As you well know, your one-to-one coaching is an opportunity to change behavior and yield positive results. I have found that my preparation for these coaching sessions is critical. Remember, our intention is always to help our  team members increase productivity.

I suggest taking a few minutes prior to each session to prepare by doing the following:

  • Review previous coaching sessions. Get a feel for where the person is: strengths, and areas of improvement.
  • Write down open ended questions. Use active inquiry and active listening. When executed properly your team will experience discovery learning.
  • Visualize your team performing on the level you want them to do so.

Three factors that influence people’s productivity:

  • To the degree that you sincerely believe that they can achieve higher performance
  • To the degree that they believe that you believe in them
  • To the degree that there is trust, mutual respect, and rapport between you and them

This quote by Ashley Montagu sums the coaching/teaching model, “In teaching, it is the method and not the content that is the message, the drawing it out, not pumping it in.”