Coach Training

Coaching and Developing Leaders

Program Description

Legendary GE CEO Jack Welch has said that coaching and developing leaders is one of his most important responsibilities.  We agree.  Too often managers abdicate that responsibility, preferring to leave development in the hands of the Human Resource Department and training professionals.  Yet evidence is conclusive that successful leaders give the credit for their success to the coaching and mentoring they received as they developed in their jobs.  Furthermore, highly talented and sought-after candidates in today’s competitive market repeatedly cite the opportunity to receive coaching, mentoring, and development as a major determinant of their choice of employment.

Awareness of the importance of coaching is only the first step for managers.  They must develop a high level of skill in assessing capabilities accurately, planning developmental strategies, and most of all in providing effective on-going feedback, guidance, and support.  Failure to develop these skills can cost the Company its most needed high potentials, and can allow sub-performers to continue their drag on Company success.

  Generally, our approach will be to provide managers with the tools and techniques of effective performance coaching, and to engage them in intensive exercises and videotaped skill practices simulating coaching conversations with both high performers and average performers.  In this way they will have the tools, skills, confidence, and commitment to make coaching a high priority.  Details follow.

Benefits

The benefits of skilled coaching by leaders will be significant to your company:

• A “deep bench” of current and future leaders prepared for the growth

• Improved retention of high performing individuals

• Improved performance of average performing individuals

Learning Objectives

Participants in Coaching and Developing Leaders will

• Have a clearer understanding of their role as coaches and the importance of this role

• Be able to use an effective coaching model

• Be able to use tools, techniques, and data to effectively and objectively assess the capabilities of an employee

• Know what data is needed and how to obtain it

• Be able to conduct effective listening sessions to discover needs and goals

• Be able to collaborate with the employee to create a developmental plan using a range of developmental strategies

• Be able to negotiate agreement spelling out responsibilities of employee and leader

• Be able to objectively and accurately identify opportunities for growth

• Be able to conduct effective feedback sessions and give honest, direct, constructive feedback with confidence

• Be able to monitor and follow up on development and improvement efforts

Recommendations  

Since one of the first hurdles is to get agreement that coaching is a high priority, we recommend a kickoff by a Senior Manager stating the critical importance of coaching to the future success of the Company.

The recommended method for building coaching skills is videotaped practice with feedback from peers and coaching from the facilitator.  No other method has the impact of seeing oneself “as others see us.”  Each participant will write his/her own practice scenarios based on actual people reporting to them: one high potential and one average performer.  In this way, the analysis exercises will have immediate application.  In the videotaped practices, a trained facilitator will take the role of the employee, and thus will stretch the leader’s skills and resourcefulness in conducting both types of coaching interactions.  Both practices will be videotaped privately, and played back in a small group, where both group members and the facilitator will give constructive feedback.

Customization  

We will include as many custom examples and relevant anecdotal details as possible based on our research of your organization prior to this training.

Methodology

All AlexanderHancock Associates programs are designed to be highly interactive and engaging, emphasizing learning by doing.  This program will include the following methods:

• Videotaped practice

• Facilitated group discussion

• Small group exercises

• Video: Performance Coaching

• Coaching Style Inventory

Training Topics  

• Bench strength: the coaching imperative

-The challenge of preparing for the future

-The challenge of retaining talent

-The challenge of continuous improvement

• The coaching model

-Steps

-Tools in each step

• Coaching styles

-Options

-Matching the style to the individual, the situation, the competency or deficiency

• Assessing your employees’ capabilities

-Data collection tools and techniques

-Getting input from customers, peers, associates, other managers, etc.

-360 degree assessment

-Competency models as standards to measure by

-Identifying strengths and deficiencies

• Assessing current performance versus future capability

-The difference between assessing performance versus assessing capability

-How to determine appropriate emphasis

• Conducting a “listening” session

-How to use effective questioning and listening skills

-How to identify interests, goals, motivational needs, hidden talents

• Creating a developmental plan

-The leader’s role and the employee’s role

-Strategies and options available for development

-How to select developmental strategies appropriately matched to the individual’s interests and goals, the competencies to be developed, and the Company’s needs

-How to negotiate a developmental “contract” with the employee

• Monitoring and following up

-How to ensure systematic follow up on development efforts

-How to measure efforts and results

• How to coach and mentor informally

-Using team meetings as coaching opportunities

-Using task assignments as coaching opportunities

-Using “hallway” conversation as a coaching opportunity

• Analyzing developmental needs

-How to use performance analysis tools

-Identifying the causes of performance deficiencies

• Conducting the feedback discussion

-Guidelines for giving feedback on needs

-Why we tend to avoid these conversations

-What to say – and what not to say

-How to turn problems into learning and growth opportunities

-Giving feedback to managers who may not have received any in years

• What will we do with what we learned here?

Logistics

· This program is designed to be delivered in two full training days (8:00 or 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).

· Optimum group size is 20-24 participants with one facilitator for each group of 5-6 participants.

· The videotaped skills sessions will be conducted in break-out groups of 5-6 (maximum) to allow maximum impact from practices, feedback, and coaching from the facilitator.

· Facilities required include one training room with table groups of 4-5 people, and one break-out room for each group of 5-6 participants.

· Equipment requirements include 2 flip charts, overhead projector and screen, and (for videotaped skill sessions), one video camera and VCR/monitor for each group of 5-6 participants.