What would the person like to work on?
A manager wants to delegate a responsibility with confidence. A colleague is preparing to raise a difficult question about a deadline. Someone stepping into a new role wants space to consider what the role now asks of them.
These situations give coaching a practical purpose. The starting point is the person’s work, what they want to achieve and what they would find useful to explore. The conversation can then be shaped around that purpose.
What does the research suggest?
Cannon-Bowers and colleagues’ 2023 meta-analysis reports positive average effects of workplace coaching across the studies included. The authors also discuss limitations in the evidence and priorities for further research.
That gives a reason to consider coaching, while leaving an important question for each engagement: what would useful progress look like here? Studies use different designs and measures. A reported average cannot tell a particular organisation what return it will achieve.
How should an engagement begin?
Agree the focus, the people involved and the boundaries of confidentiality. Where an organisation sponsors the work, clarify what will be shared with the sponsor and what remains within the coaching conversation.
Choose evidence that relates to the purpose. For delegation, this might include the responsibilities handed over, the clarity of decision authority and feedback from the people involved. For a transition into leadership, it might include specific conversations and decisions the person wants to approach with greater confidence.
What happens between conversations?
The person may choose to try a different approach in their actual work. They might prepare a conversation, ask for feedback or test an arrangement with their team. The next discussion can examine what happened, including anything unexpected.
Work preferences can help someone consider how they prepare and contribute. They also need room to develop skills, practise an unfamiliar approach and respond to the needs of others. Preference is one part of that reflection, alongside the circumstances and demands of the role.
How do you assess the contribution?
Return to the original purpose and the evidence agreed at the start. Ask what changed, what people noticed and what else may have contributed. A business outcome can have several causes; improved confidence and improved performance also need different measures.
If time is released, agree what happens to it before assigning a financial value. If the focus changes, make that explicit. A useful review helps the person and sponsor decide what to continue, what to adjust and whether further coaching would serve the work.
Sources and further reading
What would you like to explore?
If this relates to work in your organisation, we can begin with a conversation about your situation and what you want to achieve.
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