Coaching Skills for Team Leads

Draft module proposed by: Cha Bendiola

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 Learning objectives

• Define coaching and its organizational benefits

• Develop coaching skills
• Describe how coaching can be implemented in a
team environment

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 01: Coaching and its
organizational benefits

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 What is coaching?
• Coaching is
– Direct, time-appropriate interaction with a
team that is intended to shape team processes
to produce good performance (Wageman,
2001).
– Coachee-driven
• It helps employees perform more
effectively in team-based assignments

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 Two Types of Coaching
Motivational Coaching
– Coaching teams to form and set goals;
communicating in a motivating manner, and
encouraging commitment to their project.
Consultative Coaching
– Coaching teams to develop more effective
ways of performing their work together and
giving feedback on their performance.

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 What coaching does

• Improves performance
• Aligns expectations between team lead and direct
reports
• Increases individual motivation
• Identifies possible deterrents to staff
performance
• Strengthens commitment to continual learning
and improvement
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 The role of the coach

• Models ideal behavior

• Observes team performance and gives feedback
• Motivates team members
• Provides opportunities to practice and improve
performance

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 The coach as a role model

• Demonstrates the effective use of teamwork

behaviors, tools, or strategies
• Reinforces the acceptance of behavior through
team performance

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 Coaches provide feedback
that is…

• Timely
• Respectful
• Specific
• Geared towards improvement
• Dialogic (two-way)
• Considerate

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 The coach as a motivator

• Recognizes and reassures team members when

they are successful
• Identifies potential challenges and unforeseen
circumstances
• Offers support and assistance and displays
empathy
• Communicates positive results and outcomes
with the team
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Providing opportunities to practice
and improve performance
• Can be formal/structured or informal
• Some examples:
– Ask team members how they might have
approached a problem differently
– Use regular staff meetings to share techniques on
how to improve work practices
– Establish rewards mechanism for recognizing
actual applications that helped improve
performance among staff
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 Improving Team Performance: The Team
Diagnostic

1. Problem Identification

2. Solution Generation

3. Action plan and follow-up

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 Problem Identification

 Acknowledge a problem exists

 Maintain a neutral position
 Manage discussion to ensure fairness

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 Solution Generation
• Explore options by focusing on the interests
behind stated positions.
– Explore the ‘whys’ behind staffs’ claims.
– Help staff see commonalities among their goals,
values and principles
– Use commonalities to generate multiple
alternatives
– Use brainstorming

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 Action plan and follow-up
• Ensure that all team members support the
agreed upon plan
– Verify understanding of, and commitment to,
specific actions.
– Identify a short term goal that they need to
achieve.
• Establish a mechanism for follow-up
– Usually an e-mail verifying that the goal has
been reached.

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 Reflection: Effective Coaches
Think about coaches that you have observed or
have worked with in your career.

• What did those coaches have that made them

effective?
• Are coaching characteristics innate or can they be
acquired?

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02: Coaching competencies

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 Coaching Competencies
Performance improvement
Communication
Setting performance goals
Communicating instructions Rewarding improvement
Providing feedback Dealing with Failure
Listening for Understanding Assessing strengths &
weaknesses

Relationship Building Execution

Building rapport & trust Responding to requests

Motivating others Following through
Working with personal issues
Confronting difficult situations
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 Effective Coaching Communication – Active
Listening
• Make eye contact
• Exhibit appropriate body language
• Avoid distracting actions and gestures that suggest
boredom
• Ask questions
• Paraphrase
• Avoid interrupting
• Make smooth transitions between the role of speaker
and listener
• Deflect, probe, reflect
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Effective Coaching Communication – Supportive
Communication

• Stay problem oriented

• Congruence between thinking and feeling
• Avoid making judgments
• Do validate the staff
• Keep Specific
• Smooth flow
• Take ownership

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 Reflection: Coaching Self-Assessment

Revisit the coaching competencies table and find

out if you make the cut.

• Are my communication competencies enough to

support performance in a team environment?
• Does my performance improvement intervention
align with the requirements under the
competencies table?

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 Reflection: Coaching Self-Assessment

Revisit the coaching competencies table and find

out if you make the cut.

• How do I articulate/demonstrate my relationship

building initiatives within the team?
• Are my execution strategies consistent with what
the competencies table provide?

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03: Coaching in a team
environment

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 Implementing coaching in a team
environment

• Develop a coaching plan

• Prepare staff to receive coaching
• Ensure support from the organization

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 Developing a coaching plan

• Determine whether and how coaching will be

used, including its budgetary requirements
• To obtain buy-in, present plan to principals,
including:
– Importance of coaching to reduce attrition
– Anticipated performance improvements &
results
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 Preparing staff for coaching

• Identify who the coaches are to the staff

• Describe the goals and positive outcomes of
coaching
• Explain the role and responsibilities of the
coaches to staff
• Describe expectations with regard to staff’s
interactions with coaches
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 Ensure organizational support
• Enjoin HR to spearhead communications on
coaching activities
• Institutionalize coaching in the organization from
the CEO to Team Leads
• Encourage leadership to include coaching in their
key messages during staff assemblies
• Reward coaches for their contributions to their
unit’s success
• Provide opportunities for coaches to work together
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 Coaching tips

Do…
• Actively monitor and assess team performance
• Establish performance goals and expectations
• Acknowledge desired teamwork behaviors and
skills through feedback
• Coach by example—be a good mentor

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 Coaching tips

Do not…
• Coach from a distance
• Coach only to problem solve
• Lecture instead of coach

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 Session evaluation

Please complete the training evaluation form

and submit to HR within 72 hours. Thank you!

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