Coaching

for
Chapter Leaders
Based on “Effective Coaching” by Myles Downey
Synergistic Relationship

• Individuals join organizations to realize some of

their goals
– Financial
– Learning
– Making a difference
• Organizations hire individuals to help fulfill its
mission and reach its goals
– Strategic
– Mission/vision
As a chapter leader, as well as in the
workplace, there are three skill areas that
you will need to use to assist individuals
achieve their goals and benefit the
organization:
• Leadership
• Management
• Coaching
Overlapping Spheres of Influence

LEADERSHIP

MANAGEMENT COACHING
What is Leadership?

Leadership is the element in your role that is

concerned with the FUTURE
• Strategic planning
• Succession planning
• Vision
• Values
What is Management?

Management is the part of your role that deals with

current operations
• Finances
• Tactics
• Standards
• Rules and legal obligations
What is Coaching?

Coaching is a process of helping another individual

realize their inner potential, delivering fulfillment to
both the individual and the related organization.
• Motivation
• Excellence
• Achievement
• Intrinsic learning
• Intense satisfaction
“Coaching is the art of facilitating the
performance, learning and
development of another”
Myles Downey
Effective Coaching
Coaching is NOT…

• Leading
• Managing
• Instruction
• Mandating
• Disciplinary
• Giving advice
• Offering opinions
A Coach Does Not Need…

• To be right
• To be the expert
• To know the “right” answer
• To be in control
• To “fix” it
• To heal it or make it better
A Coach Needs…

To remove any “interference” an

individual might be experiencing in
order to realize that individual’s own
extraordinary innate abilities
What is Interference?

Interference is anything that distracts the

individual from being successful:
• Fear
• Lack of concentration
• Anger
• Boredom
• Trying too hard
• Lack of self-confidence
Mentoring vs. Coaching

Coaching is not mentoring. A mentor is

usually long-term, while a coach is for
immediate performance issues.
How Do I Coach?
The GROW Model

WRAP-UP TOPIC:
CLARITY, INITIAL
COMMITMENT, UNDERSTANDING
SUPPORT

OPTIONS:
GOAL FOR SESSION
WHAT IS POSSIBLE

REALITY:
WHO, WHAT,
WHERE
HOW MUCH
TOPIC

This is setting the boundaries for the

discussion:
• Scale
• Importance
• Emotional significance
• Understand specifically what the person
wants to talk about
GOALS

• Establish the desired outcome of the

conversation
• Identify and agree to a number of achievable
outcomes within the session
REALITY

• Get an accurate picture of the problem

• Discuss and become more aware of all
aspects of the topic
• The goal for the coach is simply to
UNDERSTAND (not to fix it, offer guidance,
advice or conclusions!)
OPTIONS

• Draw out a list of possibilities that address the

goals
• Encourage the person to think. Do not think
for them
• Do not judge or evaluate the options
• Like a brainstorming session
WRAP UP

• Have the person being coached select the

most appropriate option
• Agree to the next steps
• Check commitment
When to Coach

• Performance Reviews
• Team setting (to generate buy-in for all team
members)
• Individually
• In conjunction with set tasks
When Not to Coach

• When your task is to manage or lead, not

coach
• When the person is not willing to be coached
Coaching is Successful When…

• There are both action and awareness:

– Clear goals have been set
– Understanding is achieved
• “Interference” is gone
• There is a balance between the skill level and
the desired outcome
A Coach is successful when…

The individual or team they are

coaching is successful at attaining a
higher level of performance.

It is not the coach who “wins”.

Coaching for Teams

• Coaching for teams is, very specifically, to

help them achieve their set goals and that of
their organization
• ALL activities must help achieve goals
• Coaching teams is similar to coaching
individuals, but multiplies it by team dynamics
• Each person needs to be heard, and
consensus and “team” must be built
Doubt

Doubt is a very contagious form of

interference. To a team, it can be
paralyzing and can quickly evolve into
panic.
But potential is contagious too!
Potential is Contagious

Potential is contagious. It also can allow

a team to add up to more than the sum
of its individual parts as unique talents
are exploited and complemented.
Team Interference

• Lack of trust in other team members

• Competition between members; rivalry
• Fear of looking ridiculous or uninformed
• Need for attention
• Hidden agendas
• Lack of understanding of goals
• Absence of process and ground rules
Teams Controlling Interference:
“Team Think”

• Absence of hierarchy
• Open conversations
• Focus
• Desire to understand
• Creativity and innovation
• Big (but achievable) goals
• Feedback sought and given
• Mutual accountability
Elements of Successful Teams

Top three elements of successful teams:

• Who: know them enough that you can trust them
and know their goals
• What: know the team’s goals and what success
would look like if achieved
• How: agreed on processes (strategy,
communication, ground rules)
Reducing Interference

• Create a common vision

• Agree on a process (strategy, communications,
ground rules)
• Disclosure of personal goals (builds trust)
• Identification of internal and external obstacles
• Recognize and discuss conflict
Stages of Teams

• Stage 1: Pretence that everyone is on the

same page
• Stage 2: Disagreement, conflict, confusion
• Stage 3: Letting go of individual “rights” and
learning to listen
• Stage 4: Fully present team
Stage 1: Pretence

• The belief is that everyone should “get along”

and be in agreement
• To preserve this precarious balance, people
pretend
• The result is that no-one is happy and the
team will not perform well.
Stage 2: Conflict

• Individual disagreements will arise

• Tendency is to retreat back to stage 1 and
pretend everything is OK
• Individuals try to convert others to their point
of view
• “Camps” can evolve in this stage
• Teams do not perform well
Stage 3: Losing the Individual

• Individuals need to listen and give up on

their “positions”, acknowledging
differences
• Individual positions move to team interests
• Very difficult stage: may try to impose
order through committees, task forces, etc.
leaving the team with unresolved
differences
Stage 4: High performance team

In this stage, the team is able to:

• Focus on task
• Be creative, innovative
• Decisions easily made
• Team is aligned with goals
• High level of trust
Team Cycle

• Teams will naturally cycle through these

stages
• Once teams get adept at getting to stage 4,
they will get there more often and stay there
longer
• Coaches can simply notice the stages and
work through them or can explicitly reveal the
model to the team, to help them understand
the process
GROW

• Use the GROW model for teams the same

way as you would with an individual
• It will be more complex but the principles
remain the same
• Ask the question: How can I help my team
be brilliant today?
The GROW Model

WRAP-UP TOPIC:
CLARITY, INITIAL
COMMITMENT, UNDERSTANDING
SUPPORT

OPTIONS:
GOAL FOR SESSION
WHAT IS POSSIBLE

REALITY:
WHO, WHAT,
WHERE
HOW MUCH
Philosophy of Coaching

“When people are achieving their goals, when

those goals have some meaning and when
learning and developing is part of the process,
enjoyment ensues. These three components,
achievement, fulfillment and joy, are interlinked
and the absence of any one will impact and
erode the others. Learning without achievement
quickly exhausts one’s energy. Achievement
without learning soon becomes boring. The
absence of joy erodes the human spirit.”
Myles Downey
Last Word

The only way to become adept at

coaching is to do it.

How will I help my team be

brilliant today?