, and to specify how to do it right. But the coaching response is to ask her to try to identify the blockage, and offer to come back and help later. In this scenario, the employee has found the solution for herself, and is able to explain the implications. She is praised for her efforts. The coach has used two key principles, awareness and responsibility. He has also apportioned no blame (which provokes defensiveness and reduces awareness), acknowledged her success and presented himself as a partner in the cause. Awareness in this context is the gathering and perception of relevant facts and information, and the ability to determine what is relevant in other words, knowing what is happening around you. It also includes self-awareness, knowing what you are experiencing and recognising how emotions or desires distort ones own perception. Good coaching or mentoring should take a performer beyond the limitation of the coachs own knowledge

The elimination of internal obstacles often cuts external ones down to manageable size

How does a coach use questions?

We already know that telling a person what to do is not effective. If a tennis instructor says, Keep your eye on the ball, the opposite is likely to happen. Asking is more effective than telling. So what questions have the desired effect? How does the coach create awareness and responsibility? In one scenario, the question Why are you not watching the ball? prompt defensiveness, while others like How high is the ball as it crosses the net? require the player to watch the ball and focus carefully. The question prompts answers that are descriptive, not judgmental and which provide a feedback loop for the coach, who is able to verify their accuracy.
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COACHING FOR PERFORMANCE

BY JOHN WHITMORE

For the coach, the purpose of asking questions is not to gain information but to monitor progress. Coaching questions should involve: Open formats: Descriptive answers promote awareness, while yes or no answers close the door on exploration. Leading questions indicate that the coach does not believe in what he is trying to do. The interrogative: the most effective questions begin with words like what, when, who and how (much/many). Why is discouraged, since it often implies criticism. Why and the unqualied how also diverts the person into analytical thinking rather than observation. They are better phrased as What are the reasons or What are the steps Focus on detail: this maintains the interest of the coachee. Room for the coachee to determine priorities. But the coach can explore aspects that the coachee appears to be avoiding, for example by asking: I notice that you have not mentioned Is there any particular reason for this? Attentive listening: the coach must be fully attentive to answers, hearing the person through and allowing pauses where necessary. The hardest thing a coach has to learn is how to shut up! Tone of voice, choice of words and body language are as revealing as the words themselves. Reecting back: If the coach summarises what has been said by from time to time, this reassures the coachee that he is being fully heard and understood, and gives him a chance to check on veracity. Self-awareness: A coach must monitor his own reactions that might interfere with the interaction. He must also watch out for projection perceiving in another person ones own traits and transference the displacement of patterns of feelings and behaviour from the past to current relationships.

For the coach, the purpose of asking questions is not to gain information but to monitor progress

From goals to action

In a formal, one-to-one coaching session, when tackling a new issue for the rst time, the sequence of questions should follow four headings: the rst letter of each creates the mnemonic GROW Goal-setting for the session, and for the longer term Reality check to explore the current situation Options and alternatives courses of action What is to be done, when, by whom and the will to do it People often start with current reality before discussing goals. But goals based on the present alone are liable to be negative or counter-productive. When one starts with the ideal long-term solution, and then determines realistic steps towards that ideal, it is generally a far more inspiring and creative process. A coaching session starts by setting goals for the session itself. This involves questions such as What you be the most helpful thing for you to take away from this session?. Goals concerning the issue at hand are distinguished between end goals the nal objective, which is seldom within your own control and performance goals, steps that will provide Getting Around you with a good chance of achieving the end goal, and a means for measuring progress. Performance goals need to be SMART (Specic, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Timephased). They also need to be PURE (Positively stated, Understood, Relevant and Ethical) and CLEAR (Challenging, Legal, Environmentally sound, Appropriate, Recorded). The most important quality needed in the stage two reality check is objectivity: perceiving things as they really are, and self-awareness in recognising those internal factors that distort ones perception of reality. This demands a high degree of detachment on the part of the coach, and the ability to phrase questions in a way that demands specic, factual answers.
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The coach must be fully attentive, hearing the person through, and allowing pauses where necessary

