Coaching
Q. What is Coaching?
A. At the individual level coaching supports individuals to ‘unlock’ their potential and ‘maximise their own performance’ (Whitmore, 2010). Coaching involves a collaborative alliance between the coachee and the coach, underpinned by mutual trust and respect, and structured conversations which support the coachee to raise awareness of their performance, and in particular performance behaviours, in terms of where there are opportunities to improve or develop (Starr, 2016).
Q. How long do coaching sessions last for?
A. Usually one to one and a half hours, depending upon what has been agreed by the coach and coachee.
Q. How many coaching sessions will I have?
A. Usually five to seven coaching sessions, depending upon what has been agreed by the coach and coachee. However, some coachees prefer to have just one or two sessions to focus on a specific goal.
Q. What is a coaching goal?
A. Goal theory has shown that coaching goals need to be clearly defined and SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound). Goals might be defined in terms of whether they are distal (medium to longer term) or proximal (immediate or shorter term), avoidance (aiming to avoid certain behaviours) or approach (aiming to increase certain behaviours), and whether they are concordant with a coachee’s motivation and values (Grant, 2019; Latham, 2012).
Types of Coaching
Q. What is solution focussed coaching?
A. Solution focussed coaching involves a framework which recognises the coachee’s expertise in finding their own solutions and resources in achieving their goals. It begins with the identification of an outcome, typically uses scaling questions to identify where a coachee is in achieving their goal, focuses on identifying coachee know-how and resources to support goal achievement, recognises and celebrates the coachee’s work and engages the coachee in action planning and review.
Q. What is positive psychology coaching?
A. Positive psychology coaching uses techniques based on research that promote resilience, achievement and wellbeing. It typically involves improving a coachee’s experience of positive emotions, identifies and builds on their strengths, focuses on building hope and optimism and encourages positive relationships with others.
Q. What is cognitive behavioural coaching?
A. Cognitive behavioural coaching supports the coachee to identify their goals and capabilities, as well as ‘remove any psychological blocks that interfere with this process’ (Neenan & Palmer, 2013). This approach helps coaches to identify the undesired consequences, such as reduced or under-performance or a stress response of an activating event which are mediated by the coachee’s core or habitual thoughts. For example, a coachee may be procrastinating on a key task such as preparing a presentation or writing a reportand while in the short-term it may lead to alleviation of stress, in the longer term as the deadline approaches and the task remains uncompleted it is likely to lead to anxiety and stress. This behaviour will reflect core beliefs, such as ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I know I will fail this task’, which are often associated with perfectionism. Coaching helps to challenge these beliefs so that new behavioural approaches an be adopted which in turn can lead to the coachee experiencing less stress and anxiety.
Understanding Ourselves and Others
Q. What is passive or unassertive behaviour?
A. Passive or unassertive behaviour involves an individual in being inhibited in terms of recognising or understanding their own feelings, preferences and goals, which usually results in submissive behaviour, such as failing to stand up for oneself, giving to much regard for other’s opinions and preferences and seeking to earn other’s respect and approval by trying to please them (Dryden & Constantinou, 2004). Sometimes this can result in an individual allowing others to make decisions and choose options for them (Centre for Coaching, 2020). Typically the actions of a passive/unassertive individual involve: deferring to others, apologising when thoughts or feelings are expressed, denigrating their own opinions and over-valuing the opinions of others (Potts & Potts, 2013). Coaching can help identify this type of behaviour and ways in which it can be changed to more assertive behaviour.
Q. What is aggressive behaviour?
A. Aggressive behaviour involves an individual standing up for their own rights in a way that control others, coercing their choices and minimising their worth (Alberti & Emmons, 1995). It is characterised by behaviour which is ‘hostile, forceful or bullying’ (Dryden & Constantinou, 2004). Actions might are likely to involve confrontation in the form of shouting, as well as invading others’ personal space, putting others’ down or humiliating them (Centre for Coaching, 2020). Body language includes taught facial expressions, intense eye contact, attacking body movements such as finger waving quick and erratic movement, and a vocal tone which may be unchangeable with little or no hesitancy (Dryden & Constantinou, 2004). Aggressive behaviour involves attempts to control others, coercing their choices and minimising their worth (Alberti & Emmons, 1995). Coaching can develop ways of managing aggressive behaviour and overcoming conflict.
Q. What is passive aggressive behaviour?
A. Passive aggressive or indirect aggression involves the individual taking ‘passive, non-oppositional action’, which on the surface seems friendly and agreeable, but is designed to undermine and dehumanise the other party (Alberti & Emmons, 1995). Typically the actions of a passive aggressive individual include sarcasm, gossiping, backbiting, lying, sulking or sabotage and subversiveness. These actions can lead to others being humiliated or demeaned, and attempts to undermine their relationships or frustrate their goals. In extreme cases, it can even lead to social ostracism of another individual from a group or team causing distress (Richardson & Hammock, 2011). Coaching can develop ways of managing passive aggressive behaviour and overcoming conflict.
Q. What is assertive behaviour?
A. Assertive behaviour reflects a mindset in which an individual has a healthy view of themselves and a perception of others having equal worth and value (Dryden & Constantinou, 2004). This reflects an individual’s belief that they have the skills needed to influence a situation positively, that it is in everyone’s interests that personal opinions, preferences and needs are expressed, and reflects high self-esteem and self-worth (Centre for Coaching, 2020). Assertive behaviour seeks to achieve a ‘win-win’ situation where all parties can have their view expressed and understood in order to find a workable solution which respects everyone involved (Potts & Potts, 2013). Coaching can help develop the skills needed for being assertive in a wide range of workplace and other contexts.
Q. What is self-esteem?
A. Self-esteem has been defined as an individual’s subjective self-believe and confidence in their ability and personal value (Neenan & Palmer, 2013).
Q. What is self-acceptance?
A. Self-acceptance is our ability to ‘fully and unconditionally accept’ ourselves regardless of how we behave and whether or not others ‘approve, respect, or love’ us (Neenan & Palerm 2013, p. 106). In coaching, a key focus for enhancing a coachee’s self-acceptance is to recognise that as human beings we are both fallible and imperfect (Neenan & Palmer, 2013). This is particularly important in supporting coachees to reframe shame (which may be associated with under-performance or performance error) into disappointment for unmet preferences.
Q. What perfectionism?
A. Perfectionism is understood to involve the striving for flawless performance and in its most extreme form, this drive occurs across all aspects of an individual’s performance (Flett & Hewitt, 2002). In its healthy form, perfectionism has been associated with consciousness, resourcefulness, adaptation and resilience associated (Stoeber & Otto, 2006) as well increased intrinsic motivation, realistic expectations and task completion (Mills & Blankstein, 2000). In its less healthy form perfectionism is defined as the setting and striving to meet self-imposed high standards against which perceptions of success are used to assess the individual’s self-esteem and self-worth (Shafran, Egan, & Wade, 2018). In this form, perfectionism can lead to anxiety over mistakes, doubts about own actions and being overly concerned about others’ judgements (Shafran et al., 2018).
Q. What is impostor syndrome?
A. Impostor syndrome also known as imposter phenomenon is a psychological experience where an individual perceives themselves to be an intellectual fraud and experiences a fear of exposure. It is often associated with perfectionism. Many people, including those in senior roles, report experiencing impostor syndrome at some point in their careers.