Training Department

Actively Develop People at Work

A guide for creating an effective coaching relationship

July 2000
 INTRODUCTION

“Is the Cement Division good at developing it’s people ?”

We cannot answer the question by the yearly number of training courses or the days
spent in training. The answer lies more in ‘how good we are in applying our learning
to the day-to-day activity’. And pushing-that’s what coaching is about, what
management is about too.

This ‘coaching-guide’ wants to contribute to a more deliberate and structured effort

to develop ‘people at work’.

For you as ‘coach’ it is a ‘job-aid’ to establish effective coaching relationships with

your direct reports. It helps you to set objectives, create and follow up action plans,
push people further in their development.

For you as ‘coachee’ who are starting a new job, or taking on new assignments, or
developing new skills, it will help you to reflect on your progress. The guide will
show you how support and feedback from your coach help you to apply new skills,
deepen understanding and adjust ineffective behavior.

For the ‘Cement Division’, it is crucial that we create an effective coaching climate
because that is the only way to prepare people for ‘empowerment’: feeling
responsible and taking initiative. Sending them to training is one thing, helping them
to apply what they have learnt effectively, cope with the stress of independent
decision making, develop effective working relationships, is something else.
Empowerment and coaching go together.

Helping you, managers and learning professionals, to do that, is our mission and our
contract to you.

Clement Leemans,
Training Director

1 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

This floppy disk contains all the tools you need for producing your own materials, which you can use
during your coaching process.

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 2

 CONTENT OVERVIEW

ESSENCE OF COACHING p5
1. What is coaching p5
2. Who can benefit from coaching p6
3. The effect of coaching p8
4. Different styles of coaching p9

PRACTICAL TIPS AND TECHNIQUES p 11

1 Set up a coaching process p 11
2 Feedback p 12
3 GROW Model p 14
4 Objective Setting and Action Planning p 15
5 Questioning and Active Listening p 16

TOOLS TO USE p 19
1 Coaching contract p 20
2 Action Plan p 21
3 Scenario of a coaching session p 22
4 Learning Journal p 23
5 Reflection sheet coach p 24
6 Process Evaluation p 25

READING AND REFERENCE p 27

3 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 4
 ESSENCE OF COACHING

1 WHAT IS COACHING

“Coaching”: a ‘set of activities’ involving a manager and a professional, aimed

at developing the skills and behavior of that professional.

The main objective of coaching is :

 To create awareness for the coachee of his own behavior, the effect in terms of performance,
and his progress.

 To help the coachee develop ‘action strategies’ to cope with the difficulties and challenges
he meets in his job, technical and interpersonal.

The “Learning Cycle”:

As a coach you create opportunities to try things out, to have a first experience. Through your
feedback and questioning you help the coachee to process what he experienced and to build
assumptions about ‘how it works’. With him, you plan for action, follow up his results, give him
feedback and help him to process his new experiences.

5 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

 Food for Thought

“Whenever you perform a task which

somebody else could do, you prevent
yourself from doing a task which only
you can do”.

2 WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM COACHING

Everyone needs support, a listening ear, needs to look at what he is doing from another angle through
the feedback and mirror of someone else.
Three situations however need specific coaching support :
 New employees
 Professionals who change jobs or get promoted
 Professionals before and after attending a formal Training session

For coaching you need two active partners : the coachee and the coach.
Within that relationship, the coach plays different roles.

