Creating a Coaching Relationship with Managers

Name: Creating a Coaching Relationship with Managers
Author: Lisa Carver

Learn the effectiveness of a coach-manager relationship

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 5 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(bright music) Welcome to Creating a Coaching Relationship with Managers. In these lessons, you'll learn an effective route to solidifying your relationship with the manager you're coaching. We'll cover learning about them, establishing expectations, providing feedback, and personalizing your approach. Being an effective coach means being able to recognize the importance of knowing who you're coaching and why. Let's examine some questions you can ask to learn about your manager's goals and what their desired outcome is for their coaching. A successful coaching session is a two-way conversation, focusing on the answers to several questions. You can start by asking, "What are your goals? What do you want to get out of these sessions?" And, "How will you know the coaching is successful?" These questions can allow you to better understand the person you're coaching and how they may react to both positive options and potential obstacles. While it may seem simple on the surface, it can take a lot of consideration to provide thoughtful responses. Contemplating these questions can provide insight into short- and long-term coaching goals and can help you determine motivations for coaching conversations. Coaching may also reveal that your manager needs additional education or training so they can be successful in their position. It's helpful to identify potential coaching obstacles like time, energy, and effort. This conversation may reveal personal patterns of thinking or limiting beliefs. When you have this information you can then identify strategies, new thinking patterns, and skills to overcome the identified obstacles. Of course, some are more easily addressed than others. The questions can be a starting point for positive changes. Managers need a support system, such as a mentor, colleague, or friend who can support them as they make the changes identified through the coaching sessions. This support can provide a sounding board when the coaching skills are being practiced. These people can also provide constructive feedback and help to identify blind spots that may be helpful to address in the manager's coaching. To learn more about your manager you can ask these questions. What do they need and want from you as a coach? How often would they like to meet? Should the coaching occur in person in an office, or virtually? How willing are they to do homework or post-coaching exercises meant to reinforce their skills? Do they enjoy reading and are they interested in supplemental books or articles that can enhance the skills and concepts you want them to learn? Asking these questions can help you better understand the manager you're coaching and provide you with insight into their individual needs. This will help you modify your coaching approach to best meet those needs.

Advanced Provider : Lisa Carver 5 Lessons · 16m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

Being an effective coach means being able to recognize the importance of truly knowing who you’re coaching and why. Coaching managers can be especially challenging, as you are guiding those who guide others. Because of this, providing constructive feedback is a critical element of effective coaching. Whether you’re in the same conference room or meeting virtually, feedback is an ongoing part of the job. Knowing how to give effective feedback to managers is instrumental to an organization’s continued success. But how can a coach be effective in guiding managers?

In this Creating a Coaching Relationship with Managers course, you’ll learn an effective route to solidifying your relationship with the manager you’re coaching. We’ll cover the importance of learning about them, establishing expectations, providing feedback, and personalizing your approach. Upon finishing this course, you can use what you’ve learned to show your managers that instead of just checking boxes, you’re meeting with them to help them make progress.

What You'll Learn

Identify potential obstacles that can arise when coaching managers
Set and communicate clear expectations with the managers you coach
Give effective, constructive feedback to managers both in person and virtually
Get to know the managers you coach to build a stronger coaching relationship
Personalize your coaching approach to the individual manager

Key Takeaways

Effective coaching starts with truly knowing who you are coaching and why.
Coaching managers is especially challenging because you are guiding those who guide others.
Providing constructive feedback is a critical, ongoing element of effective coaching, whether in person or virtual.
Solidifying a coaching relationship involves learning about the manager, establishing expectations, providing feedback, and personalizing your approach.
Effective coaching shows managers you are meeting to help them make progress rather than just checking boxes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

This course is for coaches who guide and coach managers and want to build an effective coaching relationship with them.

What does this course cover?

It covers the importance of learning about the managers you coach, establishing expectations, providing feedback, and personalizing your approach, through lessons on Getting to Know Your Managers, Establishing Expectations, Giving Feedback, and Personalization.

What skills will I gain from this course?

You will learn to identify potential coaching obstacles, describe the importance of providing feedback, and demonstrate how to set and communicate expectations.

Why is coaching managers described as especially challenging?

Because when you coach managers you are guiding those who guide others, which is why providing constructive feedback is a critical element of effective coaching.

Does the course address virtual coaching?

Yes. The course notes that feedback is an ongoing part of the job whether you are in the same conference room or meeting virtually.