Tips For Effective Coaching By Todd Proa

1. Effective Coaching
By: Todd Proa

2. No doubt, coaching can be tough. If you
manage people, whether that’s in the
office or on the soccer field, you need to
understand the importance of effective
coaching. How you manage somebody can
be a major factor in their levels of both
effectiveness and productivity. I recently
came across an article that outlines some of
the tips for effective coaching. While the
article is meant to be focused on office
coaching, a lot of principles mentioned in
the article can also be applied to sports
coaching.

3. Many people make incorrect assumptions
about coaching. It’s important that, whether
you’re a coach or a manager, that you use a
clear and consistent model and understand
both the “how” and the “why”. You should be
able to distinguish between “bossing”,
coaching, counseling, training and therapy
A coach who sees somebody’s potential is a
lot better at coaching them towards it. If you
judge somebody based on their past and
current performance, or believe that people
are inherently limited, then you won’t make as
strong an effort to engage your team for
optimal performance. An engaged, well-coached
team member will out-perform one
who is being managed by a weak coach.

4. It’s essential that you start coaching with a
proven model, yet there’s a difference between
taking a two-day seminar on coaching and
actually developing coaching skills. The
former is an event, while the latter is a
process. Just getting into (and staying in)
shape requires consistent exercise as opposed
to just one visit to a fitness class. In the same
vein, becoming a coach isn’t a quick fix.
When coaching a staff or a team, be aware
that each person has different motivators and
styles of communication. Learn the styles of
your team, so that you’ll be able to adapt your
communication to the listener for increased
impact. Effective coaching adapts to the
unique style and needs of the person who is
being coached.

5. Coaching can happen in various ways, with
varying needs and circumstances. Sometimes,
there will be “mini” coaching opportunities
that shouldn’t be missed, while on other
occasions, you’ll need longer or more
intensive coaching sessions. Therefore, you
should plan your coaching times and know
what to do.
A coach (or manager) who regularly steps in
to solve the problem of their team isn’t doing
anybody any favors, only training them to
bring the problems to the coach, as opposed to
solving them themselves. Coach your team to
develop their confidence and problem-solving
ability, which can help increase organizational
efficiency dramatically.

6. One great skill that every coach needs
to practice is listening. Fully deploy
your listening skills with an open
mind, so that you may ask more
effective questions of your team, and
get to the heart of an issue to help them
find a solution.
Keep up-to-date at all chances that you
can. As a leader, you need to be on top
of things and know what’s new. You
can attend coaching seminars, watch
webcasts and subscribe to web feeds.