Coaching Skills

Question 1

What two kinds of skills make up the “DO” of coaching?

Answer 1

Active skills that engage clients to let them explore further.

Receptive skills that allow the coach to take in information and listen to what drives the client and what he/she is bringing to each session.

Question 2

What kinds of skills make up the “BE” of coaching?

Answer 2

Who you show up as and what you bring to your clients, both as a personal and as a professional .

The foundation (skillfulness, philosophy, send of self you operate from as a coach)

Your growing knowledge of your client.

Question 3

What are the elements of a coaching session?

Answer 3

Prepare
Open with a check in
Evaluate actions from past session
Awareness and Understanding (TOSCA and who client CAN be)
Strategize 
Evaluate the session 
Post session review

Question 4

What are TOSCA and GOSCA?

Answer 4

GOSCA is Goal (overall), Outcome, Success, Context, Address and Resolve. This is for an individual coaching session. This is for the full coaching process.

TOSCA is Topic, Outcome, Success, Context, Address and Resolve. This is for an individual coaching session.

Goal/Topic: What is the coaching goal/what is the topic?

Outcome: What do you want to achieve in this session? Ongoing coaching?

Success: What’s the measure of success? How will you know? What do you want to do/think/feel?

Context: Why is this important now? How does it connect to the overall topic or goal?

Address and Resolve: What do you need to address or resolve to achieve what you want in the session?

Question 5

What is Listen From?

Answer 5

A BE Skill

Listen from a neutral place
Listen from a place of acceptance
Listen from a belief that client is NCRW

Question 6

What is Self Manage?

Answer 6

A BE skill

The ability of the coach to become invisible and set aside her own assumptions in service of the client’s agenda.

Managing oneself in context of time, flow, space.

Limiting the Expert.

Question 7

What is Establish/Maintaining Coaching presence?

Answer 7

A BE skill

Trained in your role, centered, energy reserves, good self care.

Listen to the client in what she wants and says.

Hold the coaching space.

Create spaciousness; allow silence to make room for exploration and discovery.

Question 8

What is Listen To?

Answer 8

A BE skill

Listening to self/body/mind/feelings

Listening to your client: verbal and non-verbal information, what they are saying and not saying (what are they leaving out?)

Question 9

What is Listen For?

Answer 9

A DO skill (receptive)

Thing to listen for and to help them become more aware of:

• Personal Truth and Values that tie to the big agenda
• Passions/dreams/motivations
• Colorful language
• Strengths - what they do well
• Wins
• Contradictions
• What’s left unsaid
• Collapsed distinctions
• Self criticism
• Goals vs. shoulds
• Inconsistencies

Question 10

What is Articulate?

Answer 10

A DO skill (receptive)

A coaching response to what the coach is Listening For.

Methods

• Paraphrase: similar words to say the same thing
• Highlight/summarize: repeat primary point for emphasis
• Repeat words or phrases that sound important

Articulating allows for

• Making sure you heard what was said correctly
• Pulling out the key points
• Allowing the client to clarify
• Help client become more accurate/concise in her meaning
• Give the client space to learn what is already known
• Create conversational space to explore meaning

Question 11

What is Co-Create the Relationship?

Answer 11

A DO skill (receptive)

Refers to effective partnering with client based on:

• trust and safety
• a safe and supportive environment
• understanding big picture goals for working with a coach
• seeing the client as NCRW
• Asking permission to follow a path
• Setting expectations and framework TOGETHER
• Evaluating what was/wasn’t useful TOGETHER

Question 12

What is Endorse?

Answer 12

A DO skill (receptive)

Endorsing is reminding clients of their great strengths and what they do well. It is making them aware of a tool in their toolkit that they might be overlooking.

Question 13

What are David Rock’s Client Stages?

Answer 13

Attention (looking at the problem)

Reflection (identifying what thought goes with the problem)

Insight (creating a new map towards greater change)

Action

Question 14

What is NCRW?

Answer 14

The belief that your client is naturally creative, resourceful, and whole. They are not a problem to be solved, we don’t need to “treat them” because they’re a thinking partner.

Question 15

What are the three parts of the Coaching Model?

Answer 15

Awareness (new perspective)
Action (application)
Learning (insight)

Coaching is the art of asking the right thing to get to Awareness.

Question 16

What is the BECAUSE Model?

Answer 16

BE-C: Center in the BE of Coaching
- Centering self in knowledge of client, hold coaching space

AU: Awareness and Understanding
- Clarify and agree on topic, explore for awareness, consider current and alternative perspectives

S: Strategy
- Strategies are chosen, defined, and IDed by client, then specifics with the coach (how much, when, with what support)

E: Evaluation
- Mini process - client report, awareness/understanding to learn, further strategy

Question 17

What is “The Expert”?

Answer 17

In self management, someone to be limited because she is only focused on needing to show she is smart and experienced.

Coaches don’t give advice because they learn to self manage and let curiosity lead.

Question 18

What is “Hold the Client’s Agenda”?

Answer 18

Keep these points in focus while you coach:

1. The big agenda: what the client wants from life, large goals, purpose/passions
2. The coaching goal: the broad reasons the client employed a coach
3. The topic of the day: Daily circumstance

Question 19

What are perspectives and how do you work with them?

Answer 19

Listen For skill

A frame of mind the client may not have noticed or questioned
A habitual way of looking at or approaching a specific situation
Thoughts and beliefs - world view supported by feeling
Can be negative or positive

Name the perspective
Explore the presumption
Reframe to show opportunity
Invite consideration of an alternative or multiple perspectives
Invite client to consider new possibility

Question 20

What is normalizing?

Answer 20

Communicate that an action, inaction or thought is well within the realm of accepted behavior to help shift perspectives.

Question 21

Why do we listen for metaphors, colorful language, modality language?

Answer 21

Language choices reflect meaning and motivation – and they often reflect modality preferences.

Metaphors can also reflect a role or responsibility in a person’s life and can hold or anchor intentions.

Question 22

How and when do you use direct communication?

Answer 22

It might be achieved with an observation and an invitation for the client to respond or can be
accomplished by asking questions.

• Clarifying questions to confirm meaning
• Distinguishing or making distinctions
• Collecting data – focus on the WHAT vs. the WHO to avoid storytelling

Question 23

What is skillful questioning?

Answer 23

Evokes insight, discovery, commitment or action

Can be probing or challenging (never insensitive, hostile or unkind)

Is achieved with short and open‐ended questions which cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” response

Question 24

What are some examples of coach initiated topics?

Answer 24

Co‐creating the Relationship

Asking about and exploring information about the client
(responsibilities, values, goals)

Expanding the coaching process or your own policies and forms

Question 25

What are some examples of client initiated topics?

Answer 25

a coaching issue
a new project of opportunity
a results of a chosen action
goals or concerns about the coaching work