THE COACH

1 Mirroring
You play the role of the camera, and allow the coachee to look at himself: the effect
of his behavior on performance and work relationships.
2 Questioning
By questioning the ‘coachee’, the coach creates awareness, brings the coachee to
another level of understanding and helps the coachee to explore alternatives for
action.
3 Supporting and Listening
Learning, especially on the job, creates stress. The “fear of failure” could even make
it impossible for the coachee to learn. The coach ‘supports’ the coachee in three
distinctive ways :
 Advice and consulting,
 ‘Moral support’ for a coachee who needs to know that he can make
mistakes,
 ‘Sounding board’ for the coachee to bounce off his ideas, reflections,
plans…

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 6

 4 Creating ‘stretch activities’

As long as somebody is only confronted with situations he completely masters, he will learn nothing.
And it is comfortable! You have to set up learning opportunities which are challenging but which, at
the same time, are ‘safe enough’ so the coachee doesn’t panic. Learning involves some risk, but
without jeopardizing the business, or safety of others. Sufficient explanation, up front training, pairing
up with an experienced colleague are situations to enable experimentation.

THE COACHEE

The coachee is co-owner of the relationship and influences the quality of the support he gets. Some
advice
1 Be Open and assertive.
Once things are on the table, everything can be solved, but if you keep your fears,
frustrations and uncertainties to yourself, they will become significant obstacles to
performance.
2 Share success and failure.
It is important to share these with your coach. He can help you capitalize on
successes and help you to avoid failure in the future.
3 Don’t wait till it’s too late.
A small problem can become a really big one with time: solve it or let people know
about it!. Always, plan action well before the target date, not the day before.
4 Prepare the coaching meetings.
Try to define what you want, what your objectives are, what do you want to talk
about. Use a ‘learning journal’ (see toolkit). It is a way of creating for yourself an
awareness of your feelings ; select the issues you want to bring in during the
coaching meetings.
5 Do not think ‘Why?’ but ‘Why not?’.
In front of challenges do not think ‘why do I have to do that?’. Challenges are
learning opportunities and will make you stronger in your job.
6 Communicate your ‘needs for support and coaching’.
Give feedback to your coach about how he should act and act to make his time
useful for you.

7 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

 THE COACHING RELATIONSHIP

The coaching relationship has to focus on the development of the coachee. It is still necessary to
obtain the Coachee’s commitment and enthusiasm. Initially, their own perception of this learning
opportunity might not be as positive as yours!.

1 Coaching time is coachee’s time

As a coach, make sure the coachee uses this time to think, to reflect, to map
alternatives…
2 Coaching is an ongoing process
In order to be successful, the relationship has to build up with time. Both coach and
coachee have to get acquainted and comfortable with this way of working. The
needs of a coachee also change during the process and the coach has to adapt to
those needs
3 The coach cannot take over
(The coachee cannot “pass his monkey” to the coach.) The coach will help the
coachee to find solutions, alternatives, etc.. by himself, but will not solve problems
for him. Solving your problems is learning. Do not take this learning opportunity
away.

3 THE EFFECT OF COACHING

Coaching creates a different atmosphere in a team, in a working relationship.

Yes, you are the boss!. And that won’t change. But being the boss, managing the team gives a new
meaning to your direct reports. It also means taking on the coachee’s development, helping them cope
with problems, working through their ‘growing pains’,… Don’t fool yourself though. You stay the
boss. And the coachee will sometimes probably do things only while you are the boss, which hinder
his development.

1 Mistakes and Failures get a new meaning in a coaching context. Without risks, trials and
errors or new situations, no learning takes place.The coach has to create a climate in which
mistakes are possible. During the coaching moments these mistakes are exploited not in a
negative way but in a positive way, as an opportunity for moving forward and developing new
insights for the coachee.

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 8

 2 Coaching provides a better assessment of the coachee’s
competencies and progress. This is useful for defining the ‘training- Food for Thought
needs’ and adapting the management style to the coachee’s needs; it
will also provide objective information for yearly appraisal interviews,
for instance. The right approach comes from
experience and the best
experience comes from using a
wrong approach.

3 It gives you the possibility to celebrate progress and successes and to regularly reinforce
‘positive behavior’. Coaching is not about ‘what goes wrong?’.

4 It actively involves the coachee in his own development process and it offers a possibility to
create realistic career perspectives and expectations.

