Effective Business Coaching

Prof. Candida Brush Franklin W. Olin Chair- Entrepreneurship

Manizales Mas

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Agenda

• Challenges in coaching

• Effective models of coaching

• Practice coaching

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Parental Model

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Expert Model

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The Medical Model

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Effective Business

Coaching is . . . .

. . . an ongoing dialogue

with the goal of

increasing learning and

improving one’s ability

to perform effectively

now and in the future

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Misperception of the

Coach’s Role

Too many people think that a

coach -- especially an accomplished one -- will

solve their problems. That’s like thinking that

you’ll get in shape by hiring the world’s best

trainer and not by working out yourself.

-

Marshall Goldsmith, Fast Company, October 2004

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Coaching is NOT about the

Coach

“I judge too many situations by what I would do, forgetting that not everybody is going to do what I do, or react the way I’d react.”

- Bobby Knight , Former Coach Indiana State University

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Basketball Exercise

This is a video about two teams playing basketball.

• One team wears white shirts

• One team wears black shirts

• Your only task is to watch the team wearing white shirts and to count the number of times that this team successfully passes the basketball to another white shirt team member. A pass is successful if it is thrown or bounced to the team member.

• Be prepared to tell me how many passes you counted.

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Basketball Debrief

• How many passes?

• Did you see anything unexpected?

• Did you see anything change during the course of the video?

• If so, what?

• What are the implications for coaching your clients?

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Inattentional Blindness

The more you focus on something, the less able you are to see

unexpected or unanticipated occurrences.

What don’t you expect to see

that is out there?

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Self-generating Beliefs are not

Observations

“Our ability to achieve the results we want is eroded by our feeling that: • Our beliefs are the truth • The truth is obvious to all • Our beliefs are based on objective data • The data we select are the real data”

• - Senge, Peter, The Fifth Disclipline Fieldbook

Practice Part 1- A Developmental

Coaching Experience

1. Think of some challenging problem or issue about which you would like some coaching (5 minutes)

2. Move into pairs. One of you is coach, the other coachee.

3. Describe your issue to your coach.

4. Switch roles and take turns in the role of coach, and coachee.

5. COACHES: Ask questions only ! Babson Executive Education

Active Listening

• Paying Attention

• Empathy

• Paraphrasing

• Eye contact

• Watching body language

• Asking clarification questions

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Practice Part 2:

Three way role-plays

Divide into groups of three : • 1 person will be the coach • 1 person will be the client with a business challenge • 1 person will be the observer.

• Think about a business challenge that your client might be facing. Each person will have 10 minutes to coach their client on how to address the business challenge.

After the role play, the observer will provide feedback to the coach on: • Use of questions • Understanding of what the client was trying to present • Ability to understand the client’s perspective • Ability to move the challenge forward in an effective way • The outcome of the interaction

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Summary

1. Look beyond your expertise

2. Its not about YOU!!!

3. Active listening

4. ASK QUESTIONS!!

5. Coaching is an on-going dialogue to make your mentee move forward and become self-sufficient.

Adapted from, Byron & Catherine Pulsifer, from What Does a Coach Do?

“The Coach does not play in the game, but the Coach

helps their mentee identify areas to improve”

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