Learning Journal

Coaching Capabilities
e-learning Module
Shell Coaching Model

Why is coaching important?

Coaching builds up confidence and competence: Individual

coaching is an example of situational leadership at work. It aims to mentor
one-on-one building up the confidence of members by affirming good
performance during regular feedbacks; and increase competence by helping the member assess
his/her strengths and weaknesses towards career planning and professional development.
Coaching promotes individual and team excellence: Excellence is a product of habitual good
practice. The regularity of meetings and constructive feedback is important in establishing habits.
Members catch the habit of constantly assessing themselves for their strengths and areas for
improvement that they themselves perceive what knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to acquire
to attain team goals.  An example is in the case of a musical orchestra: each member plays a different
instrument. In order to achieve harmony of music from the different instrument, members will polish
their part in the piece, aside from practicing as an ensemble. Consequently, they improve individually
as an instrument player.
Coaching develops high commitment to common goals: By constantly communicating the
vision through formal and informal conversations, the members are inspired and motivated. Setting
short-term team goals aligned with organizational goals; and making an action plan to attain these
goals can help sustain the increased motivation and commitment to common goals of the members.

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Coaching produces valuable leaders: Leadership by example is important in coaching. A
coaching leader loses credibility when he/she cannot practice what he/she preaches. This means that
a coaching leader should be well organized, highly competent is his/her field, communicates openly
and encourages feedback, and has a clear idea of the organization’s vision-mission-goals. 

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Agree goals using the GAPS
Plan development using SKILL/WILL
Support developemnt using SEED/GROW
Review development using GAPS.

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Key learning point(s):

Advocacy and Inquiry

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What are the benefits of balancing Advocacy & Inquiry when coaching?

Managers in Western corporations have received a lifetime of training in being forceful, articulate
"advocates" and "problem solvers." They know how to present and argue strongly for their views. But
as people rise in the organization, they are forced to deal with more complex and interdependent
issues where no one individual "knows the answer, and where the only viable option is for groups of
informed and committed individuals to think together to arrive at new insights. At this point, they need
to learn to skillfully balance advocacy with inquiry.
When balancing advocacy and inquiry, we lay out our reasoning and thinking, and then encourage
others to challenge us. "Here is my view and here is how I have arrived at it. How does it sound to
you? What makes sense to you and what doesn't? Do you see any ways I can improve it?"
Balancing inquiry and advocacy is sometimes hard on people's cherished opinions, which is one
reason why it is so difficult to master. But the payoff comes in the more creative and insightful
realizations that occur when people combine multiple perspectives.

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Key learning point(s):

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GAPS Tool

How do you think the GAPS tool can help you in a coaching
conversation with a direct report?

Imagine that you've just been asked to improve the quality of cost estimates in your organization's project
services department.

You already have some possible solutions in mind.

However, before you choose a best solution, you need to identify what needs to be done to meet this project's
objectives.

This is where Gap Analysis is useful. This simple tool helps you identify the gap between your current situation
and the future state that you want to reach, along with the tasks that you need to complete to close this gap.
Gap Analysis is useful at the beginning of a project when developing a Business Case and its essential when
you're identifying the tasks that you need to complete to deliver your project.

The gaps tool can help identify both strengths to leverage and the development needs to
fill. It allows the individual to identify gaps between their abilities and goals; their
abilities and perceptions; and personal goals and organization standards.
Benefits of the tool:
- What the individual wants to do.

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- What the individual believes they can do.
- What motivates the individual?
- How others see him or her.
- Expected standard of performance.

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Key learning point(s):

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Skill/Will tool

How does the Skill/Will tool help you coach others?

The Skill vs. Will matrix is a management tool used to determine what the best management approach is for a

given staff member, based on two metrics: their level of skill and their level of will.

The skill vs. will method will help you answer two simple yet important questions:

How much can that person rely on his or her skills to complete the task?

How much does that person really want to complete the task?

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The management approach that is most likely to yield satisfactory results may depend on the answer to these

two questions.

