Coaching A Colleague

With a 'think positive' attitude to life, you may find that you stand out in the workplace and are noticed. Quite often this can lead to new opportunities and sometimes - because people hope your attitude is contagious - you will be asked to pass on your skills and knowledge to a colleague.

First of all you need to clarify what exactly you are being asked to do. If you have been asked to help a colleague with a specific task or process then you are probably expected to train them, rather than coach them. The two roles are very different. On the other hand, if you have been asked to help them achieve a specific goal, such as competence in a new skill or to manage a project, then that sounds more like coaching.

In more detail: training is instructive; coaching is facilitative. When training, your job tends to focus on imparting new knowledge and then helping and testing the trainee's ability to apply that new knowledge. When coaching, your role is to ask the right questions and help the coachee achieve their goal. The crucial difference is that when training, the path is often set for the trainee, whereas when coaching the coachee decides on the path that is right for them.

A common coaching model that is used to give some structure to the process is GROW; as follows.

GOAL - clearly establish the end result of the process; ask questions to clarify what must be achieved, by when, to what quality, what resources are available, how are they expected to demonstrate that they have reached their goal, etc.

REALITY - explore their position now, their starting point; this will give a clear indication of how far the individual must travel in order to achieve their goal; ask questions to understand their current skill levels and attitudes relevant to the goal. The more information you can gather at this stage, the better.

OPTIONS - identify the different ways in which the individual can now move from their reality to their goal; explore the different routes that might be possible; ask questions to establish the choices and the pros and cons of each one. (The 'O' can also stand for 'Obstacles' when discussing what factors might stand in the way of the goal and how they can be overcome.)

WAY FORWARD - agree specific actions to move towards the goal; ask questions to identify specific activities that the individual will now undertake. (The 'W' can also stand for 'Will' as in ensuring the individual has the will and the commitment to see the process through.)

Depending on the size and scope of the goal, you may have many meetings with your coachee to discuss progress and review or refine the actions that are helping them achieve their goal.

So, the next time you are asked to support a colleague, ask yourself: Am I a trainer or am I a coach?