coaching skills
To me, one of the most important factor of being an effective coach is honesty. One must give honest feedback to the person being coach so the process can be fruitfull.
Chris,
definitely true & has been highlighted by others, we can be honest & respectful all at the same time.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Honesty is the best policy. Honesty without trust of the parties is a different story. I believe you cannot coach effectively without trust. The coach must be genuine in doing the best for the person being coached and the one being coached must trust the need for a new skill or changes to prior habits.
I agree, being honest is one of the most important aspects as if you are not honest about an employees mistakes, they will never learn from making them.
I agree that honesty is critical, you simply can't sugar coat the situation. You can be honest and be respectful at the same time. In the end, if you are not honest with an employee about their performance, etc, you are doing a dis-service to that employee. Your honest gives them an opportunity to correct the issues and improve, the alternative is not usually a good one.
I've have tried to be both courageous (specific) and courteous (presented in a professional way).
Hello everyone,
I too agree that honesty is very important in coaching. For me, I get frustrated when the one being coached cannot be honest and accept responsibility. Coaching can be very difficult if the one being coach doesn't recognize that there is a problem. I guess "who me" is really a defense mechanism. Sugar coating definitely doesn't work with some people. You must be brutality honest!
Thanks for the input!
Judy,
this is a great point. We need to be honest but kind & tactful at the same time.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree honesty is crucial but I also think a good coach is someone who can give both positive and negative feedback with respect. A good coach has to own the situation and allow the person to give their opinions of what went wrong and how to correct it. I have a coaching situation right now in regards to making sure that one of my employees doesn't share too much information with her students. We have to make sure the people we are coaching realize we are doing it for their benefit and not to bring them down. I will allow my employee to tell me what she thinks the problem is before I tell her what I think is wrong. That way when we agree she will be able to own the situation and will be motivated to make it better.
Yes - honesty and tact are essential to identifying problem areas and communicating them to the employee.
Toufik,
this is so true & that need for honesty is crucial for building effective coaching relationships.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
