Looking through the statement we are supposed to respond to
in this post, I think you see the essence of the toaist/pull approach of
leadership. The statement essentially
states that the client has the answers within them because they know themselves
the best but were unable to figure it out themselves. So, a coach’s purpose is to help them realize
the answer that already lies within them.
A great method to do this is to utilize the GROW method of
coaching. GROW (Goals, Reality, Options,
and Will) utilizes non-suggestive open questions to nudge the client in the
right direction (Obolensky, 2012). The
non-suggestive questions are merely the questions that need to be asked to
force the client to self-reflect and pull the answers from within.
Coaching is a vital aspect of both leadership and strategy
because it is powerful yet requires great skill (Obolensky, 2012). Coaching allows for learning, growth,
improvement within an organization but in order to accomplish it, you must go
about it in very distinct ways (for example the GROW method) else you risk
isolating either the coach or the client.
On one hand, often all that is needed is another set of eyes to solve
problems, and a coach provides that for you.
Looking back on the 4+4 principles, coaching helps to achieve unambiguous
feedback by correcting problems that exist or by making a person better at what
they do. As we learned in chapter 7, all
of the principles must exist in order for them to be effective so coaching has
a part in establishing the polyarchy business structure. Finally, in the cutthroat world of business,
if you are stable and not growing as a person you are falling behind so people
and organizations put a premium on ensuring both continue to evolve.
Coaching is very much an important aspect of the Navy. In some ways it is the primary method of
knowledge transfer. For example, during
the qualification process on a watch station, you will stand under-instruct
(UI) watches with a senior qualified person above you to monitor you. Your first UI might be heavily assisted to
get you introduced into the flow of the watch, but as you get more experience,
a good over-instruct will slowly turn over the reins to you to allow you to
develop your skills. He should be
standing by to correct you if you are wrong, provide advice into how things
should go when there aren’t procedures, and give hints on where to find things
you should know. The bottom line is the
over-instruct is coaching you at that particular watch station. He has the knowledge that you need in order
to be successful and over the course of several watches you get that knowledge
from him. Going back to the fundamental
difference between a coach and a mentor, according to the Archway group,
“Coaching is typically employed in instances where a specific issue or
requirement needs to be addressed. These
might be related to a target, objective, performance of a set of skills,
adoption of a desired behavior or mindset” (“Mentoring vs. Coaching,” 2008). In this case, the skill set is the ability to
stand that watch safely by oneself. In
terms of what this means to me, it means that I need to be a good coach in
order to ensure that those that will follow in my place will be able to operate
the boat safely. Given that my life is
in their hands when I am not on watch, the better tuned I can get my coaching skills
to be, theoretically the better they will be as watch standers!
Obolensky, N.
(2012). Complex adaptive leadership, embracing paradox and uncertainty. Gower
Publishing Company.
(2008). Mentoring
vs. coaching. Business Topics, 2(1), 3. Retrieved from http://www.archwaygroup.com.au/Assets/78/1/BusinessTopicsNov08.pdf
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