Coaching Conversation Practice - Essay Example

To Provide an Account of the Development of Your Coaching Skills through Coaching Conversation Practice Table of Contents Introduction 3 Initial Coaching Skills Self Analysis 4 Personal Development Plan 6 Write Ups 7 7 As Coach 7 3 As Coachee 8 Conclusion 10 References 12 Introduction The term ‘coaching’ is fundamentally described as a learning relationship, which supports individuals to have control of their advancement needs, to deliver their respective potential skills and also to attain results they desire (Connor & Pokora, 2007). After acquiring a brief idea about the notion of coaching, it can be affirmed that it plays a decisive role for the individuals towards developing their respective performances in this present business scenario. Most importantly, coaching skills play an imperative role in developing the overall performance of the individuals at large. In this similar context, the coaching skills can be apparently identified as building trust amid the members, promoting self-awareness and depicting the benefits of integrity, which further motivates them towards sufficing their developmental needs (Rogers, 2012). It is worth mentioning that the development in coaching skills can be made possible through numerous ways. These ways comprise developing and subsequently establishing effective communication with the members, planning as well as organising various sorts of coaching sessions, analysing and assessing the performance levels and most vitally, assessing the surrounding environment with an open minded nature (Sports Coach, n.d.). Through this essay, I intend to obtain an unambiguous account of the development of my coaching skills through coaching conversation practice. Specially mentioning, “Kolb’s experiential learning cycle theory” would be discussed in this essay in order to identify the developments that took place in my overall learning experience (Merriam & Bierema, 2013). The application of this particular theory would certainly enable in recording my progress in developing my coaching skills at large. Initial Coaching Skills Self Analysis The requirement of developing my initial coaching skills can be determined based on the GROW model (Brockbank & McGill, 2006; Martin, 2006). Theoretically, the conception of GROW model is regarded as an effective technique for solving any sort of problem and setting predetermined targets. The prime elements of this model constitute of ‘Goal’, ‘Reality’, ‘Options’ or ‘Opportunity’ and ‘Way Forward’ (Brockbank & McGill, 2006; Martin, 2006). In relation to this particular model, I developed the skill of how to obtain a better degree by the end of the year. My other skills included comprehending diverse coaching principles as well as effective management of time and most significantly, determining the various ways available to me for assisting the coachee in terms of providing with rational feedbacks and real life examples. Concerning the element of reality, my greatest concern lays on the developing the skill relating to time management, focusing on how time can be managed more effectively so that I would be able to manage my performance in the various dimensions wherein I aspire to grow. Further, concerning the element of options, certain opportunities were provided to me by the coach in order to improve my performance that would ultimately help me to obtain a degree by the end of the year. In this similar context, the options included lessening computer game hours and saving money. I firmly believe that these skills would eventually aid me in attaining the above stated goals in the near future of my career. Accordingly, concerning the attribute of way forward, my coach instructed me to play less computer games and concentrate more on my studies following a properly designed timetable along with the effective management of time. Based on the above discussed elements of GROW model, I have been able to acquire a brief understanding about various coaching skills that will be required for attaining my desired target. One of such skills is the “influencing” coaching skill (Boen & Cuyper, 2006). The coaching skill tends to influence other individuals in attaining their predetermined targets by way of developing their respective inter-personal skills and enhancing personal credibility. In this pressurised workplace, there is a considerable need for influencing people through the above-discussed ways in order to attain organisational as well as individual objectives in a collective way and to develop myself as a successful leader (Boen & Cuyper, 2006). As previously mentioned, based on the element of ‘Way Forward’ of GROW model, I learned that I had to play less computer games and concentrate more on studies in order to earn a degree as desired by the end of the year. This eventually depicts the circumstances and the applicability of influential coaching skills. I planned to attain this skill building my level of trust and confidence on myself, developing as well as preserving my personal credibility and most importantly, improving my communication skills and inter-personal capabilities among others. As a coachee, I felt the requirement of attaining such objective, which would enable me to attain my target. I took utmost ownership of attaining this objective through incessantly grooming myself on the above-discussed aspects. In order to make suggestions to my coachee, I would like to state that the above stated aspects are not sufficient for me that would influence in attaining the said objective, rather certain other important aspects would be required to be taken into concern for fulfilling the same. Apart from gaining the knowledge of influential coaching skill and planning to attain the same, I also acquired a brief idea about collaborative coaching skills (Starr, 2008). Especially mentioning, strong collaboration