UT Austin

I recently attended the Coaching as a Leadership Strategy course through the University of Texas at Austin, Center for Professional Education. 

The in-person course was presented by Marie Snidow and attended by professionals from government agencies, universities, and tech companies from around the state.

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The focus was on "Workplace Coaching", the process of guiding the person being coached from one competency level to another. This type of coaching could be for development if an employee is performing well or for performance if an employee is underperforming and needs improvement.

I gained the most value from exercises where we collaborated with other attendees to act out real-world coaching scenarios using a framework called the 5-Step Coaching Model and applying the 3 Key Coaching Skills.

5-Step Coaching Model

1. Ask for permission to coach
2. Assess the situation
3. Define desired outcome + goal
4. Brainstorm options + possible solutions
5. Agree to a plan

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3 Key Coaching Skills

1. Active listening
2. Asking effective questions
3. Providing observations and feedback

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Additional Notes

• Coaching should take around 15 min. 
• When providing feedback provide more positive than negative, 3 to 1
• In coaching listen 80% and speak 20%
• People naturally do what they see vs. what they hear
• Building your leadership brand, better work relationships, and high productivity are all benefits of coaching
• You have to practice and apply the tools and techniques to get better