Bring out the brilliance in employees with this coaching framework

Tracey Lange speaks to Anja van Beek, Leadership and HR Expert and Executive Coach.

As a manager, people in your team may look to you for coaching and mentoring advice - are you be prepared for it?

The first step to being prepared is to understand the difference between coaching and mentoring.

Van Beek says coaching is all about bringing out the 'brilliance' in employees.

"Coaching is a process of empowering a team member by taking them outside their comfort zone and focusing on them finding their own solutions. Nancy Kline says: a brilliant coach is the one who brings out the brilliance of others."

- Anja van Beek, HR Expert and Executive Coach

RELATED: Coaching vs mentoring at work: Do you know the difference?

How can you get your team members to 'brilliance'?

Van Beek says it's all about stretching your employees outside their comfort zone whilst holding them in a space where they feel they can be vulnerable to exploring different options without judgement.

This is an opportunity for them to find the answers themselves and contribute to better performance and achievement of their goals, adds van Beek. 

Coaching management might look like...

A manager adopting a management style where they become less of the ‘expert’, meaning not being as directive and telling the team member what to do, but instead asking questions for them to explore alternatives.

The manager adopting a coaching management style 'will ask powerful disruptive questions to get employees from point A to point B quicker than what they would have done on their own'.

It is a hands-on approach that requires a high level of engagement from both the coach and the individual being coached.

Coaching is not... 

A common misconception is that coaching requires lots of time but a manager can still empower team members in a short time - that's why it's critical to have a clear objective or goal that needs to be achieved, says van Beek.

A huge part of coaching is knowing when to coach...

Van Beek says coaching is particularly effective in the following situations:

• When some specific challenges or obstacles need to be overcome.
• When an individual needs to develop their confidence or overcome self-doubt.
• When an individual needs to develop or improve new skills.
• When a clear objective or goal needs to be achieved.
• When immediate feedback and support are required to improve performance.

How to be an effective manager-coach...

In a more formal coaching session, the manager works with the team member to identify goals and then supports them in developing an action plan to achieve their goals. This helps hold the team member accountable which is an important part of coaching.

An effective coaching method is to use is the GROW model which is an acronym for:

• Goal: what do you want to achieve?
• Reality: what is happening now?
• Options: what could you do?
• Will: what is the way forward?

Coaching team members effectively can help them overcome challenges and obstacles that are preventing them from achieving their goals. 

Good luck coaches!