Coaching Your Staff to Success By Cathy Abraham Free powerpoints at

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ~ William Butler Yeats

5 Coaching Strategies: Forge a Partnership Inspire Commitment Grow Skills Promote Persistence Shape the Environment

1. F FF Forge a Partnership Build Trust and Understanding so people want to work with you.

Forging a Partnership Most Important when: The person does not know much about you You don’t know what motivates them or what they really care about The person is skeptical or cynical about your leadership The person risks losing something they value because of change To Strengthen your partnership: Listen carefully to understand the person’s interests, opinions, and concerns Clarify your expectations of each other Provide candid, yet tactful feedback Show the person how you have their best interests in mind… and that those coincide with the center’s best interest

Inspire Commitment 2. Inspire Commitment Build insight and motivation so people focus their energy on goals that matter.

Inspiring Commitment Most important when: People seem content with current level of skill and expertise People lose focus or get stuck in just getting through the day To inspire commitment: Make sure people get specific, relevant information about performance Help people clarify their goals and values

3. G row Skills Build new competencies to ensure people know how to do what is required.

Growing Skills Most important when people: Have never had the chance to acquire a needed skill Need to upgrade their skills Are motivated but performance is still below expectations To Grow skills: Let them observe the skill being used effectively Connect people with training and resources Create opportunities that stretch people to learn something new

4. P PP Promote Persistence Build stamina and discipline to make sure learning lasts on the job.

Promoting Persistence: Most important when people: Stay stuck in old habits Make initial changes but slip back into old behaviors Are reluctant to take risks or try something new To promote persistence: Review people’s goals and ask about progress Set realistic expectations for progress Provide ongoing feedback that recognizes and rewards progress and efforts

5. S SS Shape the Environment Build organizational support to reward learning and remove barriers.

Shaping the Environment: Most important when people: Complain that management does not support them Do not share learning or resources with others Express frustration about how difficult it is to learn Complain about lack of incentives to learn To shape the environment: Publicly recognize and reward those who learn Demonstrate your personal involvement in their growth Establish processes or activities that promote learning from each other Provide rewards and incentives for learning and teamwork

“Leadership is not so much the exercise of power itself as the empowerment of others. Successful leaders lead by pulling rather than pushing; by inspiring rather than ordering; by creating achievable – expectations though challenging – and rewarding progress toward them.” by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus