What is this course about?

Successful organisations realize that productivity is more than the mass delivery of product, and that to be truly successful requires its employees to be functioning at their very best. One of the most valuable tools to this end is the strategic use of coaching techniques.

Coaching is one individual working with another to help them improve their performance and reach their potential. Effective implementation of coaching within all levels of an organisation is essential in maximising the return on training investments, enhancing employee motivation and performance, and creating a noticeable improvement in the bottom line.

This intensive, workshop course provides the knowledge and unique skills required to be a successful coach and to foster a mutually supportive environment that is beneficial to both individual and organisational growth.

Who will benefit from this course?

This course is valuable for those who are about to have coaching responsibilities. Those interested in expanding their existing coaching skills or who seek to improve their own performance by better understanding the role of the coach, will also benefit.

I'm not a manager or team leader but I'm often asked to help my colleagues. Is this course right for me?

Absolutely! Working with others to improve mutual performance is not relegated to the hierarchical relationship between managers and those they lead. In many instances, the most effective coaching occurs between colleagues. Adopting a universal coaching mindset across an organisation helps everyone to be more successful.

What background do I need?

The principal qualification for this course is the desire to help others be the best they can be, to explore how good a coach you can be, and to help your organisation be the finest and most productive it can be. A genuine interest in people and a positive, open frame of mind is essential.

Why is coaching important to my organisation?

Organisations are made up of people, and numerous studies have shown that the greatest factor to organisational growth occurs not at the structural level but at the personal level. Integrating proper coaching techniques into your organisation's framework maximises the payback from outside training, reduces turnover by motivating your staff and increases your investment in "human capital." When your employees are empowered, they work smarter, producing a "trickle-up" effect that creates a true performance-enhancing culture and enables tangible transformational change within your organisation.

Coaching is about helping others. What benefit do I get from this course?

Coaching is not an impersonal, passive act. By helping others, you gain a greater understanding, insight and awareness of yourself. Through the techniques taught on this course, your interpersonal skills grow, and you will be able to build commitment and enthusiasm in your staff.

Your managerial success is often tied to the success of the team you manage. By growing the competency of your staff, you can delegate without hesitancy, freeing yourself up to take on more challenging and high-profile tasks.

I've heard a lot lately about "life coaching" and "mentoring." Does this course cover these topics?

No. This course focuses on the key skills, attitudes and behaviours necessary to be a constructive workplace coach. The results of successful coaching are addressed, ultimately, in terms of its effectiveness in meeting organisational goals. Coaching, within the framework of this course, is considered a business skill and a cornerstone of effective leadership.

How much time is spent on each topic?

How much time in this course is devoted to workshops?

Approximately 60 percent of course time is spent on workshops that utilise role-play, self-play, self-assessment and group activities. Workshops include:

• Establishing your coaching baseline
• Analysing your coaching mindset
• Developing coaching questions
• Applying practical coaching techniques to real and simulated situations
• Utilising "coaching cards" to elicit individual needs and values
• Profiling your personal coaching styles
• Adapting your coaching style to individuals and situations
• Developing a personal blueprint for coaching excellence

How can this course help us in our return on training investment?

Specified training of organisational members is an extremely beneficial process. However, it is only half the process necessary to take full advantage of your training investment. Studies have shown that training alone, without subsequent on-site reinforcement, plateaus and then eventually fades back to pre-training levels. This phenomenon can have a dramatic effect on employee morale and motivation.

Incorporating coaching techniques back at the workplace allows your organisation to maximise the effects of training. Coaching serves to underpin and reinforce the training on a day-to-day basis, building confidence in your employees and increasing productivity for the organisation. This course will pay dividends for all subsequent, and possibly past, trainings you and your staff will undergo.

I was planning to take Course 274. Will I benefit from taking both courses?

Yes! Course 274, Managing Performance, provides the knowledge and skills you need to work in partnership with the people you manage to align their performance and development towards organisational goals. Course 274 focuses on the vital areas of performance planning, agreeing on task-related and behavioural objectives, monitoring performance and conducting appraisals.

Course 224, in combination with Course 274, completes a strong foundation in employee performance skills and techniques.

Is this course applicable toward a Project Management Institute (PMI) certification?

Yes. Though this course is not designed as preparation for an exam, it is beneficial to anyone working toward, or maintaining, a PMI certification. Most PMI certifications require a specific number of PDUs in order to obtain and maintain the credential. Completion of this course provides 11 professional development units (PDUs).

Learning Tree offers several courses that help you prepare for PMI certifications, including Course 276, Preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam, which prepares you for PMI's most popular certification. For more details on these courses and PMI certifications, please see the Learning Tree PMI Registered Education Provider Q&A.

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree Courses?

If you are interested in expanding your management skills, we recommend the following courses:

• 244, Assertiveness Skills: Communicating with Authority and Impact provides you the confidence to communicate your ideas with an assertive, direct communication style. You learn to create a positive image through non-verbal signals, while projecting a professional demeanor in any situation.
• 288, Achieving APMG Change Management Practitioner Certification is a practical workshop-based course where you gain the knowledge and skills to guide the people in your workplace through the process of change.
• 292, Communication Skills: Results Through Collaboration emphasises specific tools and techniques for improving listening skills, delivering effective messages and bridging different communication styles.
• 903, Public Speaking: Conveying Your Message with Confidence provides the opportunity to significantly improve your public speaking skills by practicing and delivering speeches and presentations in a safe environment with personalised feedback.
• 906, Management Skills for an IT Environment provides the key skills and behaviours to get the best from technical people.
• 294, Influence Skills: Getting Results Without Direct Authority helps you successfully collaborate with others working at all different levels and functional groups to accomplish your objectives. You focus on the specific skills, behaviours and attitudes that enable you to achieve desired results without relying on the use of authority.
• 290, Management Skills allows you to gain working knowledge of the key aspects of management– leadership, delegation, motivation and communication–and practical techniques for getting the best from people.
• 222, Leadership Skills: Building Success Through Teamwork provides the skills required to inspire service teams to deliver high-quality results.
• 922, Managing in Tough Times offers the leadership skills to manage a team during a time of uncertainty.