Author: Carter McNamara

One of the advantages of the coaching process is that it can be done in a wide variety of formats and still retain its powerful benefits. In this article, we acquaint the reader with the basic formats in which coaching can be done. We use the term “format” to refer to the physical configuration or context in which the coaching occurs. We use “mode” to refer to the medium of communication among participants.

We do not review the many different types of applications in which coaching can be done. For that information, see Some Common Types of Coaching .

First, a Reminder “What is Coaching?”

As the field of personal and professional coaching has grown, so have different perspectives and definitions of coaching. Many coaches might agree with the following definition:

“Coaching involves working in a partnership between coach and client(s) to provide structure, support, inquiry and feedback for clients to:

1. Take a complete look at their current state, including their assumptions and perceptions about their work, themselves and/or others;
2. Set relevant and realistic goals for themselves, based on their own nature and needs;
3. Take relevant and realistic actions toward reaching their goals; and
4. Learn by continuing to reflect on the inquiry and feedback, and on the results of their actions to achieve their goals.

For more perspectives on coaching, see All About Coaching

Informal and Formal Coaching Relationships

Coaching Conversation (or Session)

Coaching can occur as a one-time exchange between people – between a professional coach and client (coachee) or even between people who are not necessarily trained as coaches.

Coaching Project (or Program)

This occurs between a professional coach and coachee in a professional relationship (or project) that is highly customized to the nature and needs of the coachee. The relationship is formalized in a coaching contract and usually involves numerous coaching sessions. Sometimes a coaching project is referred to as a coaching program, however, a program is typically a series of activities to teach coaching, for example, a coaching program or coaching school.

Formats of Coaching

Self-Coaching

This is one of the most forgotten formats of coaching. Coaching teaches us that, when we get stuck, it’s often because of how we perceive a situation. One of the most frequently used coaching tools is asking questions to generate reflection, insights, and relevant and realistic actions to address a current priority. You can ask yourself powerful questions to examine your own perceptions, assumptions and conclusions about a current priority. Although it’s often best to involve someone else in that inquiry (because the other person can help show “what you don’t know that you don’t know), you can still learn a great deal about yourself and your situation by self-coaching.

One-on-One Coaching

One-on-one coaching (or one-to-one coaching) is probably the most common format of coaching. One-on-one coaching can be done between two peers or with a professional coach. The term “peers” refers to people who come together as equals to address a priority and learn at the same time.

• Peer Coaching in One-On-One Format
  In peer coaching, people coach each other. Peer coaching can be done with two people or in a group. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for participating in coaching because you likely have many peers who could coach you, for example, a friend, family member or colleague.
• Professional Coaching in One-on-One Format
  Professional coaching involves a person trained in a particular coaching model and who might have achieved certification from a coaching school. The coach might have strong skills, including in assessments, listening, inquiry, and moving the coachee forward to actions and learning.

Group Coaching

Although group coaching often does not quickly achieve the attunement, engagement and intimacy of a one-on-one coaching experience, group coaching can be powerful means for many people to benefit from the coaching process. (Many people would agree that an outcome from group coaching is “team building” and, thus, use that label rather than “group coaching.”)

NOTE: As the field of coaching has grown, so has the number of coaches who customize their own approach to group coaching, so has the different perspectives on group coaching, and so has the different names for the types of coaching groups.

• Peer Coaching in Groups
  In peer coaching groups, one or more members might be coached by other group members. Facilitation could be the responsibility of one person or the entire group.
• Professional Coaching in Groups
  In this format, a professional coach coaches one or more group members, while other members either observe or take part in sessions.
• Action Learning Groups (“Sets”)
  In an Action Learning group (often called a “set”), members address a current, urgent priority (or priorities) by sharing inquiry and taking actions between meetings to address the priority. Action Learning does not often refer to this exchange as “coaching,” although many coaches would recognize it as coaching. (Action Learning often refers to an external facilitator as a “learning coach.”) Groups can be externally or self-facilitated.

Organizational Coaching

Organizational coaching aims to enhance the performance of a unit in the organization (a department or process) or the entire organization, and can include a variety of other domains of coaching. One of the outcomes from organizational coaching often is a “coaching culture,” in which coaching is a primary nature of exchange and development among employees.

Systems Coaching

Occasionally, coaches (especially in the field of Organization Development) refer to systems coaching, and associate various contexts of coaching, including, for example, gender coaching, team coaching and organizational coaching. However, many people would argue that all forms of coaching are systems coaching because a person, group and organization are each a system.

Modes of Coaching

Face-to-Face vs. Virtual

The coaching process can be done where people are directly interacting with each other or done by means of telecommunications (phone, Web, etc.). Many people might react that virtual coaching would seem less effective, however, much coaching is very effectively done virtually.

