What are the most effective ways to coach someone to improve their performance?

Establishing a positive and trusting relationship with the individual takes a few main things: Empathy, open communication, a non-judgmental attitude, confidentiality, respect for autonomy, positive reinforcement, consistency, etc.

Trust is a critical part of all interactions that we have as humans. Being able to have a sense of security and confidence when dealing within your team and earning a level of credibility that has built up over time. This majorly comes from Emotional trust. You create emotional trust by going above and beyond what’s expected of you and creating meaningful bonds with your team. It requires a level of emotional intelligence. Building trust in this way is more complex as it doesn’t follow a set formula. It’s more about networking and relationship building. To build this, you should aim to value long-term relationships, be honest, honour your commitments, and accept when you are wrong. Being transparent and communicating effectively is key!

You cannot coach someone if they dont trust you & build a rapport. To go under the surface, to find out whats holding them back, you need to be trustworthy. Remember, people are not just hiding from you, some are also hiding from themselves. It helps if you share some of your personal struggles, in a way, letting them know you trust them enough to be vulnerable, to get them to open up about their barriers. You need to have the right problem to work on. People dont tell the real issue, and you will go around fighting problems that are not the core issue, thereby creating more complexities. Rapport comes easy when trust is the foundation of the conversation and relationship. As a coach, your sincerity to help must shine through. Be genuine.

As a business owner or as a manager, you must set a standard for a strong work ethic & productivity for your colleagues & employees in the office through your own efforts. Even if you don’t notice it, you are your team's leader and a role model. I'd like to highlight a couple of ways that I've experienced directly while leading a team or otherwise indirectly while being there on the other side of the table: ????Set the objectives clearly ????Be a role model to lead from the front. ????Train your teammates ????Set clear communications within your team ????Be empathetic while they do mistakes ????Provide constructive feedbacks ????Organize and optimize tasks ????Compliment your teammates ????Provide an enjoyable working environment

Trust is based on respect for an individual. It’s developed from the first interaction and is something that is earned and reinforced over time. Once lost, difficult to regain. Recognize that each person comes from different experience background, influencing his/her ability to trust and openly share. Key principle is to create a safe environment for open sharing: meaning that what someone shares is between the 2 of you. Confidentiality is paramount to creating an environment of trust. This allows you to move to next step in coaching.

Help break large goals into smaller steps. Mini-goals create momentum through early wins. Agree on regular check-ins to review progress and adjust course as needed. Consistent follow-up reinforces accountability. Set quantitative metrics and qualitative indicators of success. These create tangible milestones to work towards.

During the goal-setting process, the coach's role is to guide the individual in formulating goals that are challenging yet realistic, and that align with their broader aspirations. The coach can ask questions to help the individual think through the various components of their goals, such as how they will measure progress, what obstacles they might face, and what support they might need.

Understand the why... why is improving or changing important to them, and what is currently holding them back. Getting to the heart of the matter will enable real and sustainable progress.

The GROW model can be a helpful tool when setting out goals and expectations. They allow the person to create a vision of what good would look like, and that tends to push their thinking and see the possibilities ahead. I have found that it typically works when pushing the enveloppe, making the goals enough of a stretch.

The most effective way to improve perfrmance is clear communication, setting specific goals, providing constructive feedback, and offering support and encouragement to help the individual grow and develop their skills. Regular check-ins and adapting the productive coaching approach to the individual's learning style can enhance effectiveness and overall performance.

Ask empowering questions. Through open-ended questioning, help them identify their own strengths, weaknesses, and solutions rather than providing the answers. Provide frequent, timely feedback on their work - both positive feedback on what they're doing well and constructive suggestions to improve. Make yourself available for regular communication and show you want to help them succeed. Collaborate to set milestones and check-ins to track progress. Celebrate wins along the way.

Frame feedback in a way that focuses on both strengths and areas for improvement. Highlight what the individual is doing well, and then provide insights on where they could enhance their performance. Provide feedback in a timely manner, so the person can relate it to specific actions or behaviors. This helps reinforce the connection between their actions and the outcomes. Be specific about what behaviors or actions you're addressing. Specific feedback is more actionable and easier for the individual to understand and act upon. Offer a balanced perspective. If you provide criticism, balance it with positive feedback to maintain motivation and a healthy self-image.

