Areas of expertise

What Is the Coaching Process Like?

Preparations for Coaching 

1. The project sponsors (e.g. the general director and/or HR director, or representatives of the HR department) identify persons/clients whom they would like to be encompassed by the coaching process.
2. Individual coaching objectives and scope are established for each person/client. They may be the result of new tasks assigned to the worker, his or her individual career plans, or point to areas of current operations that should be improved (strategic decision taking, problems in relations with subordinates, excessive criticism, etc.). The superiors of the candidate for coaching, the HR department representative, and the interested party should be involved in the preliminary phase of development.
3. The coach shall discuss the following areas with the sponsor: 
   
   a.   Coaching objectives for the given worker: What is to change?
   b.   Coaching principles, with special stress on the principle of confidentiality relating to the course of the session.
   c.   Principles of information flow relating to the course of the coaching process.
   d.   The time and form of transfer of necessary data relating to the worker (job description, annual assessment, 
         development targets, information about the company and its strategy, etc.).
   e.   Diagnostic tools utilized in the process: Extended DISC® Presonal Analysis and 360° Competency Assessment.
   f.    Timeframe and costs linked with the process.
4. The first meeting of the client with the coach—the inaugural session—is concerned with an informal getting to know each other on the part of the coach and the client, a discussion of the principles of coaching, and learning the client’s expectations. As a result of this session, the client decides whether or not to accept collaboration with the coach.
5. The singing of the contract.

The Coaching Process 

Coaching is conducted in the form of individual meetings between the client and the coach. It consists of six 90 minute sessions conducted every three or four weeks. The full coaching cycle takes approximately six months.
The start of work is the establishing by the client of the detailed coaching targets—the concrete changes that are to take place in six months—as well as a diagnosis of the present situation. In addition to data from the employer and the opinion of the person being coached there is the Extended DISC® Personal Analysis and the 360° Competency Assessment. The Extended DISC® tools help managers define their natural management style and potential areas for work on themselves in an objective manner. 

The first phase of data analysis, the defining of preferred management styles and development needs, reflection on personal values, and the reformulation of objectives is a key to the success of the coaching process. Usually, this takes up two or three meetings. Thanks to the diagnosis of their own potential and development needs, managers gain a fuller picture of themselves and an understanding of the goals to which they are striving. It is on this basis that activity plans are developed, which the manager will undertake in order to achieve his or her aims. The role of coaching in this phase is support for the manager in undertaking new activities by discussing concrete situations, providing feedback, and subdividing tasks that may help in overcoming internal limits. 

The results of the coaching process vary depending on goals—career plans, life–work balance, and improved relations with workers. Apart from the basic aim, the manager shall achieve greater efficiency and satisfaction in all areas of action as a result of a properly implemented coaching process. 

The Closing of the Coaching Process 

After the conclusion of all the planned sessions, there is a summing up of the process during a joint meeting of the client, project sponsor, and coach. Discussions include the results of the coaching, changes that occurred with respect to assumed targets, and further plans for the development of the manager. A repeating of the 360° Competency Assessment may be conducted in order to facilitate an objective evaluation. Additional (follow–up) sessions may also be planned following the elapse of three months.