31 Coaching Techniques and Tools

At its best, coaching is about partnering rather than about one person being “the expert” and lecturing the other. The coach helps the employee develop a higher level of expertise. The coach can use a variety of methods to facilitate the coaching process:

• Listening actively; the coach does not solve the employee’s problems—the employee solves his or her own problems.
• Helping employees distinguish what is important from what is not.
• Leading employees outside of their comfort zone.
• Acknowledging the employee’s accomplishments and empathizing (not sympathizing) when the employee is down.
• Providing perspective based on the coach’s own experiences.
• Helping the employee set goals, develop an action plan for moving ahead, and anticipate and overcome potential obstacles.
• Recommending specific books or other sources of learning.
• Encouraging journaling to gain awareness of emotions and behaviors and to track progress toward goals.
• Participating in role-playing and simulations to promote skill practice.
• Meeting on a regular basis, with on-the-job “homework” assignments between meetings.

The GROW model was popularized in the coaching industry by Sir John Whitmore in his 1992 book Coaching for Performance: GROWing Human Potential and Purpose. Whitmore’s acronym stands for:

• Goals.
• Reality, or current reality.
• Options.
• Way forward, or what you will do.