We often give people feedback without asking them first what kind of feedback is helpful. If we ask people how they want to be held accountable and let them express how they do their best work, we can build trust that helps people engage when struggling instead of hiding. Most people know when they are not doing well and feeling that someone has their back is far more effective than leaving them nervous about being called out. Asking questions about what they need to perform better is key to collaboration towards a shared goal.

To be ready to receive feedback and guidance, the person should first be able to give feedback on their own work. A simple practice I use is the GTE framework (Good, Tricky, Different). Asking first the person to use this framework to describe the work makes it much easier and more powerful when you then give then your own feedback.

Provide Constructive Feedback: Regularly offer both positive reinforcement and constructive criticism, focusing on specific behaviors that need improvement. This helps to foster growth and allows for timely corrections.

Remember that coaching is about guiding and supporting the individual's journey toward improvement, rather than dictating solutions. Your role is to empower them to take ownership of their growth and development. There are many ways to support an individuals learning and growth throughout the coaching journey. Reflection, identifying resources, mentorship and peer support, maintaining an open feedback loop, periodically reassessing goals, celebrating achievements, positive reinforcement, and fostering continuous learning come to mind.

After each session, it is important to follow-up with the person, with some homework, typically practices to try out over a few weeks. This is a good way to support ongoing learning. In paralell, having some articles or resources to share helps with their curiosity and gives the opportunity to discuss their thoughts in the next session.

I start every session by asking about what all has been practiced from the last session and how the learning has shaped. I am able to find out about the level of curiosity in the client to practice and change. And sometimes in between I will forward material to read or ask questions which client must find answers to.. It helps me in supporting Learning and Development.

"Praise in public and critique in private", should be your motto as a leader, manager, coach, or peer. Encourage your team to pursue learning opportunities and development. When sharing a success story of someone with the team, share part of the journey as well, to help inspire those around them and show the hard work they put in. On the flip side, part of learning is making mistakes. Address mistakes and roadblocks in private with the person you are coaching. Be honest, and transparent about the situation and equip them with the resources to overcome the mistake or roadblock. This by no means should be tearing that person down though. Build them up, and they will be honest with you about their mistakes and you will be able to coach them.

Any leader who doesn’t know how to grow the team members and develop their skills, is not a leader at all. As a leader, if I wish to develop my team and their skills, I need to have a clear plan for their learning and development. With that plan, there should be a clear process for what skills I need them to work on and the learning opportunities they are provided with in a day or week or maybe once in a month.

A good coach, invests more in monitoring progress than just evaulating performance & outcomes. When you give higher weight to monitoring, you are also walking alongside the person, guiding and directing them in the process, and allowing them correction and re-direction in the moment. It goes a long way in impacting the final result. Its very easy to judge & come up with a gazillion theories of how a ship could have been saved. In monitoring, you save the ship, you cover the holes real time, you steer it away from icebergs while you still have the chance. You are the coach because your client needs help. Help avert the damage. Don't wait for them to come back to you, walk a distance with them & take them to where you have agreed to go.

This process is not meant to be punitive, but rather to provide insights and guidance for continued growth. It's a valuable opportunity for reflection, learning, and refinement of goals and strategies.

El solicitar feedback de otras personas es clave, importante es pedirlo indicando sobre qué puntos quieres que te evalúen o retroalimenten, y siempre basado en conductas, para ver si de esta forma, se ha evolucionado o se requiere afinar algunas cosas adicionales. Es duro pedir feedback, porque no siempre te van a decir lo que quieres oir, así que es importante que realmente estés preparado(a) para escuchar activamente, y entender que esa persona te está dando SU punto de vista, el cual puede ser muy diferente al tuyo, y debes aceptarlo, para poder trabajarlo.

Encourage Self-Reflection and Development: Motivate the individual to self-assess and identify areas for improvement. Support them in developing skills through training, mentoring, or resources that align with their personal and professional growth objectives.

