As Obolensky states in the text “coaching is a good
technique to bridge the divide, as well as move individuals towards level 5
followership.” Coaching as individual assists them to build confidence and
resolve issues without the need for supervision and say from upper level
management. In my opinion how effectively one is coached can make a huge
difference in who the individual later becomes and how they deal with things on
a professional level.
Coaching is imperative to a team’s success but more
importantly builds a relationship between the coach and the coachee, while motivating
the coachee to perform duties and tasks that they may not have thought possible
to complete on their own. Coaching is important as it helps to build leaders
and strengthens followership. Without coaching, the success of an organization
can be at risk as it is a vital aspect to both leadership and strategy. Leaders
in an organization should coach their employees to define clear goals and set a
specific timeframe to meet those goals. Doing this can ensure that there is
little to no confusion for workers. “The goals can be anything from overcoming
a problem with personal interactions to achieving a professional objective” (von
Hoffman 1999).
I think that one of the issues with coaching is that
all too often leaders confuse the difference between managing and coaching
which leads to confusion for workers. “Making sure someone achieves certain
performance levels is, managing. Helping them handle problems for themselves,
is coaching” (James Waldroop 1999). Once a leader understands the difference between
the two they are then able to better provide a mission to be completed with
specific tactical operations in mind. Even more confusion occurs when a leader
is unable to distinguish the difference between mentoring for coaching. When
some leaders hear the word coach, they immediately become anxious as to feeling
the obligation to build a one on one peer mentoring relationship. Mentoring and
coaching are very different. “Mentoring is a long term relationship, while
coaching is time limited. Mentoring has
the connotation of bringing up someone in your own image. Coaching doesn't have
that” (Waldroop 1999). While coaching should empower workers, it is not a
relationship of continuous encouragement. Motivation should stem from the employee.
They should already have the drive and determination to get the job done.
Coaching just finesses that fortitude and keeps them pushing toward the
direction they are already wanting to go.
To me coaching means that there is someone who sees
something in you that is willing to take out the time and energy to get you
where you want to go. Prior to the restructure that my organization has
recently experienced, I had a boss who was very in tune with coaching his team.
He did his very best to ensure that we were taking the necessary steps to build
for our present but even more for our future. Any time I had questions he would
ensure that I did my best to use every resource I had first and come up with
some sort of resolution on my own. He would ask me questions, and challenge my
thought process. He made me think outside the box and always tried to get me to
see the bigger picture. He never just gave me the answers. He expected me to
find them myself by opening doors to other individuals; teams and departments
that I may have thought were closed.
Due to his coaching diligence, I see myself as a
much stronger individual. When I first started, I saw myself as a good worker,
however I needed constant positive reinforcement to ensure I was doing a good
job. As time has gone on, I no longer need that reinforcement. I am much more
confident in my skill and will in completing my assigned duties and tasks and
in turn have become more self-reliant. I question things when need be, however
I research my answers and have made myself more open to communication and interdepartmental
relationships. My boss was a great leader as he was able to challenge me enough
so that I was able to see inside myself and really look at the person I was and
who I have now come to be. This program has also provided me that self-observation
and all the aha moments that life can offer someone. This is what this program
and my coach has meant to me. If everyone experienced a change and challenge
such as this, I believe that any individual ready and willing to take the time
to coach someone could make a huge difference in not just an organization but
someone life as well.
Cassandra
R.
References
Obolensky,
N. (2010). Complex adaptive leadership. (1st edition.). London, UK:
Gower/Ashgate
von
Hoffman, C. (1999). Coaching: The ten killer myths. Harvard Management Update,
4(1), 4.
