The Scout Association

Debbie Ladds

Background

Debbie Ladds is Assistant Director of Programme and Development for The Scout Association. She manages a team of people employed by the Association, as well as supporting volunteer members .

The situation

Debbie identified three different situations when she had coached individuals:

• Support of a colleague at the same level as herself in managing poor performance.

• Helping someone run a week s residential course for volunteers, and especially deal with group dynamics within the course training team.

• Helping a member of her own staff with low self-esteem.

The process

In all the examples above, Debbie employed the same approach. The first step was to identify the problem and the need for coaching. In some of the examples the individuals concerned asked for help; in one case, Debbie identified the need herself.

Once the need for coaching had been identified, Debbie discussed with her coachees the issues, reflecting on what they were doing and how they could do it differently. She then encouraged them to find solutions that might work. If Debbie felt that their suggested solutions might be unhelpful, she explored other options with them and spent time looking at the possible consequences of their actions. Once they had jointly agreed some options, she encouraged them to ˜give it a try .

After they had tried their plan, Debbie met with them to review how it went. This review process covered:

• What has been learnt?

• What has changed?

• What has stayed the same?

• What was the result of the coachee s action?

The process was repeated until the coachee felt able to carry on without the support.

Positive aspects of this approach

As you work through the various stages as many times as you need to, you can see someone learn and observe the improvement in their performance, which is very rewarding . This approach is one which can be adopted in different situations and is supportive, rather than dominant.

Challenges faced

Finding time for the process was a challenge for both the coach and the coachee. The issue needs to be a priority for the coachee otherwise he or she won t find the time to talk about it or change his or her performance. As a coach, when asked to help, there is a potential problem if you don t have the time to give “ it is unhelpful to start the process and leave the coachee halfway through.

Another challenge is realizing that you are not the coachee and that you need to find solutions that will work for that person, not for you!

Learning

From her coaching experience Debbie learnt that sometimes you might need to actually see the person carry out the task you are discussing, rather than just to rely on their interpretation of what happens.

She also discovered that coaching can be very rewarding. This may be because it is real and solution orientated. It is important, however, that coachees want to undertake the coaching, rather than it being forced on them.

Debbie also learnt that coaching is time consuming and, sometimes, when it happens it is dominated by the urgency as defined by the coachee.

Top tips

• Agree a contract with coachees “ formally or informally “ about what they want you to do and how you will operate .

• Establish the confidentiality rules in the relationship so that they trust you.

• Create an open and honest communication style so that you are able to tell them when they have ˜got it wrong or ˜could do better .

• Be positive.

• Enjoy it!

Advice for the coachee

• Ask for help or support if you think you would benefit from it.

• Be prepared to review how you do things.

• Choose a coach that you respect, can talk to and are willing to listen to.

• Be prepared to reflect on learning (see Kolb s learning cycle).

Final thoughts

It s worth the effort and can make a real difference to those involved.

Authors comments

This case study touches on the issue of finding time to coach. It is a valuable reminder to us that coaching requires dedicated time. It also emphasizes how much the coach can learn through the process.