Powerful Leadership Through Coaching

6Knowing When to Coach

Coachable people seek out those who speak truth to them, even if it is a painful truth, because it protects them, and it makes them a better person and leader.

—Gary Rohrmayer, author and speaker

Up to this point, we’ve focused on you, the coach. We’ve helped you examine your own readiness to be a coach—the power of your example, your abundance mentality, and your personal authenticity. The next section of this book provides resources, examples, and specific tools for coaching specific individuals.

Before we dive in, however, there’s one warning. Coaching is powerful. Coaching is transformational. And coaching can change people’s lives. But it’s not a silver bullet. It cannot solve issues that require education, training, or counseling. Also, you cannot coach people if they are not willing to be coached. You cannot force them to undergo coaching, so you should ask yourself if they are ready to be coached.

Ask:

• Does this situation require coaching?
• Is this person ready to have a coaching conversation?
• Is this person coachable right now?
• Is this person motivated to begin a coaching relationship?
• How can I best structure the coaching conversations?

Does This Situation Require Coaching?

Team members who lack the competency to do a job do not need coaching—they need training, skill building, work experience, or education. Coaches help people who are already competent to choose their own paths and make their own decisions. If, for example, a nurse isn’t ...