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

Synchronous coaching is when the coach and coachee(s) directly respond to each other, for example, in a vocal exchange. Asynchronous coaching is when communications between the coach and coachee(s) can have even significant delays, for example, when each is reading and responding to emails from others.

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(This information is based on the work of Parker Palmer, John Morefield, and Marcy Jackson, and inspired by the work of Parker J. Palmer and Center for Courage & Renewal . The information was written by Susan Kaplan, M.S.W. )

Value of Open and Honest Questions

(Part 2 of 2 will give guidelines for asking open and honest questions.)

Open and honest questions are a thoughtful pathway for inquiry and discernment, moving us beyond our normal patterns of communication. Often our questions are laden with advice, problem solving, or meeting our needs to be a “competent leader, good parent, or engaged Helping Professional”. Open & Honest Questions serve to invite a more spacious, authentic conversation. This discernment practice enables us to:

• Create a more authentic and deeper exploration of “a problem or question” for both the person talking and the one listening;

• Step away from our tendency to jump to solutions, assign blame, or otherwise approach our exchanges attached to a specific end (teaching with a specific goal in mind, defend what we know, problem solve, or respond as a “good facilitator” would);

• Invite a person to explore their own “inner teacher”, calling upon their own wisdom and knowledge of self. This builds capacity for their own leadership from within, by exploring their own assets, truth, questions, and answers. This invites a discovery of their own “hidden wholeness”. A person accesses their inner teacher by thinking about the situation in new ways, applying past learning and experience to now, while listening to both feelings and thoughts. This practice helps others think through on their own before/or instead of you giving direction or input;

• Support a deeper inner conversation within one self;

• Slow down the pace of our conversation and develops a deeper mutual engagement;

• Expand and deepen an exploration rather than narrow or restrict possibilities;

• Explore and “hold” important questions or complicated issues. This practice recognizes significant value in listening without judgment with a view for understanding instead of reacting with a quick, simple or incomplete answer for an immediate direction (that may make things worse in the long run);

• Use meaningful metaphors to reframe or help “step out” of the situation;

• Invite more authentic responses rather than second guessing the “right answer”;

• Changes the dynamic of our tendency to want to fix, “save”, change or give advice. In these responses, we see the person as “broken” or with deficits. Our new role is to create a safe and meaningful process in which we help the person access their own “hidden wholeness”.

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First, What is Coaching?

Simply put, the purpose of coaching is to guide and support oneself or another to:

1. Clarify a current, important priority that the person wants to work on;
2. Identify relevant and realistic actions to address that priority;
3. Take the actions in the person’s work or life; and
4. Learn by reflecting on the coaching and the actions.

Coaching can be done in one conversation or as part of an overall coaching program. One of the clearest ways to distinguish the power of coaching is by comparing it to a typical conversation. In the following, let’s assume that Tom’s current priority is to improve his time management.

Example of a Short, Typical “Helpful” Conversation

Tom: Bob, can I talk to you for a couple of minutes? We’ve worked together for years. I have a time management problem. I just don’t get enough done in a day. What do you think?

Bob: Yeah, me, too. That’s hard for all of us. I know your boss. It’s time someone made him take control. Make him fix your problem. What’s with that guy anyway?

Tom: I’ve asked him for help, but he said everything on my todo list is important and that I need to get it all done. He makes me feel even worse. What do you do?

Bob: Wow, your boss can be a real jerk! I’m glad I don’t work for him. Maybe you should take a time management course. That’s an idea!

Tom: I’m already so busy. How am I going to find time to take a course?

Bob: I don’t know. I’m just giving you some ideas. Maybe you need to work more hours.

Tom: I’m already working 50 hours a week. If I work any more, I’ll just be taking time from my family. What do you do?

Bob: I don’t know. We all have a time management problem. Maybe you just forget about it for a while.

Tom: I suppose I just live with it like everyone else.

Bob: You’ve got about 10-12 people working for you, right?

Tom: I’ve got 12.

Bob: Dump some of your work on your people. Maybe they need to work harder. This place never hires enough people.

Tom: They’re already as busy as I am. I guess I just live with this.

Bob: How big is your budget – about one million?

Tom: Yeah, about one million?

Bob: Tell you what, go hire another employee – someone who’ll work even harder for you, OK? We need to get rid of the dead wood around here. Just do it.

Tom: I suppose. Whatever.

Example of a Short, Coaching Conversation

Tom: Jack, can I talk to you for a couple of minutes? We’ve worked together for years. I have a time management problem. I just don’t get enough done in a day. What do you think?

Jack: Tell me more. How did you conclude that you have that problem?

