Goals and Strategies for Coaching

Leadership and coaching involve planning and making critical financial decisions. As highlighted by Jim Collins: “Good-to-great companies set their goals and strategies based on understanding; comparison companies set their goals and strategies based on a bravado.”

How can coaching help?

Conflict management

Imagine a client is dealing with significant conflict. A coach will have the client list the issues both from their perspective and the opposing party’s. The coach then will work with the client to brainstorm multiple solutions.

During the brainstorming, the coach will ask the client what solutions they think the other person might suggest. After that, the coach will the client which of the options will work for both parties. Ideally, the client will have gained awareness of the opposing party’s viewpoint and be able to propose new solutions.

Business budgeting

It’s wise for trainers to feel informed and competent in this area, as all clients must handle money somehow, and sometimes money management is a barrier in the way of clients’ personal or professional goals.

First, a coach will discuss the tools and processes the customer currently uses for budgeting at work. Then they might analyse the client’s actual budget together. The mentor should ask the client to research each budget item as if they were creating the client account for the first time. For example, for payroll, the client could ask the HR department for information on salaries, benefits, and expected increases. For utilities, the client could check with vendors on expected pricing changes.

Building confidence.

Self-confidence is a common reason people hire a coach. One technique many coaches use to develop a customer’s self-confidence is to ask questions that push consumers to list their achievements, successes, positive qualities, good deeds, and ways they positively impact others.

An experiential process for building confidence is often as well. A coach works with the client to plan small achievements and self-affirming interactions.

Self-reflection.

Self-reflection is a powerful tool for supporting meaningful change. Techniques coaches use to promote self-reflection include exploring a client’s values and then considering how her choices align with those values. During this conversation, a client should become aware of incongruences between her values and realities, and is empowered to make different choices and plan appropriately.

Coaching itineraries

The following advantageous strategies were shared by Susan – a Chief Operating Officer (COO) in a professional services organisation, who successfully achieved her developing goals and remake her reputation in her organisation, particularly with the CEO.

 First and foremost, please share your insights from the assessment process with each stakeholder interviewed and invite their input to demonstrate your desire to grow from the experience and begin the process of healing these relationships.

On the other hand, we can observe that developing greater situational awareness to avoid overusing your strengths by becoming more varied about your behaviour.

Next, build your awareness about how others’ perceive you’re through emails and adapting her approach including allowing strongly worded emails to “season” for a few hours before sending them, including salutations and thanking her staff for their contributions, and avoiding email altogether when having to deliver tough messages.

Then, engage a member of your bureaucracy team who was very skilled at understanding people to review your communications and provide insights on how to soften the intensity and improve the impact.

Last but not least, engaging your management team to create a compelling 3-5 year vision.

Compile your information and make a decision

You’ve defined your customer, determined the importance of setting goals and itineraries for your leadership and coaching, decided whether you’ll benefit or suffer from being close to your competition and all that’s left is for you to make your decision.

These are a few types of information on goals and strategies that coaches use in sessions with their clients, and how these are, in turn, used by the clients as they apply their methods.