5 Coaching makes the investment in time and money in formal training more profitable by
working specifically on the application of learning in the field,

4 DIFFERENT STYLES OF COACHING

To be effective, a good coach should adapt his style to two of the coachee characteristics:

 His level of competence and knowledge (“Skill level”)

 His level of commitment, confidence and initiative
These two factors will determine :

 How much ‘expertise’ you have to bring as a coach. To what extent you have to ‘tell’ the
coachee what to do and how to do it.
 How much ‘support’ the coachee needs in order to have enough confidence to take risks,
“have a go”, take the initiative…

9 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

The following block-chart lists four different coaching styles. The coach will constantly assess the
progress of the coachee on both axes, so he can effectively adapt his coaching style and gradually
replace directive coaching by more
participative or consultative
“Empowerment” interventions.

Giving people “power”,

which means the faculty
or capacity to act, the
energy to make choices
and decisions.

It is very important to discuss the required coaching style between coach and coachee. It sometimes
happens that coachees get settled into the comfortable situation of ‘Just do as I’m told’. It might be
comfortable, but it is not the objective of coaching and it doesn’t lead to empowerment.

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 10

11 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide
 PRACTICAL TIPStipAND TECHNIQUES
A useful

Coaching is important, but never

urgent. If you want it to happen, plan it
in advance.

Within the coaching relationship, and at different moments in that process you can use as a coach.
We’ll describe in this section some of those techniques, give you some tips and examples and indicate
the tools you can use to support your interventions. Further on in this guide, you’ll find a short
description of these tools and on the floppy disk there are all necessary templates ready to use.

1 SET UP A COACHING PROCESS

Although the situations in which coaching takes place might be very different a few ‘key moments’
are common for all cases.

1 Start Up
It is important to have a ‘meeting’ where you ‘set up’ the coaching process. The objective
of this ‘kick off’ is :
 To create a common understanding of what coaching is
 To motivate the coachee to be an active player in the process
 To define the role of the boss in this process
 To agree on a plan for the coaching sessions
We would advise you to formalize this in a ‘coaching contract’ (see tools)
2 Coaching sessions
To make sure you create some kind of regularity in the process, it is good to schedule
the coaching sessions well in advance (six months or so). Good moments to do that
are, for instance, just before the coachee participates in a Training program, (to
clarify the objectives) or just after that, to plan their application. You can structure
the session along the GROW Model ( see under techniques), and use the “Coaching
session scenario” (see tools).
3 Ad Hoc Feedback moments
It might be important to give immediate feedback after observing a specific
‘activity’. If the coachee interviened in a meeting, took a specific decision, etc.. these
might be very powerful moments and an opportunity for very specific feedback and
for motivating coachees. It shows the coach’s commitment and involvement in what
the coachee is doing.
The first time a coachee achieves a specific result or completes a certain activity
successfully, is a very powerful moment for learning. The art of coaching is
recognizing some of those ‘turning points’ in the behavior of coachees and by
acknowledging them, building additional development opportunities to solidify these
‘newly acquired behaviors’ and moving the development forward.
4 Process Checks

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 12

 After a few months of coaching and several coaching sessions it might be good to
give the coachee a definite opportunity to give the coach feedback on his coaching
activity. It’s also a chance for the coach to reflect on the overall process and the
results of the coaching process. (see tools)

13 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

 A Job-aid for Constructive FeedbackA feedback sequence
A feedback sequence
To keep a feedback session Patrick. I read your
constructive use new version of the proposal you are writing. I see
these
simpleDuring
John. pointersthe you did not use
: meeting this morning I saw you the spell check. This makes me your proofreader. I
feel this is
intervene several times. You asked questions. not a good use of my time, so I want you to systematically
 I questions
Your saw you …forced
(doingthethis check
or that)
team your texts for
to become clearer spelling before you ask me to read them.
 I felt ……. (convey your feelings)
and more specific. I especially remember your
 (I interpreted
question it as …….)
‘Bob, could you repeat for me what
 I want
exactly youyou to… us
expect (express
to do your
?’. I expectations)
had the feeling
you really helped the team to become specific and
that without that question they would have
adjourned and probably nothing would have
happened afterwards. I would like you to continue
to participate in that way in those meetings. Your
role in that meeting is very valuable.

