The 9 skills to be a good coach
There is a lot of talk about coaching nowadays, a discipline that applies both in the personal field and in the world of companies and sports. This methodology, which facilitates learning and promotes cognitive, emotional and behavioral changes, helps individuals and groups of individuals to strengthen their development and to transform themselves, generating perspective changes, generating commitment and responsibility and increasing motivation.
- Related article: "The 10 benefits of Coaching (keys for your personal development)"
Skills needed to be a good coach
While there are many people who are dedicated to coaching, there are differences in terms of the quality of the service they offer. The difference between being a good coach and a bad coach is found in a series of skills that you can find summarized in the following lines. These competences may be knowledge, personality traits, motives, attitudes or skills .
What skills should a good coach possess?
1. Empathy
The coach is a professional who, in order to perform his work well, must understand the client's needs. For this reason, it is necessary to be empathetic with him and understand his situation to be able to direct the work sessions. The coachee (client of the coach) is the one who reflects on their situation to empower themselves in the face of change. The coach is a facilitator and a gentle uncomfortable that accompanies the client in a coach-coachee relationship of generating understanding and trust.
- Maybe you're interested: "Empathy, much more than putting yourself in the place of the other"
2. Constant formation
It is essential that the coaching professionals have a thorough training, which starts with a self-knowledge, and that has no end, not only to know how to treat the coachee, also to know the methodologies available to do their job well. In Spain there are excellent degrees related to this discipline They provide both theoretical and practical knowledge.
One of the most outstanding training courses is the Executive Coaching Certification Program of the European Coaching School, which allows obtaining the Executive Coach degree from the same academic institution and accreditation as an Accredited Coach Training Program by the International Coach Federation.
Participants acquire fundamental skills and tools for the professional coach's work, and this program emphasizes everything related to individual accompaniment, leadership training and team management. It is indicated for all types of leaders and team leaders , as well as people in general who wish to acquire the skills and abilities necessary to practice as professional coaches.
For more information, you can contact the EEC through the information available in this link.
3. Active listening
There is a difference between hearing and listening, because listening refers to being attentive to what the speaker transmits to us. The coach must not only listen to the verbal language of the coachee, but must be able to interpret his non-verbal language to not only stay with the words but to know what emotions his client transmits. Listening is being open so that the words of the other can change you , to listen is to generate that space of transformation.
4. Communication ability
The trust between the coach and the coachee and the good results are achieved thanks to an efficient communication between both. The powerful questions, the paraphrase, summarize the words of the coachee , check and ensure that what is understood is what is meant is an essential work of the coach.
5. Motivation for the reflection of the client
When a coach makes the client reflect, when he inquires about his motivation, the client can broaden his view of himself, his actions, his beliefs and his possibilities of action. Distinguish between commitment and obligation it is crucial to know where the motivation is .
5. Ethical responsibility
A coach must understand the ethics and professional standards of coaching, as well as put into practice the deontological code of the profession. In this sense, it is not only valid to know these rules, but they must be applied in the day to day of their professional practice.
6. Coherence
To generate trust, the coach must to be consistent in everything he says and communicates to the client . In European Coaching School (EEC), they talk about living the distinctions of coaching, for example, of how the coach not only must know what they are (responsibility, love or learning) but in fact "be" said distinctions and live them.
7. Patience
One of the keys when conducting coaching sessions is patience, as there may be deep questioning by the coachee and he may get to contact his deepest emotions that require time. The coach's patience is in respect the silences and also the depth of work that the client wants to do and how far he wants to take what he is seeing. The coaching process is alive and co-created between coach-coachee but the absolute protagonist is the client.
8. Derive when necessary
Coaches are personal development professionals and not psychologists who offer psychological therapy (except for some who are also clinical psychologists). Therefore, their goal is not to treat their clients when they suffer some emotional or relational problems or disorder, and their responsibility is to refer them to other experts if necessary.
9. Establish trust and intimacy with the client
Building trust with the coachee is the first step necessary for the coaching process to be successful, and in reality It's almost an art, which starts with vulnerability and balance in the relationship . "The coach is not a mentor, he is not above any way, the coach is an equal that can not know what are the right decisions for each person. The coach only accompanies to discover new looks, new options and new actions to achieve the challenge declared by the client, "they say in EEC.
