Observation

˜You have seen, but not observed Sherlock Holmes said to Dr Watson. Observation is a skill which can be practised “ it involves looking at the whole picture and the parts of the picture from a variety of different angles and perspectives so that we can draw various conclusions from what we have seen.

The starting point for observation is to have a clear view of what you are trying to accomplish. What do you need to look for in order to achieve the coaching objectives? What information are you trying to gather? If there are laid down standards for the way in which a task is to be completed, you should always take this into account when carrying out your observation.

Treat every observation as a separate event “ even if you are observing a task that you have seen several times before. If you don t do this, the danger is that you may become complacent and assume that you are seeing something that you aren t. Every situation is unique and therefore there will be differences from the last time the task was carried out “ focus on what you are seeing this time and what you can learn from it. ˜Make the familiar strange and the strange familiar (Gordon, in his 1973 book Synectics ). To help you with this ask yourself some questions to help generate new insights, eg ˜How will I explain what I am seeing to the coachee? , ˜What is the coachee doing differently this time? , ˜What does the coachee look comfortable or uncomfortable doing? , ˜What am I actually seeing here? .

In order to improve your observation skills, try watching the same piece of video tape over and over again in order to spot differences or go to a large shopping centre and do some people-watching “ what do you see? Do you see men, women and children or do you also see many individuals?

When observing, if you are observing a long task, you may find your mind wandering. This is normal! Ways in which to minimize this include writing notes about what you are seeing, clearing your mind by saying to yourself ˜Focus , ˜Pay attention or physically changing your position.

There are a number of pitfalls that you may face while observing “ based on the fact that we are all human beings and we all have our own biases and preferences. Each of the following ˜effects is caused by a different bias.

Primacy and recency effect

This is where you remember what you saw at the start and end of the observation, but forget what went on in the middle. Timing your note-taking will help you with this.

Most significant events effect

This effect occurs when you base your assessment of the coachee s performance upon one or two significant events that take place during the period of your observation, rather than the whole performance. Taking comprehensive notes across the whole period of the observation will help lessen this effect.

Halo effect

This is where one good behaviour or action influences you into believing that the person you are observing is a saint , ie the coachee can do no wrong and everything has gone perfectly . Having clear criteria for your observation and maintaining your objectivity will lessen the chances of this.

Stereotyping

This is where your impression of the coachee, based upon your general observations about ˜this type of person , colours your view on what happens. If you have already made up your mind that the coachee is good or bad at something you will only observe behaviour that reinforces that view. It is important when observing that you note both positive and negative behaviours and also that you try to discover any of your personal biases before the observation session. Another way of lessening the impact of this is by noting what you saw, rather than making a judgement about it.

Central tendency

This effect occurs when you are using a rating scale against which to assess the performance of the coachee. Rather than give a rating at either end of the scale, you may be tempted to rate the coachee at the middle. Your motivation here may be that you do not want to give the coachee difficult feedback or that you do not want the coachee to become complacent about his or her performance. It may also mean that you are not assessing the coachee against the appropriate scale. Whatever the reason for this effect, it can be overcome by making notes about the reasons for your ratings and/or by avoiding assessment against a rating scale.

Leniency/severity effect

This occurs when the observer is not fully objective about the coachee s performance, but judges the performance too kindly or too harshly. In order to keep this effect to a minimum, always bear in mind your reasons for observing the coachee, make notes of what you are actually seeing and hearing and remind yourself that you are attempting to be an impartial observer in order to give objective feedback to your coachee.

Cloning effect

When a coach has very fixed ideas about the way in which a task should be carried out, he or she is in danger of exhibiting the cloning effect “ this is where the coach judges the coachee only in relation to the coach s own way of doing things. One of the best ways to avoid this effect is to discuss what you will be looking for before the observation takes place and to agree the standards with the coachee, based upon what he or she wants to improve and the way in which he or she wants to do this.