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Telephone and virtual coaching

In our increasingly global world many people work in international contexts. This can provide an additional challenge for any coach. However, this also provides a great opportunity for the coach to develop their skills in a new area, that of coaching by telephone, teleconference or videoconference. Many of the skills used during face-to-face coaching are applicable when using telephone or virtual coaching; however, some skills will require greater focus and competence.

Pros and cons of telephone and virtual coaching

There are certain advantages to be gained from telephone or virtual coaching, these include:

• There is more opportunity to fit coaching around a person’s work or travel schedule, which means that ‘meetings’ are often more focused, yet relaxed.
  
• There is more choice for both the coach and coachee as to where the coaching session will take place – often in the comfort of their own homes, which we find can add to the quality of the session.
  
• Shorter meetings are often a feature of telephone or virtual coaching as it can be difficult to concentrate effectively for very long periods when on the telephone. This can also mean that the coachee focuses more clearly on the issue and process, as there are fewer distractions.
  
• As listening skills are key to a coach’s success when telephone or virtual coaching, it may be the case that with increased acuity in this area the coach will tend to pick up more than they might when face-to-face. Of course, this also provides you with a great development opportunity to hone your listening skills. With practice you become more attuned to the variation and discrepancies in the coachee’s tone of voice. When coaching face to face you often focus on the visual cues and not on the auditory ones.
  

The main disadvantage for telephone and virtual coaching is the absence of visual cues for both the coach and coachee to pick up on. This means that the coach must rely largely on their listening and questioning skills to ensure they are capturing all the data and nuances of the communication. Some people may also find that telephone or virtual coaching is not for them, as they prefer the intimacy of face to face so be sure to check with your coachees that they are happy to go down this route.

Ideas to consider

As a leader or manager who is coaching via telephone or some other virtual method it is highly probable that you will have met the coachee previously. For most of you the person you are coaching may be a direct report or colleague who has moved to another office or who is working out of their base office on a regular basis. This is unlike many professional executive coaches who can find that their coaching assignments are increasingly using telephone or virtual methods and they do not have the benefit of a face-to-face meeting at all.

To ensure success the following tips are worthy of consideration:

• Structuring and agenda setting are extremely important when telephone or virtual coaching. The coach and coachee must agree the plan for the session/s. This is important so that both parties can focus on the session objective and move towards agreeing actions and outcomes.
  
• Briefly summarising the previous session can be useful to remind both coach and coachee what has been achieved so far.
  
• Planning for these sessions is vital – both by the coach and coachee. We find it is beneficial for the coach to contact the coachee a few days before the planned session to remind them of the timing and to ask them to think about what they would like to cover and to let you know prior to the session so that you can plan in advance.
  
• Once you know what the coachee wishes to focus on, you can begin to structure the session and plan your inquiry process.
  
• Make sure that you won’t be interrupted – switch off your telephone and any other technology that may interrupt you. Some coaches we know, who coach from their home, even put a notice in their front window saying that they do not wish to be interrupted.
  
• Make sure your notebook is at hand and it is also a good idea to have a glass of water.
  
• During the coaching process you should ensure that you check regularly that the coachee is on track and also to test your understanding by paraphrasing what you think they are saying.
  
• Due to the absence of visual cues it is important that you not only test understanding for the rational factual data being conveyed, but also ask how your coachee is feeling about issues being discussed.
  
• At the end of the session it is more important than ever to ask the coachee to summarise what has been agreed and how they will put the ideas into practice.
  
• Agree the next meeting date.
  
• We also find that an immediate summary email to your coachee, with brief notes of what you covered, any actions you agreed and the date of the next meeting is useful.
  

Telephone and virtual coaching are becoming a much more common way of undertaking and maintaining coaching relationships, so many of you may find that this approach is one you actively find in your repertoire or even want to add to your skill base.

Tips for success

• Make sure you are in a quiet place with no possibility of interruption.
  
• Try to have a hands-free set up. This will make note taking easier.
  
• Invest in good-quality equipment if you are going to be doing a lot of this type of coaching.
  
• Do your preparation and planning. This will help you get started even if you deviate during the conversation.