Pros:

The principle of the skill vs. Will matrix is relatively simple and accessible. Any manager with good people skills

should be able to use the matrix and determine the style that best suits his employees. It is therefore a very good

first step toward good management because it starts with an assessment and provides clear guidance on what to

focus on.

Another interesting aspect of the method is that it encourages the manager to push their employees toward

better skill and better will.

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Cons:

A common risk of the Skill vs. Will matrix lies in the assessment of the worker’s strengths: it is very easy to let

prejudice bias that first evaluation. Given that the manager will base his whole coaching approach on that first

assessment, it is critical for it to be fair and balanced. What you want to avoid is to apply the wrong management

method, which can impede the progress and results of the employee and/or set unreasonable goals.

Summary:

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When you are a manager trying to have someone achieve a specific goal, it is crucial to understand where that

person stands and what it will take to get the results you need.

It is particularly interesting when you are setting multiple goals for an employee, because their level of skill and

will is more than likely to differ from one task to another, and this method will help you adapt your management

style depending on the task at hand.

Supervise and Excite: Low Skill – Low will

Low skills and low willingness to succeed is a tricky combination. The manager’s role is crucial and will consist in

both taking charge and inspiring. Supervision implies solid guidelines, control and decision-making, is time-

consuming and should ideally be viewed as only temporary.

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Coach: High Skill – Low Will

Coaching is mostly a motivational role: the skills are there, and a manager must now instill confidence and

enthusiasm in the worker. Decision-making is still very much the coach’s responsibility, but communication will be

the key. A coach should aspire to have the employee take charge eventually.

Support: Low Skill – High Will

This situation could for example occur with a new recruit eager to get off to a good start and make a good

impression. The coaching style is mostly aimed at directing and channeling the worker’s actions and supporting

him/her in his/her decisions.

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Delegate: High Skill – High Will

This category, the “star”, seems like the most straightforward to manage: the manager gives a lot of leeway and

responsibilities to his or her employee, and gets involved when called upon. It is an opportunity for the worker to

develop and work his way up. For that reason, the manager should still follow closely the evolution of the

employee, in order to set challenging goals and make sure to maintain a high level of motivation.

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Key learning point(s):

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GROW tool

How would the coaching process GROW help with identifying actions
when coaching?

The GROW Model is a simple yet powerful framework for structuring your coaching or mentoring
sessions. GROW stands for Goal, Current Reality, Options, and Will or way forward. A good analogy
about the GROW model is to think how you would plan a journey. You initially decide where you are
going (goal); understand where you currently are (current reality); explore various routes to your
destination (options); and finally proceed on the journey (will), successfully overcoming any obstacles
you may have along the way.
 
Like most coaching models, the GROW model assumes that the coach is not an expert in the client's
situation. He only acts as a facilitator, offering advice and helping the client choose the best option of
his own volition.
 
Establish the goal. First, the coach and the coachee need to look at the behavior that they want to
change and then structure this change as a goal to achieve.
 
With respect to setting goals, it is important to distinguish between end goals and performance goals.
An end goal is the final objective -- become the market leader, be appointed a sales director, win the
gold medal, etc. -- which is seldom within your control. A performance goal identifies the performance

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level that will provide a good chance of achieving the end goal. The performance goal is largely within
one's control and generally provides a means of measuring progress. Examples could include "95
percent of production to pass quality control the first time," "Reduce weight by ten pounds by
December 2013," etc. An end goal should, wherever possible, be supported by a performance goal.
The end goal may provide the inspiration, but the performance goal defines the specification.
 
Besides supporting an end goal with a performance goal, goals need not only
be SMART (Specific,Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-bound) but PURE (Positively
stated, Understood, Relevant, Ethical) and CLEAR (Challenging, Legal, Environmentally
sound, Appropriate, Recorded).
 
When doing this, it's useful to ask questions like:

 How will you know that you have achieved the goal? How will you know that the problem or
issue is solved?
 Does this goal fit with your overall career objectives? And does it fit with the team's
objectives?

