WHAT IS COACHING?

There is no single standard definition of coaching, as there are numerous definitions within this field. Zeus & Skiffington (2000) posits coaching as having elements of "change and transformation" and encompasses "the human ability to grow, to alter maladaptive behaviours and to generate new, adaptive and successful actions". The International Coach Federation defines coaching as "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential" (International).

Considering the common theme across these myriad definitions, the Civil Service College has defined coaching as a short term interactive process that facilitates personal awareness and the development of new behaviours within a supportive environment, so as to encourage individual growth and behavioural change to enhance one's potential and effectiveness.

It must be stressed that coaching takes on a learner-centric approach (Tan, pp. 97–98). The aim of the coaching process is to empower and facilitate the coachee to be able to gain awareness, discover his/her own potential, explore various resources, options and solutions for himself/ herself. As such, the role of the coach is to provide encouragement and support while facilitating the process for coachee reflection and development.

As this guide is intended for new managers, the focus would be on coaching for:

1. Performance; and
2. Facilitating developmental conversations with staff.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COACHING AND MENTORING

Coaching ought to be distinguished from mentoring (Brefi). Table 1 attempts to differentiate between the two.

	Table 1. Differences between coaching and mentoring.

For the purpose of new managers who might not possess the experience required of a mentor, this guide will elaborate on coaching per se.

WHY SHOULD MANAGERS COACH?

Organisations that embark on coaching have experienced better relationships and engagement between supervisors and staff, greater employee retention and productivity, healthy customer satisfaction levels and a positive impact on their business (Allan; Modell). Undoubtedly, the relationship that managers have with their staff has been identified as one of the crucial factors to the success of any organisation (Allan).

What then do managers get to benefit from coaching his/ her staff? First, in raising the capabilities of their staff, the team can deliver better quality results. Managers who play the role of coaches are essentially grooming their staff to be more resourceful individuals who are driven to excel and empowered to address issues and challenges. This is in contrast to being overly reliant on their managers for guidance and direction. Second, managers would then have more time to focus on other higher value-added tasks. Third, managers who are effective coaches are regarded as people developers, which will in turn attract more talented people to join their teams. Clearly, such managers would be able to make greater and more impactful contributions to their organisations (Tan, pp. 93–94).

PART I: THE GROW MODEL — A COACHING FRAMEWORK

In the 1980s, Graham Alexander developed the GROW Model, a well-known coaching framework (Graham; Tan, p. 233). There are four steps in the GROW Model, as illustrated in Figure 1.

	Figure 1. The GROW Model.

Table 2 details the steps involved in the GROW model. For each step, there are suggested questions to help the manager guide the supervisee through a thinking process, which enables the supervisee to arrive at options and solutions to his/her own challenges (Tobin).

	Table 2. Guiding questions for the GROW model.

PART II: TOOLKIT TO FACILITATE THE GROW PROCESS

While following the framework, it would be useful to employ certain tools to make the coaching session even more meaningful. We shall attempt to summarise the possible tools in the following table (Tan, pp. 101–107; Stowell).

	Table 3. List of coaching tools for managers.

CONCLUSION

Coaching is useful for both the manager and the supervisee. The organisation gets to benefit from such a win-win situation. During coaching, it is vital for the manager to momentarily brush off the manager-supervisee mindset and put on a different hat as a coach, who is interested in the supervisee's development and willing to partner the person in his/her development journey. A failure to do so could hinder the thought processes of the supervisee, hence jeopardizing the openness that is necessary for a learner-centric approach (Tan, pp. 105–106).

Goh Shu Shang is Senior Executive in the Institute of Public Administration and Management in the Civil Service College. The Institute equips officers with managerial, supervisory and operational competencies, by employing a diverse range of learning approaches, including group discussion, self-reflection and e-learning.