Coached to success

Citation

(2003), "Coached to success", Work Study, Vol. 52 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2003.07952aaf.006

Coached to success

Coached to success

The emergence of coaching as a facilitating process for staff development has been rapid. Coaching, in business terms, adopts the one-to-one processes categorised by the relationship between sports coach and athlete. The quality of the coaching – and the outcomes – thus depends largely on that relationship. Successful relationships involve appropriate use of specific coaching techniques – but there also seems to be some kind of "interpersonal chemistry" in the most successful ones.

According to managers in a recent poll, the entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, would make an ideal personal coach.

The list of Most Popular Figures as Coach was compiled by the Chartered Management Institute in a recent report on coaching at work, which was produced in conjunction with the Campaign for Learning. The research reveals that 96 per cent of managers think coaching should be available to every employee.

A good coach needs to:

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  be caring, supportive and patient;

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  have good listening skills;

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  be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses;

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  have good verbal and non-verbal skills;

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  be good observers and counsellors.

Dr Miriam Stoppard, the author of The Magic of Sex, Lose 7lb in 7 days, Questions Children Ask and How to Answer Them and many life guide and health and beauty books is also on the top ten coaching list. She seems eminently qualified for the role, which involves conducting a one-to-one relationship, empowering an individual to develop their skills through a series of planned work-based activities.

The poll also suggests that managers would like to develop their IT skills, personal effectiveness and emotional intelligence with the help of a coach. However, this is often not possible – only 18 per cent say their organisation has a formal coaching programme. Coaching is far more likely to take place on an ad hoc basis say 44 per cent of managers.

The primary benefit identified for coaching was the enhancement of team morale, although managers also admired the way it seems to generate responsibility on the part of the learner.