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Identifying your personal coaching style

Most of you will have a preference in terms of the style you favour when coaching and it is valuable to know which style you tend to use the most. In addition to this it is important to recognise that while you may have a preference, coaching style is actually all about flexibility, adaptability and appropriateness. Good coaches will select their approach and style depending upon the person and the context rather than sticking rigidly to their preferred style. In this chapter we will help you identify your preference and introduce you to ideas for broadening, flexing and developing your style.

Coaching style

In this context what we mean by coaching style is whether you have a tendency towards directional or relational coaching. For some of you the style you adopt may be connected to the topic or purpose of the coaching session, but for many people there is a tendency to veer towards one or the other approach.

• Directional coaching. This style of coaching is where you draw on your own experience to provide advice, guidance and direction to your coachee. You will be more comfortable using a structured approach to make suggestions, give guidance and offer solutions to the coachee.
  
• Relational coaching. This style of coaching is where you respond more to the person and work with the emotions and mood of the individual and situation. You will tend to be more exploratory in your approach and will help lead the coachee towards identifying their own solution.
  

The following inventory will help you to identify which approach you favour. Look at the two ends of the spectrum and assess what you believe to be your preference when coaching and developing others. Try to be as honest as possible – self-awareness about your natural approach will help you to understand where you wish to focus your development.

Look at the statements below and assess where you believe you sit on the spectrum.

So what does this analysis tell you? Do you tend to use more directive approaches or more relational approaches? Neither is right or wrong; rather both are appropriate depending upon the issue, situation and the person. The important thing with coaching style is to be aware of your tendencies and to recognise where you have strengths and where you might wish to develop. In order to be a truly effective leader or manager as coach in today’s business world versatility is critically important.

The following model summarises some of the key skills associated with coaching styles. Some of these skills tend towards the directive while others are more relational or facilitative. Sometimes it will actually depend upon how you use the style as to whether you are veering towards directive or non-directive coaching.

When might you use these approaches? Obviously each coaching issue and each person you coach is different, so much will depend upon the situation you are faced with, together with your personal knowledge about the needs of the person you are coaching. However, one rule of thumb you may wish to apply is based on a model originally developed by Ralph Stacey (1996) which suggests that in today’s business world we are faced with challenges that can be categorised into four areas – simple, complicated, complex and chaotic.

Simple challenges are a bit like puzzles where there are specific outcomes and processes for getting to these outcomes (a bit like a crossword puzzle or Sudoku) where the answer is known. The answer is known by someone and if you, the coach, are that someone then you probably want to adopt a more directive approach, perhaps offering suggestions, guidance or advice as part of your coaching discussion.

Complicated challenges are a bit more challenging where there isn’t one definite answer but where more is known than unknown. Experience of similar situations may suggest ideas for what works and what doesn’t, so perhaps a combination of directive with some facilitative approaches should be used to encourage exploration of the range of possibilities.

Complex challenges are a much more frequent part of most of our lives today where more is unknown than known. Such situations are where there is no one definitive answer, often experienced in times of change. In fact there are many possibilities based on an individual’s knowledge, experience, motivation and commitment. When dealing with these often highly complex and ambiguous situations you probably need to use more facilitative approaches. It will be important to understand the full extent of the issue and to encourage your coachee to look at the issue in different ways. This will ensure that they are considering as many different facets as possible to help them get to the most appropriate course of action and outcome.

Chaotic challenges arise when a situation is highly confused and uncertain, and where there are lots of different opinions and ideas, but there is no correct answer – only better or worse options. Very little is known in this type of situation. Such situations will demand patience and skill on the part of the coach to work with them in a non-directive way. When a coachee is faced with a chaotic situation they are often seeking reassurance and an opportunity to explore with someone who has time and the energy to work with them. They probably do not expect answers, but what they do want is the opportunity to think together about the situation and perhaps receive both support for new ideas and also challenges to force them to broaden their ideas in order to help them clarify their values, assumptions, needs and energy. An example here might be where people are making big career changes or choices.

One further approach that could help you reflect about your personal coaching style is Heron’s Six Categories of Intervention, first developed by John Heron in the 1970s. He identified two basic styles that he called authoritative and facilitative, and within each style he suggested that there were different intervention approaches you could use:

• Authoritative – prescriptive, informative, confronting.
  
• Facilitative – cathartic, catalytic, supportive.
  

At Ashridge we have worked extensively with this model and used it as an approach to help in both our own and others’ coaching practices. We have also adapted the model, without losing any of its original integrity, to make the language more relevant to practising managers.

Coaching styles

Each of these styles has its own purpose and process and the table below summarises this:

You may find it useful to reflect about your own natural approach to coaching and use this model to help you understand your preferences and tendencies, and to highlight where you could develop new approaches. One way of doing this is to assess your comfort and capability in using each of the styles (see Table 3.2).

Should you wish to examine your style in further detail you may find it useful to complete a more detailed questionnaire. Ashridge Business School has recently developed a Coaching Behaviours Questionnaire that could help you and is available through Ashridge Psychometrics ([email protected]). Other questionnaires which are available on the internet include the ‘Leadership and Coaching Styles Questionnaire’ at www.stepchangedevelopment.com and the ‘Coaching Style Inventory’ at www.castletonconsulting.co.uk.

As a leader or manager who is committed to coaching as part of their approach to working with others, it will be important to get to grips with a wide range of skills and approaches. The exercises and models above should provide you with an initial way of thinking about your preferences, capabilities and development needs. In the chapters that follow we will explore some of the main skills, approaches and processes that will help you to succeed in this area. We will also examine some common coaching situations and offer suggestions and ideas for dealing with them.

Tips for success

• Know your own style and strengths as a coach.
  
• Use a style that suits you, the coachee and the situation.
  
• Ask for feedback about your style and its appropriateness.
  
• You may need to use several different styles during any one coaching session depending on the range of topics discussed.
  
• Work to develop versatility and flexibility in your style.