The Top Four Challenges Workplace Coaches Meet

by Charlotte Randall, CPD Leader 
 Dubai English Speaking School

Who owns the challenge?

It is important when embarking upon workplace coaching to fully explore and understand who owns the challenge when uncovering a particular challenge that is presented in the session.  If the challenge is linked to organisational change that is policy driven, then the coach’s job is to ensure that the client is fully aware that they will not be able to change the outcome of this – it is going to, or is already happening.  The role of the coach is to help the client to explore their own behaviours relating to how they might approach this change process for the benefit of the stakeholders and their professional progression. Connected to this is the coach’s skill in being able to explore patterns of thinking and organisational political awareness in the client, that acknowledges the management pressure from stakeholders to bring about change as a result of business drivers or raising standards at base level.

Workplace matching of client and coach

To prevent matching becoming a barrier to success in work place coaching, time has to be spent to ensure the profile of your coaches is linked closely to the client pen portrait.  It is important to consider the role, personality, backgrounds, relationships and scope of ability within the coaching team; whilst considering the same for the client. The challenge the client is bringing to the session also has to be considered; how this may be linked to organisational culture and potentially, how the conversation may progress to touch the boundaries of the roles and responsibility of the coach or people that they may manage. This is also imperative to remember when avoiding the trap of colluding with the client or moving from empathising to sympathising with them.

Suspending judgement from prior knowledge

The literature states that in order to become an effective coach, a core competency that a coach needs to master is the ability to suspend judgement; something that can be challenging when workplace coaching because of prior knowledge of the client or the organisational culture. When coaching someone in a similar role, or with similar challenges, human nature is such that the coach may become more directive and tell the client of their experiences and how they might solve their issues through your (the coaches) solutions. Questioning may slip into containing hidden instructions such as, could you……what about trying ……… and the coach may start to manipulate the conversation (and relationship) because they have a preconceived idea of the best way to solve this challenge for the client. A workplace coach therefore, must remain professional at all times and refrain from reflecting on their own past experiences and control their urge to offer personal advice.

Operational logistics

Planning for this is crucial from the outset with evaluation, feedback and reflective processes built in at different stages throughout the journey.

An operational agreement should outline:

• What coaching is within your organisational context?

• The coaching model utilised within the organisation

• Contracting (organisational and personal)

• Entry and exit from the programme

• Quality assurance linked to supervision and on-going monitoring and evaluation paperwork

• Key performance indicators linked to return of investment

• Deployment and matching of the client and coach

• Reporting system for conflict

• Health and safety linked to the coaching environment

As the coaching goes live, it is important to pre-empt issues that may arise with releasing both coach and client from their everyday role. It is important to review this regularly to ensure that the coaches have the time built in to move from professional role into coaching role prior to the session commencing. 

Charlotte Randall

CPD Leader

Dubai English Speaking School 

Charlotte is currently leading and promoting the coaching culture at Dubai English Speaking School, supported by the British School of Coaching.  To find out more about DESS click here, or to read about  our coaching courses currently running, take a look at our programme schedule.