FEEDBACK
2

Feedback, overall, is the process by which the coach confronts the coachee with his ‘observations’ and
‘feelings’ and provides information to the coachee on how his behavior or performance is perceived
by others (including the coach). The objective of feedback is to allow the coachee to change his way
of intervening in order to collect the expected effect on others.

For the coachee, feedback is not only important, but sometimes also very difficult. This has to do with
the fact that feedback is information that can contradict with what the coachee ‘thought’ he was doing,
or conveying, as messages to the outside world.

Feedback can be either positive, ie by reinforcing desired behavior and encouraging repetition, or it
can be negative, by discouraging behaviors that did not have the intended effects. In other words, it
has nothing to do with ‘criticism’. Feedback is always ‘well intended’, it means to be constructive
because it gives information about the effect of people’s behavior and so it helps them to be more
effective in their actions and better understood by other.

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 14

 Some simple rules for constructive Feedback

Rule To Do To Avoid

1. Play the ball, not the I see that you were not in the meeting this You were not in the meeting this
player (concentrate on morning. I understand you forgot it. I don’t morning. You’re such a ‘nutcase’ one
behavior and not on like it because these meetings help you to day you’ll forget your head somewhere
the person) integrate into the team. I want you to make a Make sure it doesn’t happen again.
note in your agenda when you get the
invitation for the meeting.
2. Be specific in your You said to me ‘I’ll think about it’. Does that You’re never clear when you say
comments mean you will consider it and if you find an something to me. What does that mean
answer you will let me know ? ‘think about it ?’
3. Use Personal I saw you a few times arriving late to our You’re always late and then people have
Statements (I..) briefings. I don’t like it because it puts me in to start explaining things again or else
a difficult position. Either I begin again, you are excluded from things we are
which isn’t fair on all those who were on involved in.
time, or I just go on, but then you are not
informed and I want you to be informed of
what’s going on.
4. Describe , don’t When John asked you to help him, I saw you You are a difficult guy to work with and
evaluate asked him several questions on why, what, not very cooperative.
etc.. before you agreed helping him. I
interpreted this as….
5. Give your feedback as In the meeting we just had, you said to the Remember, six months ago when you
soon as possible after maintenance manager his equipment was said to the maintenance manager that
the observation badly managed. You might be right, but I saw you thought the equipment was badly
him close-up and not participate any more. I managed, I found that very rude. I
think he was offended and I would like you to would like you to consider peoples
think about other ways of conveying your feeling when you give feedback on the
message and viewpoints in such a situation. quality of their work.
6. Check that everyone Could you give an example of what you could Do you understand me ?
understand what you do now, that applies to the feedback I just You agree ?
said gave you ?
7. Create the I understand this feedback might be difficult Just say if you don’t agree ?
opportunities for for you. Could you describe for me what It’s obvious you are not…
reacting and feelings and thoughts are going through your
ventilating feelings head at the moment ?

15 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

 GROW – MODEL
3
The Grow Model is an effective way of structuring your coaching conversation. It goes through four
logical steps for building the next ‘things to do’ with the coachee. It is important that it is the coachee
who builds the answers to the questions. The coachee’s awareness of what is going on and
Responsibility for what’s coming next is key, for a successful coaching relationship.

It is important to discuss the goal before the reality ; otherwise today’s reality may influence or even
change the goal.

GOAL
 What is the subject matter or the issue on which you would like to work?
 In the long term what is your goal in relation to this issue? What is the time frame?
 How will the reality be once you have achieved your goal?
 How will you know that you have accomplished your goal?