Remember how you were when you started your career and put yourself in their shoes and situations. Some are slow starter and gradually they become more efficient and confident. Review their goals time to time with them. Small steps helps them to feel they’re achieving their goals. As a human we all need time to learn, adjust and adapt. Those who are slow starters can become more efficient and they can go faster after they build confident. They become a more of patience future mentors when the time comes to take the mentorship role to mentor others. Encourage, praise and push them up for every little win and celebrate with them every win and keep them excited so they keep momentum going on until the task is completed

After my mentorship call or meeting, I typically send a debriefing email to my mentee. This email summarizes our discussion, offers additional information on any missed points, and provides references for further understanding for my mentee. To encourage progress, I assign "homework" or specific tasks for my mentee as a "call-to-action" to get back to me. To maintain communication and track progress, I schedule a "mentee check-in" at (30/90/180 days). During these check-ins, I inquire about any new developments, follow up on progress, and offer further assistance, if needed. Effective coaching is a long-term journey, even after your mentee has achieved their goals. You remain a part of their success story.

I do agree with your take, tailoring coaching approach to individual needs is crucial. In addition, understanding cultural nuances and being aware of the specific challenges and goals of the person you're coaching will aid in providing valuable guidance and support. As you opined, coaching is a personalized process, and being culturally sensitive and adaptable is key.

It's extremely important to have an "open door" policy with your staff. They need to feel comfortable enough to ask questions and express their opinions. Once that connection is cemented you coach through open discussion and lead from the front instead of telling your employee how to do something, rather show them in a calm and collected manner. When they get it right or improve, that needs to be acknowledged and congratulated. A friendly high five or well done in a public setting does wonders for self esteem and worth. Your employee will feel appreciated which in turn will push him/her to keep getting better and improving

Oftentimes in following up we tend to expect consistent change. However, on the contrary change may not always be consistent this does not mean the individual has not gained any knowledge from the feedback, it rather shows the importance of patience and empathy in the process. It is often said that repetition deepens impression.

Um den Coaching Erfolg nachhaltig zu machen ist es wichtig nicht nur einmalig eine Stunde auf ein Thema zu schauen. Ich gebe hier gerne "Hausaufgaben", gerade wenn neue Handlungsweisen getestet werden, die Ergebnisse werden dann beim n?chsten treffen besprochen. Gerade zum Abschluss eines Coaching lasse ich den Coachee auch gerne seine Ziele in den n?chsten 3 Monaten aufschreiben. Diese Information bekommt er dann 3 Monate sp?ter als "Erinnerung" geschickt.

Remember coaching is not advice giving. It is all about enabling someone to realise that they have resourcefulness and many talents that need to come to the fore. The coach is a facilitator of that process.

I have realised over years that's the best way to coach or to make someone learn is to show them how it is done. Walk the Talk is what gives the belief that it's doable. Another important aspect is to make them realize why it is important.

Great insights in the article! I believe that a fundamental aspect of enhancing performance through coaching is fostering self-confidence. A powerful starting point can be to help individuals analyse and reflect on past successes they are proud of. Having conversations to bring these achievements back into their awareness, can not only boost their self-esteem but also highlight their potential for future success. By creating awareness of their capabilities as demonstrated in their previous high-performing moments, we lay a solid foundation for further performance gains. Celebrating past successes is a crucial, yet often overlooked, strategy to drive future achievements.

To coach for performance improvement: Set clear, SMART goals. Offer frequent, constructive feedback. Leverage strengths and provide tailored coaching. Reinforce positives and address weaknesses. Collaboratively set and plan goals. Provide guidance and mentorship. Develop skills, time management, and resilience. Maintain accountability and support. Encourage problem-solving and emotional intelligence. Schedule regular check-ins and peer feedback. Document progress and celebrate milestones. Foster a culture of continuous learning and self-reflection. Be flexible and adaptable in your coaching approach.

My approach to performance is different. I don't look at other peoples' indicators to measure your performance. I help you define your own KPIs. That's for starters. Then there is the question of how much energy you consume trying to please others, gain their validation, and fighting your true instincts and passions. To me, improving your performance is about embracing your wild side, that is, your unconscious mind and its own animal logic of survival and self-improvement. When you learn to better communicate with your body - the vehicle used by our unconscious mind to communicate -, you waste less energy fighting with it. There is an immediate gain in performance here that may not be visible to others. And then you can flow!