The heart of coaching: Developing a coaching model for the manager

Abstract

The coaching sector has mushroomed in the last five years. Senior managers have come to see coaching as an indispensable part of their personal development and coachings popularity has spread to managers, who although keen to add the approach to their range of skills have been struggling to get coaching to work for them. For most organisations managers operate their coaching practice without a model, and this tends to feel more like tell then ask, even when the manager calls it coaching. For organisations which do offer a developmental style the GROW model (Goal - Current Reality - Options Will) is ubiquitous. This article presents a coaching model called the Heart of Coaching Model designed to help managers developing their coaching practice, without moving towards more psychological techniques of cognitive behavioural coaching such as exploring and challenging automatic thoughts or motivation and aspects of the unconscious. Its behavioural focus means that managers can feel safe using them and add to their existing knowledge and skills using the GROW model.