REALITY
 What is the present situation in more details?
 How much control do you personally have over this issue ?
 What action steps have you taken so far? Results ?
 What stopped you from doing more?
 What are the consequences for you if things go wrong?
 What will happen with the other people who are involved?

OPTIONS
 Make a list of all the alternatives, large or small, complete and partial solutions.
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these in turn?
 Which of the possibilities will be the easiest for you?
 Which of the possibilities will give you most satisfaction?

WILL
 What are your criteria and measurements for success?
 What could prevent you from taking these steps or meeting the goal?
 What personal resistance do you feel to taking these steps?
 What could I do to support you?
 Who do you need to inform others about your actions?

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 16

 4 
The Action Planning in 10 points
Be sure your goals are YOUR goals
Good action plans start with
‘SMARTT’ objectives
 Put your goals in writing
 Make your challenges attainable S pecific
 Major goals must be compatible
 Think of specific and measurable M easurable
achievements
 Expect revision and change A greed upon
 Set a target date
 Prioritize goals R ealistic
 Put up reminder signs
 Don’t forget to celebrate success T imed
T ough (challenging)
OBJECTIVE SETTING AND ACTION PLANNING

Planning for Action, as an integral step of the coaching session, is an effective way of faciliting
transfer from ‘learning, awareness and insight’ to real action on the field. It creates the formal
commitment for the coachee to do what has been agreed upon and it creates the coach’s commitment
to support and follow up the actions.

Formalizing the action plan, forces you to :

 Clarify the actions and objectives agreed upon
 Set clear standards and time lines
 Be committed to completion dates
 Define the necessary resources and support

An action plan is not made for eternity. It has to be reviewed regularly, according to the progress
made, the growing competency of the coachee, and the new professional needs.
Action plans exist in many different templates and forms. We suggest you use the very simple ‘4 W’
template during the coaching sessions.

Why
 Why do you take these actions, what is the desired outcome or effect?

What
 What actions do you need to take?
 What resources and tools are needed?
 What are possible difficulties with these actions?
 What are the ‘criteria for success’ of these actions?

When
 What are your deadlines?

Who
 Who will make the final decision?
 Who will be involved : as source of information, opinion maker, co-actor?
 WhoDevelop
17 has to People
be informed
at work / in advance?
Coaching Guide
 QUESTIONNING AND ACTIVE LISTENING
5
Active listening in practice

One day a new employee comes to you and says, “I don’t think the Maintenance
department is something for me”.

Coach : What makes you say that ?

Coachee : Maintenance is not interesting, I’d rather be in production.
Coach : What have you been able to do with the maintenance people until now ?
Coachee : Well, not much actually. I’m just sitting in my office all day, and nobody comes
to see me with suggestions about what to do…
Coach : How can we address this situation and create an opportunity for you to learn ?
….

One of the main objectives of coaching is to create the coachee’s AWARENESS. Help him realize
how his behavior is affecting his performance and his relationships with others.

You could simply tell him what you see, but this would prevent the coachee from taking ownership
for that insight. So let him think about a given situation, make him explore possible answers and help
to build his action steps. It is a far better way ifmaking sure he will take responsibility for his
decisions.

The way you do this is through Questioning. But in order to ask the right questions and stimulate the
coachee’s awareness, it is important to Listen Actively.

1 What is active listening ?

People do not always say exactly what they mean. They don’t do that to hide things but because they
cannot express things very well, or because feelings of anger, fear, etc.. get in the way.

Active listening is a way of showing empathy, put your self in other people’s shoes and try to get to
what’s behind the words. Active listening means :
 Communicating acceptance and genuine interest by non-verbal means : nodding, eye
contact…
 Open Questions (keep the dynamics going)
 Rephrasing and testing : “It sounds like you’re pretty anxious about that meeting ?”

