Business Coaching in easy steps

All managers of people have a responsibility for getting the very best possible performance from their staff. From a business's perspective, gaining excellent performance from its people clearly translates into better performance of the business. From a motivational point of view, the majority of managers spend too much time directing and too little time motivating and developing those that work for them. Regular one-to-one coaching can help managers really understand their staff and ensure they get the very best performance from them.

This book provides a simple yet comprehensive approach to coaching in the workplace described using a step-by-step process from A through to E. In addition, it explains many of the supporting skills such as questioning, listening and goal setting - all of which are essential skills for coaching but also extremely useful stand-alone skills for all managers to master.

Jon Poole has been a development specialist for more than 20 years, running his own development practice for the past 10 years. During this time Jon has developed a coaching model in conjunction with top sporting names (for example past England cricket captain Graham Gooch), taking trusted coaching methodologies from the world of sport and applying them within a sound business context. This model has been the basis of highly popular and successful workshops he has run for managers at all levels. He also has first hand experience of having personally coached many senior managers over the past 20 years in the commercial, public and not-for-profit sectors.

1. What is Coaching?
   • Coaching in Sport
   • The Coach in Business
   • Benefits of Coaching
   • Coaching Styles
   • Levels of Learning
   • What can be Coached?
   • To Coach or Not to Coach?
   • The Alternatives
   • Coaching Applications
   • Learning Stages
   • Summary
2. The Coaching Relationship
   • The Coach and Performer
   • The Coach's Role
   • The Manager as Coach
   • Understanding the Benefits
   • The Performer's Perspective
   • Measuring Success
   • Summary
3. Preparing to Coach
   • Choosing a Location
   • Coaching Off Site
   • Managing Interruptions
   • Timing
   • Body Language
   • Before the First Session
   • Summary
4. The Coaching Process
   • It's as Easy as A-B-C...
   • A is for...
   • The Benefits of Aspirations
   • Asking for Aspirations
   • B is for...
   • Asking for Building Blocks
   • Listing Them All
   • Focusing on One
   • C is for...
   • Getting the Detail
   • D is for...
   • More About Solutions
   • E is for...
   • Dealing with Blockages
   • The Next Meeting
   • F is for...
   • Summary
5. Supporting Skills
   • Questioning
   • Open and Closed Questions
   • High-gain Questions
   • Keeping it Conversational
   • Leading Questions
   • Questioning to Focus
   • More on Questioning
   • Listening
   • Body Language
   • Barriers to Listening
   • Active Listening
   • Reflecting
   • Summarizing Examples
   • Taking Notes
   • Mind Mapping
   • Summary
6. Setting Goals
   • Goals in Coaching
   • Why Set Goals?
   • Goal-setting Models
   • SMART
   • MARC and Other Derivatives
   • SMART in Coaching
   • Reactions to Goals
   • Personality and Goals
   • SMART in Sport?
   • Visualization
   • Using Visualization
   • Goal-setting Examples
   • Summary
7. Ongoing Coaching
   • Reviewing Progress
   • Transfer to the Real World
   • Reviewing Current
   • Dealing with Slow Progress
   • Changing Plans
   • The Next Building Block
   • Starting the Process Again
   • Follow-up Meeting Format
   • The Ongoing Relationship
   • Evaluating Progress
   • Evaluation in Practice
   • Observing Your Coachee
   • Summary
8. The Second Dimensions
   • About the 2nd Dimensions
   • The Coaching Environment
   • Using the 2nd Dimensions
   • Aspirations
   • Dealing with Differences
   • Building Blocks
   • Current
   • Development
   • Energize
   • Follow up
   • Putting it All Together
   • Summary
9. Coaching Applications
   • Self-Coaching
   • Mentoring
   • Business Consulting
   • More Business Consulting
   • Career Change
   • The External Coach
   • Remote Coaching
   • Bringing in Coaching
   • Embedding into the Culture
   • Difficult Scenarios
   • Some Final Tips
10. Next Steps
    • What Next?
    • Coach Yourself
    • Coaching Process
    • Development Actions Log
    • Development Actions List
    • Simple Analysis Tools
    • Transferable Skills
    • Values
    • Author's Website
    • Other Useful Websites
    • Further Reading