Coaching Skills - Connecting
Connecting to our coachee through a strong coaching relationship is fundamental to a successful coaching intervention. Indeed, for some, it is the
most crucial factor. While there is a need for coaching technique to be applied and goals to be focussed on, the quality of the coach/coachee relationship is perceived by coachees to be critical to success.
"84% of participants perceived that the quality of the coaching relationship was critical to success" (McGovern et al., 2001)
From the very first moment that you meet your coachee, it is important to make sure that you achieve a connection and build on this throughout your sessions. So, how do we do this? We believe there are 5 key elements to a successful coaching relationship:
- Trust
- Being Present
- Empathy & respect
- Being non-judgmental
- Credibility as a coach
Over the coming weeks, we will be looking at these factors individually. Connecting is the beginning of a series of useful hints & tips that will cover essential coaching skills, such as contracting, listening, questioning, coaching models and providing feedback.
We will be posting on LinkedIn and via Twitter using #theBCAdvice.
We would love for you to share your thoughts, comments, tips and stories as we go through the series!
References
McGovern, J., Lindemann, M., Vergara, M., Murphy, S., Barker, L. and Warrenfeltz, R. (2001) Maximizing the Impact of Executive Coaching: Behavioral Change, Organizational Outcomes, and Return on Investment, The Manchester Review, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-9.
