coaching mic

Coaching semblance

by Learning

“I don’t want a coach! What can an external coach know better than myself about my job, to teach me?” said Cristina, a newly appointed team leader.

Have you heard this type of comment around you? It is pretty common and it usually comes from the diverse coaching experience of the coachee. Coaching may have various meanings and understanding, depending on organizational culture. There are organizations where coaching means using the coach experience to instruct others do their job better. Another meaning of coaching is to have a coach that accompanies the employee in the field (sales environment), observes and gives feedback. I even heard about using “coaching” as an evaluation process: the coach is addressing questions and the coachee has to give the right answer in order to receive a good qualification grade.

Considering the above ways of doing “coaching” it is not surprising that employees are reluctant to it. ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. So, no evaluation, no instruction, no feedback!

To succeed with coaching in a polluted business environment a coach has to start by expressing the main coaching competency: establish trust and intimacy. Only after trust and intimacy is founded the coaching session might be effective.

To find out more about establishing the trust and intimacy competency you can access: https://coachfederation.org/blog/from-the-toolbox-trust-and-intimacy-explained

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Training as a challenge during the pandemic

by Learning

In pandemic times like these, some of the companies are looking for training on virtual team management (93%) and crisis leadership (84%) while 62% of them will drop out post-crisis webinars, according to a Bittnet Training and Equatorial study. While most of the training sessions are on-line, there are some that are still delivered face to face, in class. After having some of those face-to face sesions we are glad to share with you tips on how to keep the participants safe:

What to do before training starts:

Communications and training invitations should always include a reminder of the potential signs of the new coronavirus infections and instruct participants. As an extra precaution, take the temperature of the participants prior to the training. Make participants feel safe and actively participate by ensuring a welcoming venue with clean air and disinfected desks placed at recommended distance. Provide a dispenser with alcohol-based disinfectant – min. 60% – and wet wipes (to clean the objects). If you want to take advantage of the topic and make the training more attractive, you can bring personalized masks with funny messages or images for the participants to choose from.

What to do during the training:

  • make sure that all participants wear the protective mask correctly while they are in the room
  • play games that facilitate hand  disinfection regularly
  • if possible, do outdoor activities
  • choose activities that avoid physical contact and maximize nonverbal communication
  • mark the positions to highlight the distance between participants during  activities
  • encourage participants to bring their own stationary
  • take breaks more frequently – recommended after 1 hour, and ventilate the meeting room
  • organize coffee & lunch breaks on the terrace (or outside)
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