Coaching is a 21st century fad, yes, but it is nothing too new. Four centuries before Christ, at the height of Athens' splendor, the son of a stonemason and a midwife applied these techniques with his disciples, including one named Plato. The teacher Socrates developed maieutics, a method that consisted of asking very skillful questions to help the other to discover his own truths.
Some 25 centuries later, far from Classical Greece, this maieutics would be the basis of a very valuable method for business. A useful tool for leaders to act on the basis of helping people discover their own answers, in order to improve performance and learn the art of learning (as you read).
The method has developed to the point that there are worldwide specialists for companies and one of them is Patricia Cauqui, professor at INCAE Business School and international consultant, who is convinced of the potential that employees can develop when they receive good support from a coach.
However, nothing can happen overnight. Coaching requires developing skills and preparing the conditions sufficiently for the leader to understand how his client's head works and to properly activate the "inner game," in the words of American author Timothy Gallway.
To this end, the professor mentioned the seven indispensable skills for a good coaching practice that every leader must have:
Based on the premise that "people support more what they believe in", it is important to pursue the maximum involvement of employees in the organization's projects. Having gone beyond the era of management "by instructions", we have moved on to prioritizing objectives and, more recently, values (why do anything at all?), which is the path to greater involvement.
It is not always useful or desirable to exercise leadership in coaching style. This requires a stable, autonomous and motivated team, so that it already has high levels of experience and maturity, and does not depend on the coach to provoke the most essential stimuli. Moreover, it is not recommended to apply coaching in tense situations that demand quick and decisive actions from the leader, as this reduces the margin for maneuver and provokes anxiety that is detrimental to a process that is by nature gradual.
Presence is indispensable in the process, as well as the need to dedicate high attention in the "maieutic" sessions, far from distractions that usually detract from our concentration. It is necessary to know how to take advantage of silences and read beyond words, as well as to be clear that the coach is not necessarily a sage. Short, well-spaced and well-prepared questions are useful to help employees gain perspective.
It is a matter of knowing how to take an emotional distance, to make statements based on facts, not judgments, and to be careful in communicating the consequences. It may be useful to think in a specific environment, outside the daily business.
Avoid the temptation of authority, try to ask questions from the same level and with an eye to the long-term future.
This is the acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound practices. We must help land objectives and translate them into concrete actions, session by session.
Check the process, ask questions, show interest in progress and adapt the SMART agenda. "How did you feel about your goals this week?" may seem like a very basic question, but if asked in a genuine way, it could prove to be a determining factor in strengthening the process or going over outstanding details.
