In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about, “Coaching Others to Succeed.” Coaching can make a huge difference in your life and leadership personally, but it’s also a great tool to develop others. In this episode, I’ll share three practical ways to use coaching to take AIM at others’ potential. 

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SHOW NOTES:

Coaching is a powerful tool to help people grow. I know for me, I’ve gained a huge amount of insight and perspective from the coaches I’ve had over the years. But coaching isn’t just something I’ve personally benefited from, it’s also something I’ve been able to leverage to help others grow too. 

So, that raises a question: what exactly does a coach do? I like to say it like this: Great coaches take AIM at potential. AIM stands for Assessment, Insight, and Motivation. In other words, a coach will take AIM at personal or organizational potential by providing assessment, insight, and motivation so the leader or organization can realize their greatest potential. Let’s unpack each of these: 

1. Assessment 

One of the first things a coach has to do is assess the needs of the person their coaching. Sports coaches do this all the time. They observe their players, and they note what they’re doing well and how they need to improve. Why? Because you can’t help a person reach their full potential if you don’t understand their growth gaps. You have to assess where they’re at, where they want to go, and the gap between the two.

So, when you’re coaching someone, how do you assess their needs? By asking questions and administering assessments. Asking questions is important because the most significant growth in a person’s life will usually occur in the area where they have the highest intrinsic motivation to grow. Question-asking reveals those key growth areas. And assessments are valuable because they reveal how a person is wired and can often help a leader garner 360 degree feedback. A couple of great tools to help with this process is  the 360 Degree Refined Leadership Test or the Leadership Practices Inventory.

2. Insight

Following an accurate assessment, coaches provide valuable insights that will help a leader grow, improve, and accelerate. There are four different approaches to provide insight to the person you’re coaching: 

Probing – Probing happens when the coach asks good questions to uncover the insight already inside the person. In other words, by simply asking the right questions, the coach is able to pull out of the person the solution to their challenges. The solution was there all along, but it wasn’t until the coach started probing by asking good questions, that they were able to bring the insight to light. 

Processing – When a person is being coached, they will often share ideas, strategies, or pathways they want to pursue. A coach’s job is to help them process these ideas and insights by serving as a sounding board, asking clarifying questions, and pointing out potential blind spots. 

Permission – Sometimes the person being coached knows what they should do, but they’re lacking the confidence to do it. The person being coached doesn’t actually need the coach’s permission to act. However, when the coach affirms what the person is thinking, it gives them a confidence boost to actually act. In this way, giving permission is the insight needed to get dislodged from the paralysis of analysi...