Examine the current reality. The coachee is asked to describe his or her current reality. Too often,
people try to solve a problem or reach a goal without fully considering their starting point, and often
they are missing some information that they need in order to reach their goal effectively. It is in the
reality phase that the questions should most often be initiated by the interrogatives "what," "when,"
"where," "who," and "how much." How and why should be used only sparingly or when no other

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phrase will suffice. The reality answers should be descriptive, not judgmental, to ensure honesty and
accuracy. The answers must be of sufficient quality and frequency to provide the coach with a
feedback loop.
 
Questions include:

 What is happening now (what, who, when, and how often)? What is the effect or result of
this?
 Have you already taken any steps toward your goal?
 Does this goal conflict with any other goals or objectives?

Explore the options. The purpose of this stage is not to find the "right" answer but to create and list
as many alternative courses of action as possible. The quantity of options is more important at this
stage than the quality or feasibility of the options. It is from this broad range of creative possibilities
that specific action steps will be selected. The coach would need to create an environment in which
the participants feel safe enough to express their thoughts and ideas without inhibition or fear of
judgment from the coach or others. Once a comprehensive list is prepared, the Will phase of coaching
may be simple, selecting the best from the list. However, in certain complex cases, it may be
necessary to reexamine the list by noting the costs and benefits of each course of action.
 
Typical questions include

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 What else could you do?
 What if this or that constraint were removed? Would that change things?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?
 What factors or considerations will you use to weigh the options?
 What do you need to stop doing in order to achieve this goal?
 What obstacles stand in your way?

Establish the will. The purpose of the final phase of the coaching sequence is to convert the
discussion into a decision.
 
Useful questions to ask here include:

 So what will you do now, and when? What else will you do?
 Will this action meet your goal?
 What could stop you moving forward? How will you overcome this?
 How can you keep yourself motivated?
 What support do you need?
 On a scale of 1 to 10, what is the degree of certainty you have that you will carry out the
actions agreed?
 When do you need to review progress? Daily, weekly, monthly?

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Finally, decide on a date when you'll both review the coachee's progress. This will provide some
accountability and allow for a change in approach if the original plan isn't working.Once you know
where you are and where you want to go, the next step is to explore what Options you have for
getting there. A useful metaphor for GROW is a map: once you know where you are going (the goal)
and where you are (current reality), you can explore possible ways of making the journey (options)
and choose the best.

But this in itself is not enough - you must also have the motivation or Will to make the journey. The
"W" is often taken to stand for a number of other elements of a session, all of which are important.
Myles Downey in his book "Effective Coaching" suggests it stands for "Wrap-up"; others have it
standing for What, Where, Why, When and How. But whatever is emphasised, the desired outcome
from this stage is a commitment to action.

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Key learning point(s):

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SEED tool

What are the benefits of qualitative Feedback?

Feedback means letting someone know on a timely and ongoing basis how they are performing,
and it includes both positive and negative observations. This feedback should be given
independent of any formal performance review process.

A manager who limits feedback to performance appraisal time is seriously underutilizing this
management tool. The premise of this is that managers should be skillful enough to make
feedback a normal, natural, non-threatening part of everyday organizational life. And, the climate
should be such that the feedback isn’t just between managers and subordinates, but between
peers on a work team, or between people who must work together even though they work for
different divisions.

Positive feedback by itself, when authentic, is a superb tool to motivate people. And, it’s a tool that
is grossly underused. People don’t provide sufficient positive feedback; it’s often used to soften the
blow of negative feedback as a way to pave the way for the “bad news.” Organizational life has
conditioned us to see positive feedback that way. Yet, when you give positive feedback without
any strings attached, the results are immediately clear.

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There’s much that goes on every day that’s positive. We all should make it a point to give one or
two people some positive feedback each day--without any negative feedback attached to it. That’s
not to say we should ignore the negative; rather, it’s to point out that a great number of positive
things don’t often get any verbal notice.

In an age when we’re trying to locate the magic formula for motivation, the power that
communicating positive feedback has for motivating people is manifest. It’s simple to do, and it
doesn’t cost anything. It’s a waste not to use it.

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