33. Move Beyond Coaching

When people suggest coaching someone else, it can conjure up images of ath­letic coaches walking up and down the sidelines screaming at players. Or it implies a need to “tell” people what to do. Worse than both of those, is seeing coaching as necessary to “fix” someone else.

The telling, yelling, and fixing mode of coaching are the lowest level of coach­ing. Want to move into higher levels of coaching; practice the four “Rs” of coaching. Help people get to the REAL issues that they want to work on. Provide time and space to REFLECT and think through something. RESPECT shows confidence in the other person’s ability to figure out what they want to happen. Ultimately, it’s about RESULTS, not the result we want, but helping someone decide on the result they are willing to commit to.

How can I coach at a deeper level?