Coaching with a Connection
Coaching is a critical aspect of every leader’s job.
Meeting with team members provides you with an opportunity to remove obstacles to success, brainstorm strategies for improvement, identify and develop strengths, assess career direction and gage job satisfaction.
Guiding individuals to be their best involves connecting in a meaningful, supportive way.
The MBTI® (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) is an excellent tool for understanding and communicating in a focused way. Use the table below to customize your message.
Preference
Typical Coaching Need(s)
Extraversion (E)
- Listening skills
- Taking time to reflect before acting
- Letting others speak first
Introversion (I)
- Soliciting other’s input instead of going it alone
- Self-disclosure
- Approachability
Intuition (N)
- Relaying direct specific facts
- Focusing on the concrete
- Sharpening observation skills
Sensing (S)
- Creative problem solving
- Strategic thinking/long range planning
- Condensing data into executive summary/bullet formats
Thinking (T)
- Working to gain cooperation rather than compliance
- Appreciation of other’s work
- Awareness of criticism to compliments ratio
Feeling (F)
- Taking firm stances
- Using objective for decision making
- Not wearing their “hearts on their sleeves”
Judging (J)
- Risk taking skills
- Going with the flow
- Adding contingencies to planned processes
Perceiving (P)
- Time management skills
- Taking on too many commitments
- Practicing limits on generating ideas and gathering information
The concepts of type help you to engage in meaningful coaching with your team members.
It allows you to adjust your style so that the coachee “hears” what you are saying in a non-judgmental language and enables you to anticipate coaching needs.
Resource: Type and Coaching: A Match Made in Heaven, by Sandra Krebs Hirsh, APT International Conference
According to research conducted by the Corporate Leadership Council, 70% of employees believe that they could improve their performance and results in the workplace-if only they had effective coaching and feedback. Unfortunately, only 30% of them believe that their employers provide this service.