The effect of active listening is that the coachee will be encouraged to tell more, explore more and
share more with you. You are communicating to him that :
 His feelings are acceptable
 Everything can be said here (open climate)
 He can trust you, it is safe
 You’re ready to help him solve the problem
 You don’t want to manipulate him
2 How do you question properly ?

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 18

 Open questions
trigger reflection
Create awareness for success
 How did you do that ?
 Peter
How did people react
discovered a fireonin that ?
the building and without really knowing how to handle it he took
 aWhy
fewdid
veryyou do this
good ?
decisions and his actions probably saved lives. To make this ‘instinctive’
 knowledge
What are the next insteps
explicit order fortoyou
raise awareness about how to act and to support his self
now ?
confidence, …here are some questions:
 How could you have done this
differently?
Please Peter, reconstruct for me, the different actions you took, when you heard there
was a fire ?
 Why did you take that decision ?
 What was the immediate effect ?
 What would you do differently in similar situations ?

Remember, you question because you want the coachee to reason, to compare, to evaluate, to
conclude… in order to create AWARENESS.

So all questions that make that happen are good questions :

 They can’t be answered by “yes” or “no”

 It’s not about remembering facts or figures
 There are no ‘right answers’

Very often, this type of question starts with ‘what, how, why, when, ‘.
Why and How questions can be dangerous in the dynamic of questioning because they put the
coachee in a situation of having to justify, being controlled, being blamed for things that went wrong.
You can restate them as : what are the reasons you think for…, or, what are the steps…

Remember to use questions not only to understand why something went wrong. You can also use
questions to raise awareness of correct behavior in order to reinforce this.

Some types of questions close the dynamic and prevent people from reasoning. The most frequently
asked questions to avoid are :
Closed Questions like : do you understand ?, are you sure ?, do you know the temperature in the
kiln ?,
Leading Questions which suggest the kind of answer you as a coach want to hear. They often make
the coachee feel guilty because they suggest he is seeing things wrong. Example : Don’t you think it
would have been better to… ?

Make sure that the questions you ask are ‘clear’ and that the context and the reasons you ask them are
also clear. Otherwise, the coachee might start to guess why you asked that and fabricate an answer he
thinks you want to hear.

Give the coachee time to reflect on your question. Silence after a question is very useful. Do not fill in
the time by repeating or directly restating that question. It breaks the concentration and the coachee’s
reflection.

19 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 20
 TOOLS TO USE

In this section, we’ll very briefly describe 6 tools you can use during your coaching process, as a
coach or as a coachee. We’ll indicate the objective of the tool as well as where it fits into the process.
We’ll provide you with a handy template. A floppy disk attached to this leaflet will also allow you to
produce your own materials, ready for use.

1 Coaching Contract
 Formalize the mutual agreement on the objectives of the coaching session, mutual
expectations, format and planning of the sessions.
 To use at the start of a ‘coaching process’ and gradually adapt to the evolution of the
coaching relationship, the progress of the coachee, the needs in specific situations.

2 Action Plan
 Allow us to clarify targets, be committed to completion dates, ensure that no key points
or actions have been omitted in the process and provide a solid base for checking
progress.
 To use on permanent basis and to be up-dated at each coaching session.

3 Scenario of a ‘Coaching Session’

 Describes possible sequences and steps in a ‘Coaching Session’
 To use as a preparation for the sessions and to discuss in the ‘coaching contract.

4 Learning Journal (for the coachee)

 Lists a number of ‘reflective’ questions on your own learning
 To use in between coaching sessions to capture important experiences or feelings, to list
the issues you want to bring us during the coaching session and to start the ‘awareness’
on your own development process.

5 Questionnaire to reflect on my coaching (for coach)

 Lists a number of ‘reflective’ questions on how you are coaching and how the coaching
sessions are going.
 To use after a coaching session to create awareness on your behavior as coach and to
adapt your approach for the next coaching session.

