A coaching skills training course delegate was recently explaining his frustration at the lack of interest and motivation his staff were showing when being coached. He explained that the normal reaction to being coached was for his staff to cross their arms, lean back in their chairs and adopt an almost ‘bet you can’t coach me!’ attitude. No doubt these same people would leave the coaching conversation thinking ‘See. I’ve won. You can’t coach me!’ How sad.

I suggested that he adopt a less well known coaching tool called Transposing to help him work this through.

Transposing works by getting you to adopt another person’s viewpoint and ask: What am I thinking, what am I feeling and what do I want?

I asked the manager to think of one particular individual – let’s call him Doug. Transposing Doug made us realise that he was thinking “Oh God, what have I done wrong? If I’m being coached, I must be seen as underperforming!”

We also figured that Doug was feeling anxious and uncertain. His interactions with management at the company in the past had usually resulted in a ‘telling off’ in some shape or form. No wonder he was acting like a beaten dog and holding himself stiff until the next beating arrived.

The real revelation happened when we considered what it was that Doug might want. We realised that given his prevailing thoughts and feelings, he would want to get out of the meeting as soon as possible; with his dignity intact.

The real reason why Doug was so reluctant to get involved was now obvious and the manager and I were able to devise a way he could position coaching to overcome these thoughts and feelings. It happened that Doug was a massive sports fan and so his manager pointed out that Tiger Woods, David Beckham and so on were all incredible performers with very little wrong with their games, and yet these same people valued their relationship with their coach above all others. He also pointed out that sports coaches were rarely, if ever, better performers than there clients, but that this was not the point. This lead to Doug realising that coaching was not about his manager just telling him what to do, how to do it, and pointing out all his mistakes. Instead it was an opportunity for Doug to explore his working life and find ways forward in the areas he found he found difficult or frustrating. In fact at a subconscious level Doug began ‘transposing’ his boss, appreciating how difficult it must be to provide coaching to such a truculent group. This mutual empathy is a wonderful by-product of the transposing tool and I’m happy to report that Doug’s relationship with his manager is now flourishing.

By the way, another good reason for walking a mile in your coachee’s shoes is that if things don’t work out, you’ll be a mile away and you’ll have their shoes!! Matt Somers is a leading voice on coaching in the UK where he writes, presents, trains and consults on all aspects of Coaching at Work. An author and regular conference speaker, he is currently producing a range of resources to help with the people side of working life; many of which can be accessed for FREE at http://www.mattsomers.comfree wii console

Ask anyone to define the word coach and you will get a wide variety of responses. Some will say a coach is a sort of tutor or instructor, but others will say it’s a large, multi-wheeled railway carriage. Unfortunately, the second definition is about as helpful as the first in deciding what coaching at work is all about.

To receive ‘coaching’ and to be a ‘coach’ are both very popular terms right now but they are both widley misunderstood. Coaching is ultimately about raising the levels of human performance and, as such, has connections with teaching, training, counselling and mentoring. However, there are subtle but important differences that we need to understand.

Essentially, coaching comprises two main facets. First it is performance focused. It is about doing the job as well as it can be done, hitting targets, getting results and doing the right things in the right way. Secondly,it is person centred which means that it is the individuals being coached who are seen as having the important insights. In the most fundamental terms then, coaching is not about ‘putting in’, rather it is about ‘drawing out’.

By using coaching we can tap into the huge reserves of talent and potential which lay dormant in most people. As managers, we can develop people without having to rely on passing on our own skills and knowledge, which may already be out of date. Without an ability to coach we are left to trust the tired old methods of teaching and instruction which are proving increasingly ineffective in the world of constant change to which we are all having to adjust.

When most people think about coaching, they think about a sports coach shouting and yelling at the players and trying to help them succeed without being directly involved. In sport,the role of coach is crucial in helping people perform at their peak, and even the most accomplished sportspeople such as Tiger Woods or Roger Federer still gain huge benefit from a good relationship with their coach.

The role of the organizational coach is much the same. Whether the coaching is delivered by a manger as a general part of their duties or by a specific coach, they will still be trying to achieve results through others. In thinking about coaching in this way we can see that there is great benefit to be had from having someone in the organization who has the skills and abilities to draw the best out of others. If it were possible to have everyone in an organization improve their performance by as little as one or two per cent then the results would be staggering.

Many organizations are now taking the power of coaching very seriously and appointing people to the specific role of coach. Whilst managers may have the skills and abilities to coach well they are often preoccupied with more task oriented matters and can struggle to find the time to coach effectively.

Increasingly we are able to tap into coaching outside our organizations. There are many small consultancies offering Executive Coaching, where top-level managers in organizations can have regular weekly or monthly sessions with a trained coach to help them work through their current issues. It can often be of great benefit to have a coach who does not work in the organization and who is, therefore, not involved in the same issues. Similarly, some people are now seeking the services of Life Coaches to help them work through personal problems, achieve goals and strike an effective work/life balance.

Whatever the context, we can see that coaching is intended to be a means by which one individual seeks to help another move forward and develop in some way. Matt Somers is a leading voice on coaching in the UK where he writes, presents, trains and consults on all aspects of Coaching at Work. An author and regular conference speaker, he is currently producing a range of resources to help with the people side of working life; many of which can be accessed for FREE at http://www.mattsomers.com whitesmoke software