Coaching requires a certain set of skills and not everyone is suited to the role of coaching others to achieve their goals. Below are some of the fundamental traits great coaches should have.
Open communicator
To coach people effectively, there need to be no barriers to communication. The coach should feel comfortable in their environment to be able to talk to their clients in an appropriate and confidence inspiring manner. They should also be able to make clients feel trusting enough to answer their many questions, be good listeners and be empathetic to their client under all circumstances.
Observation
Coaches should have good observation skills – this includes awareness of body language and changes in emotion as well as any signs that the client is failing to engage or is in any way distracted during the coaching session.
Open-minded
Coaches will work with people from all different backgrounds and experiences, not to mention different cultural and social backgrounds. It is important that they should be able to talk to their clients in a non-judgemental way and respect the client’s knowledge and experience. One of the cornerstones of the coach approach is that ultimately the client has the answers – it is up to the coach to be open to helping the client find those answers and not simply tell them what they think.
Supportive
Coaches need to be supportive towards their clients in regards to the tasks that the client takes on. They need to help them be accountable for their commitment to take action and improve their performance or work-life balance.
Creative
Although the client may have most of the answers, the coach brings an enormous amount of experience and knowledge to the relationship. One of the skills the coach must develop is that of helping stimulate the client’s creative thoughts to think outside the box when seeking solutions to problems.
DiSC NZ offer a Foundation in Behavioural Coaching training course that equips coaches with these skills.
For further related reading, take a look at this article from The Learning Hub on “The Joys of Teaching“.
