TIPS 4 THE COACH (Part 2)

Building Relationships

1. Communicate high expectations for your coachees and faith in their abilities to perform highly. Something that I've picked up on from sports coaches of mine was that they held higher expectations for me than I had for myself. Most importantly, they showed faith in my ability to rise above my perception of myself. (Kurt Squire)
2. Practice building relationship skills particularly listening. (Jill Andrews)
3. Set up regular one-to-one meetings to develop a relationship and give the employee an opportunity to share with you. (Jill Andrews)
4. Do not compare the performance of the person you are coaching to the performance of someone else. Treat each individual as a unique situation and adjust your training style accordingly. (CalGal)
5. Never start coaching until you have a relationship working with your client and never stop working on the relationship until you stop coaching. When coaching others, relate your real experiences and stories; when doing so, use "I" and not the generic "you" to talk about yourself. This will convey clear accountability, and make the connection and coaching more authentic. (Alain)
6. Raise your coachee's status. If your coachee reports to you, know that they are likely to say things that you want to hear, more than they would to a co-worker, spouse, or friend. So do whatever you can to make the coachee feel comfortable. Either lower your status, or raise theirs. An example of raising someone's status might be "Your contributions really made a difference to me and the organization this quarter. Here's why: ..." but remember to keep it authentic. (Alain)