6 Process Evaluation Questionnaire (to be developed)

 Lists a number of questions, for Coach and Coachee on how the overall coaching
process is going.
 To use every three to six months, (after a number of coaching sessions) to evaluate the
process, adapt the way of working and increase the effectiveness of the coaching
sessions for the coachee.

21 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

1 COACHING CONTRACT

“Coaching”: a ‘set of activities’ involving a manager and a professional, aimed at

developing the skills and behavior of that professional.

Contract between:

and

Background:

As a coach I am committed to: (taking into account the coachees expectactions)

As a coachee I am committed to: (taking into account the coachs expectactions)

This means (formal sessions, phone calls, visits, reporting…):

Schedule:

 Frequency

 Duration

 Location

 Preparation

Date and location:

Signature of the coach Signature of the coachee

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 22

 ACTION PLAN
2
We suggest you use the following model for your Action Plan.

Action Plan

 Should be realistic and attainable

 Should answer the following questions: what has to be done? Why? How? Who? When?
 Should be regularly reviewed and updated

ACTION PLAN
Date :
LEARNING Le arning situatio ns Re so urce s Re sults Planning Comme nts
OBJECTIVES (support and facilities (w hat is to achieve) (status, rate of com pletion)
required)
1 1

2 1

3 1

23 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

 COACHING SESSION SCENARIO
3
STEP 1 Create an open climate

 Presentation, Welcoming….
 Agree on the meeting’s timing
 Review the objectives of meeting and invite for input, changes

STEP 2 Go over past activities

The coachee lists: (see coachee learning journal)

 The main strengths (maximum 5) that were confirmed during the past period (example:
I have a brief meeting every morning with all my team and it works very well, I am
comfortable now with this organization)

 What he has learned during the past period (technical and non technical) (example: I
have realized how external communication could be important, through this
example….)

 What are the areas for improvement (max 5)

(example: I don’t know who my main customer are and what their exact needs are)

STEP 3 Set up the future (see Grow Model)

The coachee and the coach set up objectives for the coming period (assignment, action plan) in
relation with the areas to improve,
(example: I will organize a meeting with the sales director and visit a client in two weeks)
I will ask for and analyze the sales reports for the last three months
I will organize a meeting in the plant with the sales director next week……..
I will visit a client in two weeks………)

And then schedule them

 Who could help me?
 What tools do I need?
 Where can I find them?
 How long will it take to obtain a result?
 How will I measure the success?

What goals will you set (example: increase the sales of the plant for next year):

The Coach could ask (see 4”W” model):

 Which objectives do you want to Prioritize and to discuss with me?
 What do you expect from me regarding these objectives?

STEP 4 Conclusion

 Give and receive feedback on the sessions and what needs to be improved before the
next meeting
 Set a date, time and location for the next meeting
 Conclusion (positive attitude)

LEARNING JOURNAL

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 24

 4
Your could keep your learning journal on a computer or in a note book or binder. Think of capturing
your new learning there, and then on the spot.

Here are some example questions that you could come back to on a regular bases : for example, in the
beginning, every Friday.

A What have I learnt during the past period (technical and non technical)?
B In which situation did I fell comfortable? Uncomfortable? Why?, What can I do
about it?
C What are the main strengths that were confirmed during the past period and that
I now feel comfortable with?
D What are the areas for improvement?
E What should I bring up in the next coaching session?

Example
A I have learned how to build an effective emergency plan
B I have a brief meeting every morning with all my team and it work very well, we must continue
C I need to know our main customers better an to understand their need
D I don’t know who my main customer are and what their exact needs are
E I would like to discuss what I need to do in order to know my customer’s needs better

REFLEXION TOOLS FOR THE COACH

5
This will help you to identify your strengths and weaknesses when coaching your coachee for his
development. You can ask a colleague to complete this questionnaire also, he will provide you
feedback on your coaching attitudes.

