Obstacles To Effective Coaching

Coaching can and does go wrong, and there are many reasons why this may happen.

Sometimes the problem is in the 'sell' of coaching. Anyone engaging in any form of coaching needs to realise - and be told - that effective change and development will only come about if he or she is ready for that change. Coaches have a responsibility - at the very outset of any coaching intervention - to let their new or prospective client/coachee know that success will only come from ownership:

• Ownership of the desire to change and develop
• Ownership of the goals that are being set, and
• Ownership of the process whereby agreed goals and targets are achieved

In setting goals, coaches must ensure that change objectives come from the person being coached. This can create problems in the work environment where some people may feel that they are being made to have coaching because management want them to change in a particular manner. This is not coaching. It is management strategising.

Again, in terms of the 'sell' of coaching, anyone involved in the process of coaching must realise that change and development is not going to happen overnight or after one half hour session. Impatience, and unrealistic expectation, will only hinder the coaching process.

Together, the pressures of setting goals that are not 'owned', and working on a quick time/quick fix agenda will only provide discord and disappointment - for the client/coachee, the organisation, and the coach.

Fundamentally, coaches need to prepare their clients for action, and they also need to know when to say no in terms of interventions that are unrealistic, or unethical, or beyond their particular areas of expertise.

Some coaches are more directive than others, and each coach will have a different approach to a given individual's needs. Where it goes wrong is where there is a lack of honesty and clarity and structure around the coaching process, and how goals are developed and achieved.

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