Coach individuals*

Overview

This standard is about helping individuals – either in your own team or from another work group – to develop and maintain their performance through coaching. 
 
Coaching involves helping individuals improve their performance by:  identifying their strengths and how they can use these most effectively, and  analysing areas of their work where they are less than fully effective and identifying, developing, testing and refining new skills and alternative behaviours. 
 
This standard is relevant to managers and leaders who have a specific responsibility for coaching individuals.

Performance Criteria

You must be able to:

  1. Help individuals identify and prioritise their needs for coaching
  2. Ensure that individuals’ coaching requirements are in line with your organisation’s objectives
  3. Establish with individuals
    3.1 the specific area(s) in which they want to develop their performance
    3.2 their current standard of performance
    3.3 the standard of performance they wish to achieve
    3.4 why they want to develop their performance
    3.5 the support they can expect from you, and the commitment you expect from them
  4. Establish with individuals
    4.1 the coaching you will provide
    4.2 the timescale
    4.3 the location, frequency and duration of meetings
    4.4 points at which progress will be reviewed
    4.5 how progress will be measured and assessed
  5. Explore with individuals the skills they need to develop and the behaviours they need to change in order to meet the desired standard of performance
  6. Explore with individuals obstacles which could hinder their progress and how to remove these obstacles
  7. Plan with individuals how they can develop new skills and behaviours in a logical step-by-step sequence
  8. Provide opportunities for individuals to develop new skills and experiment with alternative behaviours with confidence.
  9. Encourage individuals to identify and seize opportunities to apply their newly-developed skills and behaviours to their work.
  10. Explore with individuals any risks involved in applying their newly developed skills and behaviours to their work and help them plan how to reduce these risks to levels acceptable to them and the organisation
  11. Encourage individuals to reflect on their progress and clarify their thoughts and feelings about it
  12. Monitor the individuals’ progress in a systematic way
  13. Provide specific feedback designed to improve individuals’ skills, reinforce effective behaviours and enhance their motivation to achieve the desired standard of performance
  14. Agree with individuals when they have achieved the desired standard of performance, or when they no longer require coaching
  15. Encourage and empower individuals to take responsibility for developing and maintaining their own self-awareness, performance and impact

Knowledge & Understanding

You need to know and understand:

General knowledge and understanding

  1. Relevant coaching models, tools and techniques, and how to apply these
  2. The skills effective coaches require, and how to apply these skills
  3. How to establish a coaching contract with individuals and what the contract should cover
  4. How to help individuals identify the skills they need to develop and the behaviours they need to change
  5. How to help individuals identify and remove obstacles that could hinder their progress
  6. How to help individuals prepare a plan to develop their skills and/or adapt their behaviours
  7. How to help individuals try out new skills and behaviours in safe environments
  8. How to help individuals identify and seize opportunities to apply their newly-developed skills and behaviours to their work.
  9. How to help individuals assess and manage risks associated with new skills and behaviours
  10. The importance of individuals reflecting on their progress and how to help them do this
  11. The importance of monitoring individuals’ progress in developing new skills and behaviours and how to do this
  12. How to give individuals specific feedback designed to improve their skills, reinforce effective behaviours and enhance their motivation
  13. The importance of recognising when individuals have achieved their development objectives
  14. How to empower individuals to take responsibility for their own development.

    Industry/sector specific knowledge and understanding

  15.  Industry/sector requirements for supporting individuals to improve their performance

    Context specific knowledge and understanding 

  16. Individuals in your area of work, their roles, responsibilities, competences and potential
  17. Your organisation’s objectives
  18. Sources of information, resources and advice in your organisation
  19. Your organisation’s policies and practices in relation to coaching