Coaching and Talent Management Report

Introduction

The report will focus on my sessions with my client, Ronnie Stoner. In total, we met for six sessions, the first was on 31st August between 2:00-2:30 pm, the second was on 7th September between 5:30-6 pm, the third was on 11th September between 6:30-7 pm, the fourth was on 23rd September between 6:30-7 pm, the fifth was on 29th September between 5:45 pm and 6:15 pm and the last session was on 3rd October between 6:45pm and 7:15pm. The report will, therefore, provide in-depth details of my interactions with the client during this period, including the coaching insights that I used during these sessions. Since the coaching session was carried out in six sessions, the report has been divided into six parts, each of them focused on an individual activity. The six sessions include establishing the coaching relationship, the assessment stage, the goal-setting stage, the progressing toward goals stage, and the conclusion of the coaching stage.

Establishing the Coaching Relationship

The main focus of the first session was to establish a good relationship between my client: Ronnie, and I. During the introduction, I told Ronnie about myself, my qualifications, and my expectations of the entire process. Since the goal of this session is to establish the coaching relationship, I informed him of the roles that each one of us will have. While I will oversee the process, the client had to understand that this is an interactive activity, and he can also offer his opinion. Additionally, it was vital for him to tell me about his goals so that we establish a common ground from which to commence the coaching exercise. I also gave him the opportunity to ask me questions that he considered to be relevant in relation to the exercise that we were undertaking thus boosting his confidence. I then informed him of the steps that I will use to carry out the coaching sessions to ensure that we achieve our goals. It was essential to explain to him that whatever conversations that were held between him and me would remain private and confidential. This was important since it gives the client the freedom to open up without any restrictions.

Some of the questions that I asked include: What are your goals? How do you expect to achieve your goals? What is your current situation? During this phase, I was glad to learn that my client already had an idea of how to benefit from the coaching process. Ronnie told me that he had some issues that were affecting his ability to achieve his goals, and he expected me to help him to overcome these challenges. Since this was the first session, I did not want to ask for further details since the main aim at this point was to establish trust. Before the end of the meeting, I guided my client to set SMART goals that would lead to financial growth and more career opportunities. It was interesting to note that at the start of the session, my client was reserved, but as the session progressed, he gradually opened up.  

The session was more informative than the first one, mainly because we had already set a foundation of what we wanted to gain from the entire coaching process. I guided my client in going through the goals that he had set and the best way that he could be accountable for achieving his targets during the week. In this regard, I showed him how to adopt the ‘check and connect’ strategy, which enabled mid-week check-ins to ensure that he was on track to achieve his goals. During this session, I took my client through the Greenhaus Learning Exercises so that I could understand his personality. Taking the test was important since people have different personalities, and this influences the approaches that I can use to coach them. Based on the assessments, I was able to highlight various areas that I believe needed coaching. Despite the results presented, I informed Ronnie that everyone is different, and the areas that I highlighted could affect his ability to achieve his goals, it was therefore necessary to conduct coaching to improve on these areas. Some of the questions that I asked include: What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are some of the steps that you have taken to improve on these areas? Have you ever received negative feedback about you relating to a particular issue?

Setting Goals Stage

During this session, I focused on the goals that I had helped my client to set during the introduction stage. However, in the first sitting, we had established an overview of my client's SMART goals, but in this phase, my focus was to go over each of these goals with Ronnie and make plans on how the client can achieve them. It was also important to ensure that the goals the client has set are realistic and are achievable, whereby there are clear steps that outline how these goals will be achieved. I informed Ronnie that these goals should not be to impress the coach, but based on what one desires in relation to their future. We then went over each of the goals to ensure that they meet the SMART criteria, which means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely (Lawlor, 2012). We intended to ensure that all these elements were present, and any unclear goals could be changed or edited to meet these requirements. I adopted motivational interviewing at this phase, whereby the objective was to encourage the client to find the drive to change their behavior and achieve the outlined goals. Some of the questions I asked during the setting of the goals were: What do you want to accomplish in 5-10 years? What are the steps you have taken to achieve these goals? Can you break down these goals into smaller steps?

Progressive Toward Goals Stage

The session was interesting since, together with my client, we reviewed his progress in relation to achieving his goals. One of the challenges that emerged at this stage was that some of the goals that were set seemed unattainable. As such, despite his best efforts, it seemed that the client was having challenges achieving them. Some of the questions I asked include: What are the challenges that you are experiencing? Have you managed to meet all your targets? What are some of the reasons that you can say have affected your ability to achieve your targets?

At this stage, I aimed at being helpful and understanding. I listened to the client stating his challenges and then informed him of other individuals that had faced similar issues and had overcome them. I also made various suggestions based on the GROW model that could enable me to achieve my goals (Dembkowski & Eldridge, 2003). Based on the conversation that we had during this particular session, my client was motivated and looked forward to attaining his goals in subsequent weeks.

Concluding the Coaching Engagement Stage

The sixth phase was our final session, and it played a critical role in outlining our progress. To conduct this meeting, I transited from the usual coach-client approach and took a more open approach whereby we reviewed my client's goals and the progress that had been made to attain them. We realized that what he had assumed would be easy at the beginning turned to be challenging, which required a strong support system to ensure that he stayed on track and achieved his goals. Additionally, we went through each of the short-term and long-term goals to determine the ones which my client found challenging and then discussed ways that these obstacles can be overcome to ensure my client achieves his goals. We also discussed the resources that are needed to ensure these goals are met, and my client confirmed to me that everything he needed was available.

Conclusion and Insights

Based on this exercise, I learned that coaching is not a one-off exercise but should be a constant process since it requires trust. Trust can only be built when one meets with their client over several sessions, understands their personality, and set action-plans based on these qualities. My strength while coaching is the ability to be clear and direct with the client. Anytime that I felt that something was wrong, I immediately informed the client, and we worked towards finding resolutions. It was essential to me since the goal of the exercise was to facilitate improvement, and this cannot be achieved when some aspects have been hidden. However, one difficulty I experienced as a coach is getting the client to set realistic goals. In some instances, the client might want to please the coach, and this makes them set goals that are impressive and unattainable. Such an approach affects the success of the entire coaching exercise. A coach should, therefore, encourage their clients to be honest and assess their capabilities before setting their goals. Overall, it was an exciting experience since I got to understand the critical role that coaches play. 

References

Dembkowski, S., & Eldridge, F. (2003). Beyond GROW: A new coaching model.  The international journal of mentoring and coaching ,  1 (1), 21.

Lawlor, K. B. (2012). Smart goals: How the application of smart goals can contribute to achievement of student learning outcomes. In  Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning: Proceedings of the Annual ABSEL conference  (Vol. 39).