Tom: I never get everything done on my todo list. The more I get done, the more I end up adding to the list. I talked to my boss and he just said, “You need to get it all done.”

Jack: What would successful time management look like to you?

Tom: Well, I’d get everything done on my list.

Jack: How is that realistic?

Tom: It’s not, but what else am I going to do?

Jack: How do you like to solve problems like this? For example, do you like to talk to someone, make a list of pro’s and con’s, or read books about the subject?

Tom: Well, I do like to talk to a few people and to make a list of pro’s and con’s.

Jack: Who are some people you could talk to for help?

Tom: Well, I really think my boss owes me some advice – after all, that’s his job. Also, I have two co-workers who seem to feel good about how they manage time.

Jack: How would you approach them? Sounds like you already tried to talk to your boss, and that didn’t work out so well.

Tom: I’ll start first with my co-workers – and I’ll ask them for advice about approaching our boss, too.

Jack: When will you realistically be able to talk to them? You seem so busy.

Tom: This is really important to me. I’ll talk to my co-workers today to schedule time with them.

Jack: How will you fit them into your schedule, since you’re so busy already?

Tom: Jack, this conversation is helping me to realize that I’ve got to do something. I’ll make time to talk to them.

Jack: Sounds like you’re getting more perspective on this time management problem?

Tom: Yeah, maybe one of my problems is that I’m hoping some kind of fix will come along without my having to make time for it.

Jack: That’s a good insight, Tom.

Tom: Jack, this conversation was really helpful! You’re really smart!

Jack: Tom, the answers seemed to come from you, not from me.

Jack: What was helpful about this conversation?

Tom: I guess I really like the way that you just asked me good questions. It really made me think – and I realized that I’m smarter than I thought!

Jack: I’m glad to hear that! Thanks for being so honest in this conversation.

Jack: Know what you could do for me? After you’ve talked to your co-workers, tell me what you learned, not just about time management, but about yourself. Maybe I can use some of that learning for myself, too!

Tom: It’s a deal.

Summary – Notice How Coaching is Different?

In the coaching conversation:

1. Jack mostly just asked questions.
2. Jack’s questions were made to make Tom think – they weren’t merely questions that could be answered with “yes” or “no.”
3. Jack didn’t have to know much about Tom at all, in order to be really helpful.
4. The ideas and the actions came from Tom, not from Jack – that helps Tom to take ownership in his situation and to ensure his actions are realistic.
5. Jack affirmed Tom’s participation in the conversation – Tom was honest.
6. Jack helped Tom to learn from the conversation – he asked Tom to share his learning with jack.

It’s very useful to conduct relevant and realistic evaluations of a group coaching or Action Learning program that is assigned to address a current, major “problem,” or priority, in life or the workplace. It’s best to even create an evaluation plan — ideally before the group(s) even get started — and to have the plan reviewed by people in charge of the priority to be addressed, sponsors (people officially assigned to manage the group program), facilitators and some group members. Be sure to specify what will be confidential during and after the evaluation.

Here’s basic guidelines about what to evaluate, what tools to use and what to present at the end of the program.

NOTE: This post addresses basic guidelines — resources for more in-depth information are provided at the end of the post.

What to Evaluate

1. Progress on the overall “problem” or priority that the group is chartered to address. So it’s good to also identify some “indicators” toward progress — some indicators that you can realistically and practically get data about.
2. Program goals — goals about starting and running a group coaching or Action Learning program, e.g., evaluate status toward achieving a goal to “Develop a group coaching or Action Learning Coordinator job description.”
3. Quality of facilitation process and tools so far, whether it’s an external or self-facilitated group.
4. Quality of each meeting, including attendance, participation, and coaching/feedback process and tools among members.
5. Quality of achievement of individual goals that each member sets for him/herself in the program.

Evaluation Methods

1. Quick verbal rating from each member in each meeting about the quality of that meeting, including why each member selected that rating, and what he/she could have done during the meeting to have gotten a higher rating now.
2. Questionnaires at the mid-point and end of the program, about the 5 items listed above and about the 6 items listed later on below.
3. Then selected interviews after the questionnaires, especially about best results, worst results and recommendations from members.
4. Optionally, case studies at the end of the program, especially about a best experience, worst experience and average/nominal experience in the program.

What to Present at the End of the Program

1. Description of the “problem” or overall priority they addressed.
2. Their “charter” or purpose as a group, i.e., the process they used, resources they were allocated, authority they were given, members of the set, any sponsorship from other roles in the organization, etc.
3. The actions they took between meetings.
4. The learnings they gleaned about the 5 items that were evaluated (listed above), and especially in terms of new knowledge, skills and perceptions — both expected and unexpected.
5. The final effect on the “problem” they addressed.
6. Ideally, any recommendations for future program and group activities.