eventually results in making significant activities that encompass successful problem solving, greater idea generation, superior product improvement and making effective decisions among others (AMA, 2014). It would be vital to mention in this similar concern that the collaboration skill made my coach with me towards guiding my direction of attaining a good degree at the end of the year would eventually aid in attaining the same with better results. The collaboration coaching skill of my coach can be determined based on the options or the opportunities provided to me in order to attain the aforesaid target. These opportunities or options can be apparently noted in the form of reducing computer game hours and saving money. Personal Development Plan I planned to attain collaborative skill, for my personal development, reaping growth opportunities in multiple ways. These ways shall comprise playing computer games for lesser hours, concentrating more on my studies, designing a proper timetable and working more on developing time management skills. Based on the above-discussed coaching skills, I planned to develop myself towards attaining a good grade by the end of the year by developing as well as maintaining my personal credibility, advancing my communication along with interpersonal skills and strengthening my decision-making capabilities. It is anticipated that these planning materials would aid me in successfully solving any sort of problem, generating greater idea and making any effective decision towards the attainment of my predetermined goal, i.e. obtaining a good degree at the end of the year. As per my understanding, in order to achieve the determined aim, I need to focus on the aspect of time management, which would assist me in managing time more effectively. This could be taken into concern as an important factor, which would not only support me to develop my overall performance but shall also assist me to fulfil my above stated goals. Write Ups 7 As Coach Being a coach my key role will be to ensure that the coachees are able to develop their respective performance and attain their predetermined targets within a specific time frame. One of the prime facets of a successful coach can be apparently observed as using advanced set of listening as well as questioning skills with the intention of creating highly effectual experiences and conversations for the coachees. Moreover, the other quality facets of a coach would include understanding and taking the opinions of the coachees, performing in-depth thinking and helping in comprehending questions (if any) on behalf of the coachees. In addition, the other attributes of a successful coach would also entail strengthening the capacity of the coachees to deal with their emotions, generating self-awareness amid the coachees, providing them with the knowledge of self-management and depicting the benefits that can be gained through effective relationship management (Starr, 2008). Correspondingly, the Kolb’s experiential learning cycle theory can be applied in order to gain better efficiency in applying the coaching practices (Merriam & Bierema, 2013). For instance, relating to the coaching practice of dealing with the emotions of the coachees, diverging learning style of Kolb’s experiential theory can be applied. It is fundamentally owing to the reason that the people possessing diverging learning styles desire to collect more information and bears wide-ranging cultural interests due to which, they often become quite emotional (Merriam & Bierema, 2013). In this similar context, a coach requires to deal with the emotions of the coachees in order to assist them towards accomplishing their desired targets. Thus, relating to the above stated diverging learning style, I learnt that being a coach it is essential to deal with the emotions of the coachees and interpret those sensitively in an effective manner for developing their overall performance at large. Based my learning in the above discussed aspect, I would like to make a slight change in my next coaching practices in terms of assisting the coachees to handle any sort of difficult situation and influencing them to follow the coaching practices effectively. Moreover, I would try to develop certain major competences amid the coachees so that they can be able to develop their respective performances, resulting in attaining their predetermined targets. In this regard, the major competences shall include self-management along with relationship management, self-awareness and awareness regarding peers and subordinates among others (Starr, 2008). From the above discussion, I learnt that the collaborative and influential learning skills of the coaches would eventually aid the coachees in developing their respective performances in various ways. These ways comprise enhancing their communication, inter-personal as well as problem-solving skills and making effective decisions among others. I also learnt that diverging learning technique, as explained in Kolb’s experiential theory, can be applied in one of the coaching practices i.e. dealing with the emotions of the coachees, which would not only raise their ability towards performing any challenging task effectively but would also make them handle any sort of stress, conflict or change. The evidences of seven conversations as a coach can be ascertained as understanding individual opinions, helping to comprehend difficult questions, promoting in-depth thinking, reviewing feedbacks, identifying the lacked areas, planning or preparing for making further changes and influencing to learn new more aspects. 