“What the heck is executive coaching?” I get asked that question many times a day.
I admit that coaching is a nebulous term. When I say that I’m a certified coach, people ask if I coach sports teams. When I say that I actually coach work teams, people look surprised. ‘Why would a work team need coaching?’, they ask. Because work teams are just like sports teams:
- They are made up of different people who try to reach a team goal together.
- Each person on the team has two types goals in mind: individual goals and team goals.
- Every team member has his/her own communication style, which may or may not work well with the others on the team.
- Although there is one official leader (the coach or captain), there are usually other team members who carry as much weight, if not more weight, than the official leader.
Similar to a sports team, thriving work teams need an ‘outsider’ to coach them to success, whether the whole team or just some of the team leaders. That’s what CHCI does. We coach teams and leaders to get from Point A to Point B, in the most effective way possible.
During the years, many people have asked for a practical book on coaching, so they can bring coaching skills to their own teams. That’s how Anne Loehr’s book, “A Manager’s Guide to Coaching” was created. Here is an excellent write up about one of the book topics: How to create effective coaching questions. Enjoy!
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