The Core Coaching Skills All Leaders Must Master
By Michael J Griffin
4 minute read
My coaching started in 1976 when I was a US Peace Corps Volunteer in the Forestry Department of Malaysia. My local boss was Mr. Mok Sian Tuan, the director of Forest Management in Malaysia, who himself was a mentor and coach to me. He assigned me fresh MARA forestry graduates to coach in leading teams and project management. Besides Mr. Mok, I am honored and humbled to have learned the art and skill of world class coaching from Dr. John Maxwell, Doug Carter, Dwight Hill, Patrick Morley, Dick Lucier, Mark Barrett and Pastor Chris Kam.
Since then I have coached many young leaders from a variety of nations, corporates and non-profits based on what my coaches have taught me and from my experience as an AchieveGlobal leadership/coaching trainer.
I was hired to train a global Fortune 20 company’s senior directors and managers in most of the coaching skills listed below. From eighty countries, 700 director/managers all commented how useful these coaching skills were to learn even at their level of seniority! Listed here are the core, foundational skills that all coaches should master to be a leader of influence:
Listening and Questioning Skills (LQS). Stephen Covey says, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Learn this skill from our ELAvate “Good Coaches ask Great Questions: The 6 Questions All Leaders Should Master.”
Setting Goals to Communicating Assignments (SGCA). Most managers do a poor job of setting clear goals and communicating work assignments. Doing this well motivates team members and reduces the amount of frustration due to rework. ELAvate’s Communicating Work Assignments tackles this delegation problem.
Developing Others (DO). Many young employees desire and thrive when coached by a coach that cares. This skill allows coaches to explore and collaborate with young leaders who desire to grow and become skillful in achieving their organizational goals.
Giving Recognition (GR). This skill is either under used or wrongly used by coaches to motivate others to perform. Don’t be a Mr. “Good Job” but recognize and affirm others in a way that is sincere and genuine. “Giving Recognition” skill is one of the big eye openers during our ELAvate 6E Coaching workshops.
Providing Constructive Feedback (PCF). The companion skill to giving recognition is providing respectful collaborative feedback to employees who need improvement or correction. Most bosses know the skill of “Providing Destructive Criticism.” Great coaches can give corrective feedback that motivates to improve. Coaches struggle with this skill, learn it, practice it at ELAvate to make continuous improvement part of your team culture.
Managing Differences (MD). Aligning organizational goals and processes with individuals can be daunting due to differences in perceptions, problems, needs and solutions. Many of these differences are legitimate. Just look at the differences of opinions on getting employees back to the office. Rather than argue the skill of Managing Differences teaches respect and collaboration when resolving differences. Learn it in a 2 - 3 hour ELAvate workshop.
Discussing Performance Problems (DPP). This skill draws from our more robust workshop “Creative Problem Solving and Decision Making.” This somewhat advanced coaching skill is used when the employee is “stuck” and refusing to change or resistant to your coaching or new organizational initiatives. It encapsulates problem solving to much shorter discussion. Practice it during our DPP training with your real work problems.
Master these seven core coaching skills and you will be able to solve 90% of your work related problems. Employ them with family and relatives to maintain healthy relationships.
Contact me to see how you can equip and reinforce your managers with the skills of world class coaching. At ELAvate we even have a 6E Coaching Certification process for your leaders. My email is michael.griffin@elavateglobal.com
Lead by Coaching Well. Motivate to exceed expectations. Give hope.
Michael J Griffin
CEO & Founder of ELAvate
6E Certified Coach
Maxwell Leadership Founding Member