Welcome to the CPLP Area of Expertise (AOE) 8: Coaching
Using an interactive process to help individuals develop rapidly and produce results; improving others’ ability to set goals, take action, make better decisions, and make full use of their natural strengths. This section is weighted 8-9% of the exam; 12-14 questions.

• International Coach Federation (ICF): is a not-for-profit membership organization for professionals worldwide who practice business and personal coaching
• READ: What is Coaching? Back to Basics via ATD
• Coaching: defined by ICF “a professional partnership between a qualified coach and an individual or team that supports the achievement of extraordinary results, based on goals set by the individual or team. Through the process of coaching, individuals focus on the skills and actions needed to successfully produce their personally relevant results”
• More about ICF and Coaching Certification: https://coachfederation.org/ 

AOE 8. Coaching; Sub-section 8.1. Core Coaching Competencies

The learning objectives for Core Coaching Competencies: 

• Define coaching
• Discuss the role of the talent development professional as a coach
• List the core competencies of effective coaches
• List the techniques used to create effective communication in coaching relationship

Coaching: is not counseling or mentoring; it is a conversation focused on helped others (clients) move forward relative to their goals, hopes, and curiosities -- things they want to accomplish or achieve. The coaching practice believes that the clients have the answers within and the coach uses tools and techniques to draw it out

READ: The Difference Between Coaches, Mentors, Advisors, and Consultants by Mike Krupit

Role of a Coach: for talent development, coaches are designated to improve employee performance to impact the organization. A successful coaching client will be highly motivated and generally have some combination of the following characteristics:

• Eagerness to succeed
• Openness for support 
• Interest in trying different things
• Learning orientation 

READ: Boundaries in Coaching by Skh Mishraa, PCC via ICF

The Purpose of the Coach: typically it’s part of a larger strategy for helping individuals, units, systems and organization to improve performance; it gives 1:1 personal attention to focus on the client/employee for just-in-time needs for issues beyond a training/learning solution. 

• Single-Loop Learning
• Double-Loop Learning
• Triple-Loop Learning

Setting the Foundation for Coaching - the most important skills for a productive coaching relationship includes these skills for any coach:

• Communication
• Client motivation
• Self-management
• Technical skills

BONUS READ: Minimal Skills Requirements for what ICF assessors evaluate when reviewing recorded coaching sessions for ACC level certified coaches.

Co-Creating the Relationship & Building Trust: coaching requires a safe and comfortable environment that encourages open, two-way conversation. This includes verbal and nonverbal cues, when/where/how you meet, and creating a space to form this new coaching relationship.  Elements of Great Dialogue shared by Lisa Haneberg from Coaching Basics, 2nd Ed, includes:

• Play 
• Relevance
• Inquiry
• Freedom
• Reception
• Empowerment
• Connectedness

READ: From the Toolbox: Trust and Intimacy Explained by David Ander via ICF

Effective Communication: helps to clarify clients goals and thoughtful communication can help move these goals to be meaningful and actionable. 

Asking Questions: Two most common types of questions often asked:

1. Closed-ended questions for short or one-word responses. 
2. Open-ended questions for longer individualized answers
   1. Provocative questions should excite and stimulate conversation
   2. Evocative questions pulls a client in to help bring things to mind

The Socratic Method: probing and open-ended questions; expose contradictions for thoughts and ideas to guide your clients toward solutions and their own actions.  E.g. Can you give me an example? What does that mean? How does this relate to what you said before?

Setting Expectations: a coach should reach an agreement with the client that identifies the following aspects about coaching and the coaching sessions: 

• The format 
• The frequency and duration
• The purpose and scope
• The group rules about confidentiality, candor, coachability, and participation

Providing Feedback: for coaching feedback is a valuable tool to help the client improve performance, motivate, etc. If done poorly it can lead to demotivation or impact to their self-esteem. Two types of feedback for coaching:

1. Evaluative Feedback:
2. Developmental Feedback

Some guidelines around feedback:

• Ask clients to self-assess performance 
• Be descriptive rather than evaluative
• Be specific, factual, and actionable rather than general 
• Discuss only behavior that clients can change
• Consider the coach’s and the client’s needs 
• Communicate clearly
• Ask questions rather than make statements 
• Comment on the actions that clients did well, as well as areas for improvement 
• Observe personal limits 

Creating Talent Development Opportunities

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: a motivation theory from Abraham Maslow (1954) from his book Motivation and Personality that said people have complex needs, which they strive to fulfill and which change and evolve over time. 

Theory X and Theory oY (McGregor): Theory X explains the importance of heightened supervision, external rewards, and penalties, while Theory Y highlights the motivating role of job satisfaction and encourages workers to approach tasks without direct supervision. 

Career Building Options and Descriptions: There are a number of reasons why employees seek out 1:1 coaching to improve their learning and performance at work and beyond, here are a few ways clients seek to build their career:

• Enrichment:
• Reassignment
• Job Rotation
• Education or Training
• Professional Organization Mem...