Coaching consists of a three-part learning process:

• Educate: Provide training in a knowledge or skill
• Develop: Reinforce and strengthen performance of new skills
• Counsel: Identify performance problems and provide help to address them

Coaching is used to accomplish three basic purposes:

• to improve employee performance,
• to develop employee potential to achieve mutually defined and desirable results, and
• to develop teamwork.

Adapted from the FYI video titled "Coaching for Top Performance."

Coaching Steps: GO COACH!

G	Goal. Define the goal or outcome of the coaching session.
O	Outline. Outline the best strategy to raise the issue and obtain buy in and cooperation from the employee.
C	Communicate. Create awareness of the coaching concern or opportunity.
O	Open Dialogue. Ask questions to draw out the employee's perceptions and recommendations, then actively listen to the answers.
A	Action. Develop a joint action plan with specific deadlines.
C	Check. Plan follow up and progress checkpoints.
H	Hand Off. Have the employee summarize the discussion and the resulting plan. End with positive reinforcement.

How to Decide if Coaching is Appropriate

There is a decision tree to follow that will help you to determine whether coaching is appropriate and, if so, which coaching approach to use. The bottom line : as long as there is the possibility of a cooperative relationship between the supervisor and the employee, then using a coaching approach (train, guide, and/or problem-solve) would be appropriate and effective. However, since coaching requires a cooperative relationship- if none exists or can be developed, then coaching is inappropriate and will not be effective.

1. Does the person know what task to do?
No: Then explain the task.		Yes: Go to next question.
2. Does the person know how to do the task?
No: Then train.		Yes: Go to next question.
3. Does the person need guidance and practice?
No: Then go to next question.		Yes: Then guide.
4 a. Does the person know how to do the task, can do it, and still isn't doing it?
No: Then go back to the second question and provide training		Yes: Then problem-solve.
OR
4 b. Is the person choosing not to do the task, even though s/he can do it and there are no system barriers to stand in the way of performing the task?
No: Then go back to the third question and guide: provide guidance and practice.		Yes: Then start progressive discipline, because no cooperative relationship exists.

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