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How to Be an Effective Coach in the Workplace

In order to be an effective coach in the workplace, professionals need to understand the basics of coaching. Coaching is a process that helps people achieve their goals, and it can elevate your team to become one of the best in the game.

In this post, we’ll discuss what coaching in the workspace means, how you can get started with coaching, and some important mistakes to avoid. 

What Is Coaching in the Workplace?

Coaching in the workplace is a process that helps employees identify and reach their goals. A coach works with the employee to help them figure out what they need to do to improve and then provides guidance and support along the way.

Coaching can be done one-on-one or in a group setting, and it can be used to help employees with both professional and personal development. When done correctly, coaching can help employees build skills, improve their performance, and achieve their goals. It can also help them develop new perspectives and ways of thinking about their work.

If you’re looking to get started with coaching in the workplace, consider learning about the executive coach training ICF certification process.

Why Is Coaching Important in the Workplace?

How does coaching help employees? It helps by guiding them to reach their potential, improve job satisfaction, and increase productivity. It can also help your team identify and overcome obstacles, set and achieve goals, and develop new skills. This is especially helpful for employees who are struggling with their work or who are new to the workplace.

Coaching is most effective when it is tailored to the individual and their specific needs—a good coach will take the time to get to know their mentee, understand their goals, and identify any areas where they may need assistance.

How to Become an Effective Coach in the Workplace

Understand the Basics of Coaching

The first step is to understand the basics of coaching and what it entails. This means having a good understanding of what coaching is, its purpose, and how it can be used to help employees. It is also important to understand the different types of coaching and when each one is most appropriate.

For example, there is performance coaching—focused on helping employees improve their job performance, and developmental coaching—focused on helping employees reach their potential. There is also team coaching, which is focused on helping teams work together more effectively.

In order to achieve a good understanding of coaching, it is important to read about the subject and attend workshops or seminars. There are also many books and online resources that can be helpful, but the most effective way to understand the basics of coaching is to take an online or in-person course. This is because your colleagues and subordinates are more likely to trust and respect you if they know that you have gone through the proper training.

Find Your Coaching Style and Stick To It

Once you have a good understanding of coaching, the next step is to develop your own coaching style–this means figuring out what works best for you and your personality. It is also important to be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses as a coach.

Some coaches prefer to be very hands-on, while others prefer to take a more passive approach. There is no right or wrong answer here, it is simply a matter of finding what works best for you.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The final step is to put your coaching skills into practice; the best way to do this is to find an opportunity to coach someone in the workplace. This could be a colleague, subordinate, or even your boss.

If you don’t have any opportunities to coach someone at work, then you can always volunteer to coach someone outside of work. This can be a great way to get some experience and to hone your skills.

Mistakes to Avoid 

There are two main mistakes that people make when coaching others:

  • The first mistake is trying to do too much. When you are first starting out, it is important to focus on one or two areas that you want to improve. Trying to tackle too many things at once will only lead to frustration and overwhelm both you and the mentee.
  • The second mistake is not being prepared–this means not having a plan or structure in place before you start coaching someone. Without a plan, it is easy to get off track and waste time.

Keep both of these points in mind as you start coaching others, and you will be well on your way to becoming an effective coach in the workplace. And, if you’re interested in the path of corporate coaching training, Symbiosis Coaching has you covered with the certification training necessary to make sure you become the best possible coach.

For more information about coaching in the workplace, check out our recent guide on life coaches versus executive coaches.

Certified NLP Coach

Program Description: The Certified NLP Coach program allows you to incorporate very powerful NLP techniques you’re your day-to-day coaching practice.

ICF Training Hours: 65

Duration: 25-weeks

Schedule: One 2-hour class per week

Includes certificate: Yes

Certified Organizational Development Coach

Program Description:

The Certified Organizational Development Coach program is an exclusive and very unique program, designed for coaches who wish to coach entire organizations with their Organizational Development and Change Management goals. This program provides you with 65 ICF training hours - more than enough for the ACC credential. Over a series of 25 weekly lectures, it prepares you to deal with volatile group dynamics across entire organizations. Topics including OD interventions, Team Engagement, Buyer Behavior of internal customers, The Tripod of Success, Ensuring Sustainability, Performance-Retention correlation, Strategies to influence behavior - and many more - are covered in detail.