25 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

 This is a suggested list of statements about coaching attitudes. Think of your self as a coach in a
coaching session.
For each statement, circle the number that describes your current situation (circle only one number for
each item). Identify the statement where you have a low score (1 or 2) and decide on 2 areas that you
want to improve in the coming period.

Repeat this exercise again every 3 months and compare with your previous scores.

To a Small To a Large
Degree Degree

1. When my coachee’s workplan could be better, I ask him/her to rethink 1 2 3 4 5

about it and to get back to me.

2. I take time to understand my coachee’s main concerns. 1 2 3 4 5

3. I carefully prepare my thoughts before a coaching session with my 1 2 3 4 5

coachee.

4. I help my coachee see mistakes as an opportunity to learn how to do 1 2 3 4 5

things better.

5. My coachee does his own problem-solving, rather than me telling him 1 2 3 4 5

what to do.

6. I help my coachee think through situations, rather than me doing the 1 2 3 4 5

thinking for him.

7. During a coaching session, I listen very quietly and attentively. 1 2 3 4 5

8. I hear what the coachee really says to me, rather than hearing only what I 1 2 3 4 5
want to hear.

9. I ask open-ended questions to promote sharing of ideas and information 1 2 3 4 5

rather than looking for ‘yes’/’no’ responses.

10. Coaching sessions include agreement on objectives and action plans. 1 2 3 4 5

11. I restate and paraphrase the coachee’s ideas and objectives to ensure we 1 2 3 4 5
are on the same track.

12. I provide feedback (positive and negative) that focuses on behavior and 1 2 3 4 5
its consequences rather than on judgements.

PROCESS EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE

6

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 26

 (To be developed)

27 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 28
 READING AND REFERENCE

BOOKS & ARTICLES

1
 Kinlaw, D. C., (1999), Coaching for Commitment: Interpersonal Strategies
for Obtaining Superior Performance from Individuals and Teams, Jossey-
Bass/Pfeiffer, 158 p

 Peterson, D. B., e.a., (1996), Leader as a Coach: Strategies for Coaching and
Developing Others, Personnel Decisions International, 142 p

 Silberman, M., (1998), Active Training: A Handbook of Techniques,

Designs, Case Examples and Tips, Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer, 320 p

 Whitmore, J., (1997), Coaching for Performance: A Practical guide to

Growing Your Own Skills, REV, 168 p

 Zigarmi, PK, e.a., (1985), Leadership and the One Minute Manager :
Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership, William Morrow &
Co, 111p.

INTERNET
2
 http://www.tcm.com/trdev/td.html

 http://www.csp.fr

 http://www.fmk.consulting.com

 http://www.actioninsight.com/Article3.htm

29 Develop People at work / Coaching Guide

 Information and consulting
If you, manager and coach, need more information on this guide, or about coaching do not hesitate to
ask your local Training Manager.

The coaching guide and tools will be updated regularly. You can obtain the updated version by simple
request from your Training Manager. The materials are available on the Cement Learning Web
(database Training Department).

The Cement Division Training Department is available to help Units, Teams and Managers to
implement a ‘coaching culture’ in their organization and developing empowering management
practices. You can contact us through your local Training Manager.

Coaching is important, but never

urgent. If you want it to happen, plan it
in advance

Give constructive feedback

Open questions trigger reflection

Structure your coaching conversation

using the GROW model

Define SMART objectives

Practice active listening

Cement Divisional Training Department FAX +33 4 74 94 34 78

Clement Leemans, Training Director, Tel. +33 4 74 82 18 02

Dominique Decina, Training Advisor, Tel. +33 4 74 82 17 85
Luis Vegas, Training Advisor, Tel. +33 4 74 82 16 18
Paul Denis, Training Advisor, Tel. +33 4 74 82 80 87
Hélène Meunier, Training Assistant, Tel. +33 4 74 82 18 70

Develop People at work / Coaching Guide 30