Is there a right way to coach? Yes and no.

Video transcript:

So, is there a right way to coach?
And the answer for me has to yes and no.
There are quite a few different schools
of coaching, people having been brought up
in terms of having learnt a certain
coaching style, a certain set of coaching
tools, a certain methodology, a certain
way of going about it and often with
coaches with less experience they will
tend to stick rigidly to that structure
because it helps them to manage the
coaching process, a kind of a sense of
what to do next.
But more experienced coaches will have
moved way beyond that and they'll have
a big toolkit of tools and techniques,
questions and approaches, tasks and stories
and all sorts of things they can pull
from the toolkit and the most important
thing is does the coaching fit you
and what you're trying to achieve.
And a coach should be able to adapt their
style to what's most effective
in a certain context.
Sometimes they'll be encouraging and
empathic and when they need it they can
be challenging and pushy.
And what it's needed they can be
reflective or whatever might be that's
most useful to you.
An experienced coach will have a range
of tools and techniques they can use.
They will adapt their style to not only
you but the context of the coaching
and what the subject is.
So is there a right or wrong way to coach?
There's certainly plenty of wrong ways...
if you mismatch your coaching style with
what the client needs.
Also there isn't one right way to coach.
There is no one right method
you should be using.
So watch out for people who think
they've got a particular method that will
work for you and will work for everybody.
All experienced coaches know that's rubbish.
Can a coach adapt to what's needed,
right now, in your coaching session?
That's what the right way to coach is.
So let me know what you think in the
comments below. I'd love to hear some more.
Lets get some discussion going about what is
the right way to coach.