Coaches are introduced to the ARCS Model, as well as to the Organizational Culture Audit Toolkit. Employee motivation, satisfaction, and productivity are discussed, as well as their impact on the performance of the organization as a whole. Students are introduced to various Change Management models including Lewin's Planned Change model, the ADKAR Change Management model, and Kotter's 8 steps of Change Management. Resistance to change and its manifestation are discussed, as is Behavior Modification.

Upon completing this program, Certified Organizational Development Coaches will have all the tools they need to affect positive transformation within organizations, and will be able to coach teams and personnel at all levels - including initiators, decision makers, influencers, and intervention implementers.

In addition to coaches who are launching their own Corporate Coaching practices, this is an essential program for HR professionals, Training and Development Professionals, Managers, and Corporate Leaders who wish to implement internal policies and OD processes to guide their companies and people through ongoing change.

ICF Training Hours: 65

Duration: 25-weeks

Schedule: One 2-hour class per week

Includes certificate: Yes

Certified Executive Coach

Program Description

The Certified Executive Coach program has been designed for coaches who wish to coach managers, executives, and corporate leaders. The goal of this program is to cultivate a deep understanding of how the executive coaching process works as well as some of the challenges that come up in executive coaching conversations.

This program has been approved by the International Coaching Federation for 32 hours, and it comprises of 12 live, instructor-led, fully interactive virtual classes offered over zoom. These classes cover various aspects of executive coaching including, but not limited to Effective Collaboration, Performance Management, Upskilling, Conflict Management, Effective Collaboration, Developing Team Members, and many more.

This program has a very unique, hands-on, experiential structure. Classes are focused on active participation by students through real life Coaching Challenges and discussions of real life executive coaching situations.

ICF Training Hours: 32

Duration: 12-weeks

Schedule: One 2-hour class per week

Includes certificate: Yes

Certified Life Coach

Program Description:

The Certified life Coach program is an essential program for anyone considering coaching as a profession. The goal of this program is to create a deep understanding of the coaching process, along with how and why it is effective in catalyzing shifts in the mindset to create positive, sustainable transformation.

The training is based on the ICF’s core coaching competencies. It focuses on skills that lead to effective coaching conversations and that are required to build a successful coaching business. It evokes awareness about how identity, thoughts, and feelings determine mindset; and why a change in Think Feel Do impacts the achievement of goals though a change in this mindset.

This program is approved by the International Coaching Federation for 95 hours and comprises 24 live, instructor led, fully interactive virtual sessions offered over Zoom. These lectures cover all aspects of coaching – topics such as Human Emotions and the Brain, Coaching through Emotional Intelligence, The Belief System, Coaching Process and Structure, Deep Listening, Setting Worthy Goals, Asking Insightful Questions, Addressing Client Resistance, Coaching Groups, The Business of Coaching, and many more. These are complemented with a library of reading and reference material, coaching challenges based on various real-life coaching situations, extensive hands-on coaching practice, and assignments designed to trigger reflection on and mastery of coaching skills.

ICF Training Hours: 95

Duration: 24-weeks

Schedule: One 2-hour class per week

Includes certificate: Yes

Class Schedule
ProgramStart DateClass TimesClass Schedule
Certified Life CoachMonday, Dec 11th9:30am ET
2:00pm ET
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 2-hours, for 24-weeks
Certified Organizational Development CoachTuesday, Dec 12th9:30am ET
2:00pm ET
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 2-hours, for 25-weeks
Certified Executive CoachWednesday, Dec 13th9:30am ET
2:00pm ET
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 2-hours, for 12-weeks
Certified NLP CoachThursday, Dec 14th9:30am ET
2:00pm ET
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 2-hours, for 25-weeks
Level 1/2 - ACC/PCC
Mentoring
Friday, March 22nd10:30am ET
2:00pm ET
8:00pm ET
Once a week, 1-hour
for 6-sessions PLUS 4 one-on-
one sessions with mentor