COACHING FOR PERFORMANCE

BY JOHN WHITMORE

Stage three is about creating and listing as many alternative courses of action as possible in a broad sweep, to get the creative juices owing. The aim here is to collect ideas and leave selection until later. It is important to suspend judgement about a whole range of negative assumptions, such as Its bound to cost too much. The answer is to ask what if questions, such as: What is you had more money or staff? Once a comprehensive list has been generated, it may be necessary to reexamine the list by noting the benets and costs of each course of action. Finally, one enters the nal phase of the coaching sequence, which aims to convert a discussion into a decision. The coach asks specic questions such as: What are you going to do? When are you going to do it? Will this action meet your goal? A reality check before proceeding What obstacles might you meet along the way? A way of preempting excuses for non-completion Who needs to know? A plan needs to be made to keep them informed What support do you need? How and when are you going to get that support? What other considerations do you have? A catch-all question Rate on a 1-10 scale the degree of certainty you have that you will carry out the actions agreed. What prevents it from being a 10? A way of prompting the necessary motivation At this stage, the coach hands the coachee a clear and accurate written record of the actions steps agreed and the coachees answers to all the stage four questions. The coach should reassure the coachee of his availability at intervals to reect on progress.

When you start with the ideal long-term solution, and then determine realistic steps towards that ideal, it is a far more inspiring and creative process

Coaching in the business environment

Real performance is an expression of ones potential: it is about going beyond what is expected, and setting ones own highest standards. Performance, learning and enjoyment are inextricably intertwined if one is neglected over time, the other two will suffer. A common model for learning is the four stages learning cycle, progressing from: Unconscious incompetence: low performance, no understanding Conscious incompetence: low performance, recognition of weak areas Conscious competence: improved performance, somewhat contrived effort Unconscious competence: natural, integrated automatic higher performance Enjoyment is primarily experienced through our senses. An associated form of enjoyment comes from the experience of expressing our potential, stretching ourselves to new heights. Motivation, that holy grail of business performance, depends on providing people with a way of meeting important human needs, from food and housing to higher level needs such as esteem and self-actualisation. Increasingly, the emphasis for employees is shifting from the former to the latter, and employees want their work to have meaning and purpose the bottom line is not enough. There is pressure to reconsider corporate ethics and values and these issues increasingly arise in coaching sessions. The book lists some questions used to explore these issues around purpose, such as Deep down, what you really want from your work life and From where you are now, what would be a rst step that you could feel good about? Although most people do not exploit it to the full, business does offer countless opportunities for achievement of goals that can be individually chosen for personal growth.

When in the collection stage of generating ideas, it is important to suspend judgement about a whole range of negative assumptions

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COACHING FOR PERFORMANCE

BY JOHN WHITMORE

The book goes on to outline the specic benets of coaching to a business organisation, and provides checklists for the work of coaching teams. It stresses the importance of providing high-quality, regular feedback to coachees if there is to be continuous improvement, and runs through some feedback mechanisms. Examples are given of different kinds of management feedback questions,that help prompt the performer to take ownership. The book also describes models of assessment and self-assessment that have the principles of awareness and responsibility built in.

In Conclusion
Coaching is more than a management tool. It is a different, more positive way of viewing people, and results in a different way of treating them. It requires us to abandon redundant habits and suspend beliefs about people that are limiting. As with any new skill or belief, it takes commitment, practice and time before coaching can be done most effectively. If coaching has already been your style, the book can provide you with a fuller rationale. If it is new, the book may give you some new ideas and guidelines. Business is a powerful organising force and vehicle through which transformation, driven by the human spirit, can come about. But business needs to get back on track and align itself with higher and more caring human values. If it does that, the best people skills are going to be at a premium and coaching is one of the most businessfriendly skills for human growth.

Performance, learning and enjoyment are inextricably intertwined if one is neglected over time, the other two will suffer

Make a Difference Today

Think of people in terms of their potential, not their performance Release the desire to control others Ask open questions that prompt a detailed, non-judgmental and focused answer Learn to listen attentively Be aware of your own assumptions Increasingly, employees want their work to have meaning and purpose: the bottom line is not enough

About the Writer

Susan Greenberg is an experienced writer and editor with expertise in business and international journalism, and a consultant in web content strategy. She was formerly editor of World Link, magazine of the World Economic Forum, managing editor of The Henley Centre consumer consultancy and special projects editor of Financial News.

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