Learning To Be A Coach Or A Client

The “bottom-line” purpose of coaching is the help individuals to change: their knowledge, understandings, insights, actions/behaviors, or to clarify their beliefs or values. The bottom line of change is learning; the bottom line of learning is change. One must learn about a new mathematics curriculum before one can use it. The individual must learn how to operate a computer before s/he can employ it. Whatever is new — whether a new piece of equipment, a new process, or new practice — requires learning about it in order to receive the benefits it promises.

The same can be said about individuals who are coaching and about the clients who are working with a coach. The novice learns and develops the knowledge and skills to become an expert coach; the inexperienced client learns and becomes a more sophisticated “partner” of the coach. The learning enables the coach and the client to change and become more efficient and effective in their roles. We understand that they are involved in the change process.

A tool useful in the change process for both the coach and the client is Stages of Concern (Hall & Hord, 2006). This concept and its accompanying tools identifies and measures the concerns (reactions, attitudes, feelings — the affective domain) of the coaches and the clients. When individuals are initiating their learning about being a coach or a client, they have self concerns. When the self concerns diminish and actual coaching practice with a client begins, task concerns will manifest. After sufficient learning and practice time, the coach and the client will develop impact concerns (see table below of examples of statements that are typically made by coaches and clients at the different stages).

Expressions of Concerns

How can recognizing the concerns of coaches and clients be helpful? The “tuned in” trainer of coaches can use coaches’ expressions as guides for how to help the coach work on self concerns in order to move to task and ultimately impact concerns — so that the coach’s focus is on the client and not on him or herself. The concerns expressions are a “thermometer” of the individual and give the coach data for supplying helpful actions to support the client in reaching impact concerns and goals for staff and student benefits. Thus, the astute coach can listen for the clients’ concerns that provides information to help them in how to coach the client.

By Shirley Hord, Board of Directors

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TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

NOTABLE QUOTES

A coach is someone who

(1) Sees what others may not see through the high quality of his or her attention or listening,

(2) Is in a position to step back (or invite participants to step back) from the situation so that they have enough distance from it to get some perspective,

(3) Helps people see the difference between their intentions and their thinking or actions, and…

(4) Helps people cut through patterns of illusion and self-deception caused by defensive thinking and behavior.

Robert Hargrove, Mastery Coaching

Start measuring your work by the optimism and self-sufficiency you leave behind.

Peter Brock, author of Flawless Consulting

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Newsletter Editor & E-News Contact, Kathryn Kee, Board Member