3 As Coachee Being a coachee, it is quite essential for me to follow the coaching practices that are directed by my coach. This can be justified with reference to the fact that the collaborative coaching practice of the coach would certainly enable me to attain success in terms of acquiring a brief idea about innovative coaching approaches and most vitally, mitigate obstacles through clearly defining an effective action course. Moreover, dealing with my emotions that emerge during the coaching practice, would certainly develop my competencies in the field of self-management, relationship management and self-awareness among others at large. As my goal is to obtain a good degree at the end of the year, the above-discussed coaching practices would certainly help me in attaining success by acquiring a better degree by the end of the year. It would be vital to mention that the converging learning style of Kolb’s experiential theory can be applied in this regard for my future development. This can be justified with reference to the fact that individuals following this style would be able to solve any sort of problem and thus, find effective ideas towards mitigating practical issues by a considerable extent (Beard & Wilson, 2013; Ryan & et. al., 2012). Based on the various coaching skills and coaching practices possessed and conducted by the coach respectively, I learnt that comprehending the various principles of coaching would certainly enable me to fulfil my intended goal, i.e. obtaining a credible degree at the end of the year. This notion has been largely supported by Beard & Wilson (2013) depicting that effective coaching practices enable in attaining any sort of intended objective. I knew that I have learnt this aspect at the time when several options or opportunities were left over to me by my coach for attaining the above stated goal. These options or opportunities can be apparently identified as diminishing computer game hours and concentrating more on studies. This influential coaching skill has ultimately supported me to comprehend various coaching principles, resulting in developing my overall performance at large. In order to fulfil the above stated goal, my coach instructed me to emphasise my time management skills with the aim of managing time effectively. This collaborative coaching skill as well as practice of my coach eventually aided me to determine the ways and procedures based on which, my desired goal would be accomplished. It is worth mentioning that I have noted certain considerable changes within me after following the above-discussed coaching practices and acquiring the stated directions from my coach. In this similar concern, the above-discussed approaches helped in developing my coaching skills, improving my ability to manage time and concentrate more on my studies rather than expending much time on playing computer games and spending money in the same. The understanding of various coaching principles, skills and practices further imposed considerable impact on my performance level that seems to be quiet effective in enabling me towards attaining my desired career goals. The evidences of seven conversations as a coach can be ascertained as developing questioning skills, effectively utilising the notion of use of silence and progressing listening skills among others (Ryan & et. al., 2012). Conclusion As per the above analysis and discussion, it can be affirmed that gaining the knowledge of various sorts of coaching skills, that include influential and collaborative along with diverging learning style as described in Kolb’s experiential learning cycle theory would certainly aid me in acquiring a better degree by the end of the year (Merriam & Bierema, 2013). My personal development plan comprises certain major aspects that include managing time more effectively, lessening playing computer games and saving precious time. The above framed conversations would eventually support me in developing my coaching skills and the qualities of an effective coach. Based on the above-discussed coaching skills as well as practices, I still need to learn various other important aspects. These aspects might include dealing with the emotions of others, influencing people towards performing any work effectively, planning vital measures towards attaining any predetermined target, reviewing the feedback of others and generating empathy for my subordinates and peers (Starr, 2008). While developing my performance, I came to understand that the coaches play an imperative role in advancing the career of the coachees directing them towards their overall development in terms of their inter-personal and communication skills among others. Thus, it can be concluded that comprehending the diverse coaching principles would eventually aid me in fulfilling my desired goal of acquiring a good degree by the end of the year. References AMA, 2014. Developing Your Collaborative Skills. Individuals. [Online] Available at: http://www.amanet.org/training/seminars/Developing-Your-Collaborative-Skills.aspx [Accessed April 04, 2014]. Beard, C. & Wilson, J. P., 2013. Experiential Learning: A Handbook for Education, Training and Coaching. Kogan Page Publishers. Brockbank, A. & McGill, I., 2006. Facilitating Reflective Learning Through Mentoring & Coaching. Kogan Page Publishers. Boen, F. & Cuyper, B. D., 2006. Current Research Topics in Exercise and Sport Psychology in Europe. Lannoo Uitgeverij. Connor, M. & Pokora, J., 2007. Coaching and Mentoring at Work: Developing Effective Practice. McGraw-Hill International. Martin, D. M., 2006. The A-Z of Facilities and Property Management. Thorogood Publishing. Merriam, S. B. & Bierema, L. L., 2013. Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice. John Wiley & Sons. Rogers, J., 2012. Coaching Skills: A Handbook. McGraw-Hill International. Ryan, K. & et. al., 2012. Teaching for Student Learning: Becoming a Master Teacher. Cengage Learning. Sports Coach, No Date. Skills and Qualities of a Coach. Top Tips. [Online] Available at: http://www.sportscoachuk.org/sites/default/files/top-tips-skills-and-qualities.pdf [Accessed April 04, 2014]. Starr, J., 2008. The Coaching Manual. Pearson. Read More