15
solutions. Think of the child whose parents give them
the solutions to their math homework!
Great coaches see their role as helping the coachee
find solutions in a way that they will be able to do it
for themselves in the future. In other words their role
is not to fish for the coachee, but to teach them how
to fish. An important consequence of this is that the
coachee gets to experience ownership of both the
problem and the solution and therefore gets the
acknowledgement for the success, with the coach
becoming almost invisible to the outside observer.
Great coaches do not take responsibility for solving
the coachee’s issues. They take responsibility for
freeing up the coachee to take responsibility for
solving those issues.
5//
CREATE A
SAFE ENVIRONMENT
One of the most important factors in accelerating a
person’s learning and therefore their performance is
a safe environment. The fastest learning takes place
in childhood when we are open to all experiences.
What slows down this extraordinary ability—
and it’s an ability everyone has—is the internal
conversations that go on in our minds, the ones that
say, “Don’t screw up,” or “Everyone’s watching,” or
“Don’t trust him.”
We develop these internal dialogues in response to
the threats that life throws at us including, toddlers
being shouted at by their moms or dads, being
told we’re stupid in school, and being advised we
don’t have the talent at work. Once we develop
those internal conversations (usually in response
to the threats that show up in our lives) learning
slows down.
Perhaps the biggest single contributor to creating
this safe environment is the coach being non-
judgmental about the coachee. The coach may
have opinions about what will generate the desired
outcomes, but she or he should listen to and
observe what the coachee thinks, says, or does
without passing judgment about whether it is good
or bad, right or wrong.
Great coaches create a safe environment for the
coachee where the coachee can “look in the mirror”
without fear of judgment.
6//
HELP BRING FOCUS
To me there are four important factors that impact
human performance—knowledge, faith, fire, and
focus. And while they are each important, the most
important one is focus because it drives every thing
we do. It’s what separates our good days from
our bad days at any level of performance. When
we are focused, we do things well, whether it’s
solving a problem, having a tough conversation,
or playing golf. When we are focused our minds
are quiet and undistracted. Focus is the driver of
human performance and great coaches help their
coachees discover what’s important to focus on
and how to sustain that focus over time.
7//
BECOME COMFORTABLE
WITH UNCERTAINTY
Effective coaching gets past symptoms and
addresses root causes. It will help a coachee
become aware of and test the underlying
assumptions that drive their view of the world
and therefore their behavior. This often results in
coaching discussions that go in directions that
neither the coach nor the coachee anticipated.
Then the coachee becomes more aware of the
preferences and biases that are driving their
actions. Great coaches are comfortable with the
uncertainty that goes with not knowing where the
path of a coaching conversation might lead and
what the discussion might reveal.
There are of course, many more things that great
coaches do. But these seven behaviors have stood
out to me as being present in all the great coaches
I have seen, whether they were sports coaches,
music coaches, or leadership coaches. My invitation
to you is to think about which of these you might
begin implementing to have better conversations,
to create more of an impact, and improve your
abilities as a leader and as a coach.
HR
Looking for more on how to be great? Join
Alan at HR West
®
for more strategies. For
more about Alan Fine, see page 10.
1. Pygmalion effect From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Pygmalion
effect, or Rosenthal effect, is the phenomenon in which the greater the
expectation placed upon people, the better they perform. The effect is
named after Pygmalion, a play by George Bernard Shaw.
Great coaches do not take
responsibility for solving the
coachee’s issues. They take
responsibility
for freeing up
the coachee to take responsibility
for solving those issues
The coach brings a set of
beliefs and assumptions that
allows for a dialogue in which the
coachee is able to see
more possibilities
than before
Self-Reinforcing Loops:
A self-supporting process in
which what you play attention
to influences your beliefs and
conversely, what you believe
influences what you pay
attention to.
Attention Beliefs
The Performance Wheel
TM
The four factors that impact human
performance are Knowledge, Faith,
Fire, and Focus. Focus is the most
important because it drives the
other three factors.
K
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K
N
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D
G
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K
N
O
W
L
E
D
G
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K
N
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W
L
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D
G
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Focus
Attention
Fire
Energy
Faith
Beliefs
