There are ways in which to ensure Coaches are promoting a positive and encouraging environment between themselves and the person being observed. Below are some best practices and recommended behaviors Coaches can implement to support positive interactions with employees during an observation. For more information on getting started with Coach see attached link.
What is an Observation?
An observation is a review of an employee’s performance on the job that is executed utilizing the Coach application. They validate that employees have learned and implemented the new skills they’ve been taught from Alchemy courses. Observations are also an opportunity to identify any potential problems in your operations.
What is a Coach?
Coaches perform observations using the Coach application, however coaching effectively can aid in getting to know your team, develop relationships within your team and can help the Coach grow as a leader within your organization. Coaching demonstrates commitment to your team members, which helps build trust, resilience and engagement. Coaching helps your team members develop the insight, self-awareness, and learning agility required to successfully perform within the workplace. As a reminder, Coaches interact with a variety of personalities and some may have different reactions to being observed. As a Coach, there are some best practices for making people comfortable and making the most of observations.
Best Practices
Here are key skills to utilize when performing an observation.
- Friendly attitude
- Always approach the team member being observed in a friendly manner.
- Positive body language
- When discussing results, maintain positive and encouraging body language.
- Speaking respectfully
- Use respectful, encouraging & positive word choice and keep your tone of voice pleasant and calm.
- Listening carefully
- Stay attentive and listen intently when the team member speaks.
- Evaluating fairly
- Stay objective during your observation and evaluate all team members fairly.
- Seeking education
- Ask powerful questions to understand the team members approach.
- Responding well
- Provide helpful, high-quality and courteous feedback to the team member after completion of observation in an honest and sincere manner.
- Express gratitude
- Thank employee for their time once the observation is complete.
Making Coaching a Positive Experience
Sometimes, when people hear the word "coaching" they might think of it in a negative way; that coaching only exists to fix problems. But coaching is so much more than that. As a coach:
- You may spend time coaching a team member who has a lot of potential in order to achieve an even higher level of performance.
- You may utilize coaching when a team member is taking on a new responsibility or task.
Regardless of why you are coaching, you should always enter your conversations with a growth mindset. That means you believe people are constantly learning new things and developing new skills.
Helpful Hints
Here are some examples of high-quality and impactful questions that you may want to pose to the team member after performing an observation that was non compliant.
- How else could you approach this?
- How would you respond if roles were reversed?
- What do you see as a barrier?
- Who might have helpful information regarding this task?
- Why do you think this is happening?
- Who else could coach you on this task?
These open-ended questions can spark insight in the team member you are coaching and ensure that for future interactions they feel supported.
For additional information on utilizing the Coach application and performing observations, feel free to navigate the following articles and videos: