Coaching is a term often used in sports. If you’ve been involved in competitive sport, you’ve probably been coached. If your coach was a combination of teacher, motivator and role model, then it is likely you and your team reached close to its full potential. Unfortunately in business this experience is all too rare. In business, there is too much untapped potential. 

As with sports, effective coaching lifts performance, potential is realised and the workplace becomes far more enjoyable and rewarding. Coaching doesn’t need to be complicated and therefore we all have the ability to improve.

Business coaching is a tool that can be used as part of any role. No matter what your position, you can apply coaching techniques. For leaders and managers, coaching is one of a number of tools we use to lift performance. When you choose coaching for the right situation, the pay-off is significant. 

Coaching is an investment in your people. Like any investment you should expect a return. The return is greater motivation, higher retention, higher commitment and sustained performance. It is best used with people and teams with the potential to grow. Coaching is not the ideal approach for poor performers. Instead, it is about your good people getting better.

There are three key aspects to effective coaching: skill, attitude and a robust process. Skills-wise, you need to be good at listening, asking open questions and giving feedback. Many managers call these the ‘soft’ skills; however, they find them to be the hardest of all.

Attitude is probably the most important of the three. If you consider your favourite sports coach or an influential teacher, it is likely their attitude and approach was the key.

People who are great at coaching want others to be great. The attitude that makes the difference is: belief in the potential of the person or team being coached; patience, including allowing the person to do things differently to you; genuine interest in what drives and motivates people.

One of the more well-known and robust processes is the GROW model (goal, reality, options, wrap-up). GROW has its origin with Sir John Whitmore, a professional racing car driver, and Timothy Gallwey, an elite tennis coach. What strikes me most about their work is the focus on goals, accountability and the mental game of coaching. Coaching is not therapy, but it does need to focus on attitudes and mindsets. 

The GAMAA Leadership Education Programme has used coaching as a core foundation to develop leaders in the industry. Many owners and managers have sharpened their skills, used coaching processes and shown a great attitude. They aim to develop a future generation of leaders. Essentially their development becomes an investment in the industry itself. The reward for those who coach is a more committed workforce, a future generation of talent and the personal satisfaction that you have given something back.

Many of the successes in your career occurred because someone believed in you. To realise the potential in your business, the question is do you believe in them? For more information on GAMAA’s Leadership Education Programme go to www.gamaa.net.au

Colin Beattie is a director of Somersault Consulting.

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