These days employees expect to be developed as part of the deal. Human Resource folk mumble (and sometimes grumble) about something called the psychological contract. This is an unwritten, tacit contract that sits alongside the formal, written employment contract and is just as important. The employment contract sets out the basic consideration which will be along the lines of "if you do what we ask you to do, we'll pay you X". In reality things are of course more complex and the nature of the work required will be detailed in role profiles and the like, while the reward part will be similarly defined as salary, bonus, etc. and a range of non-financial rewards such as holidays. The psychological contract is each party's understanding of what each other will do to play 'fair'. For most of the 20th Century that ran along the lines of 'turn up for work and do a reasonable job and we'll employ you for life' But this contract was torn up as part of the way working life was transformed from the 1980s to date. The 'job for life' has gone forever and it is probably impossible and certainly unwise to assume that we will have only one or two employers throughout our working life. The psychological contract these days runs along the lines of 'in exchange for my efforts at work I expect to be developed and build my CV so that I increase my overall employment prospects'.
In the UK at the time of writing, there is still a scarcity of skills which means that employers are having to work harder to recruit and retain the best people; the so-called war for talent. This makes the job market a seller's market with potential employees in a strong bargaining position. Recruitment firms even talk of the 'reverse interview' where candidates size up their chances of development before considering whether to accept any offer. To match this expectation with only the orthodox training and development offering of classroom training and external qualifications would be dreadfully expensive and ultimately unworkable. There will always be a place for such things in an overall learning and development strategy of course, but coaching - particularly when delivered by managers - provides a more timely, cost effective and tailor made solution.
The change to the psychological contract is but one of numerous changes that have been played out in the theatre of work in recent years. The current industrial relations climate sees the pendulum swinging back towards the employee and their rights, with some employers bemoaning the bureaucracy and red-tape that this entails. Nevertheless it seems that family friendly policies like Flexible Working and Parental Leave are here to stay; driven at least in part by people's desire to want a better work-life balance.
Other social changes have had an impact on working life too. Work now occupies a very different place in people's lives. Where once work was simply the way we made enough money to pay the bills, we now work for a host of psychological as well as economic reasons. For example many people now fulfil their need for social interaction through work - I guess because of the amount of time we spend there! Others fulfil their esteem needs through work; enjoying the satisfaction that comes from doing a meaningful work and doing it well. It's as if society has collectively moved up a level or two on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. In Western economies in general and in the UK in particular it is unlikely that anyone is going to fall on really hard times if they're out of work - we have a welfare system that provides support, so a management style that invites people to be thankful they receive a salary is unlikely to prove very motivating. Instead we need to acknowledge that we need a more human approach; one that captures the variety of motivations for people to come to work. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a start but there is much work to do at the level of the fundamental relationship between the manager and their team.
In the same way musicians are taught to consider the value of the notes they do NOT play, coaches need to be taught that there are times when certain questions would do more harm than good. Trainee coaches are often given lists of example questions when they are first being taught - I provide them on a handout. But I'm always at pains to stress that they are ONLY examples. We need to recognize that the coach will need to adapt them to fit the needs of the situation, the current coachee and their own style. They also need to realize that while we might be quite happy to ask questions in a set sequence, our coachees' brains are unlikely to operate in the same linear fashion and answers can come from all manner of directions. Flexibility is key.
We need to play down ARROW, GROW et al and play up Awareness, Responsibility and Trust. These are the three key principles of coaching and it is by asking questions that we raise awareness, generate responsibility and build trust.
Consider the following case study:
Ravi worked as a Client Relationship Manager for a Hotel and Conference Centre. He was not comfortable with his ability to handle requests for discounts from regular clients and so asked Sue, his manager, for some coaching on his negotiation skills.
Sue wanted to be helpful and so she listed the coaching ARROW questions on a piece of paper with space underneath to record Ravi's answers.
Sue and Ravi moved to a quiet area and Sue carefully asked the questions in sequence and took detailed notes of Ravi's answers. Ravi noticed that after she had asked each question, Sue looked down at her notes and did not make eye contact with Ravi or make any kind of verbal or non-verbal response to his answers. He found that this made it difficult to focus and to think deeply and he was not convinced that Sue was really trying to help but instead was working through the coaching session quite mechanically in an effort to get it done and out of the way.
He also noticed that many of Sue's questions started with words like "Don't you think you ought....." and "Wouldn't it be better if...." And this made him think that Sue was just trying to steer him towards her own ideas.
Later on when a colleague asked Ravi how the session had gone, he replied that it had been a complete and utter waste of time.
Without a thorough understanding of the underlying principles of awareness, responsibility and trust, we can end up doing more harm than good in a coaching session. On the other hand, when we do understand the underlying principles it is possible to ask coaching questions in a much more natural and conversational way. It also enables us to concentrate more on the person being coached rather than trying to remember what question comes next.
How then do we avoid the trap that Sue fell into of allowing an obsession with the questions to make the session seem robotic and forced?
A good technique is to practise self-coaching. Have a list of coaching questions nearby and think through an situation of your own by maybe writing your answers on a piece of paper. In this way the questions take root in your memory but you also develop a feel for the obvious suplementary questions and you can gain an understanding of the type of thought that the questions prompt.
It is also a good idea to perhaps explain to the coachee that you are not asking questions to gain information. This is the usual reason of course and probably what the coachee expects. They may be conditioned to giving limited, stripped down replies, especially if discussing a tricky performance issue. Explain instead that your intention is to raise awareness, etc. so they can find their own unique answers in their own unique way. This results in them giving you fuller responses and avoids the need for the coach to have to ask multiple questions in order to get a detailed response.
Matt Somers has sinced written about articles on various topics from Power of Coaching, Career Change and Depression Cure. Matt Somers is a leading voice on coaching in the UK where he writes, presents, trains and consults on all aspects of Coaching at Work. An author and regular conference speaker, he is currently producing a range of resources to help with the people side o. Matt Somers's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.