25 Mar Everyday Conversations

Transforming Our Everyday Conversations with Coaching.

We were running an ‘in-house’ course with one of our clients recently and we had one of those great discussions about how we can use a coaching ‘style’ in many of our day-to-day conversations.

Many realised that they were probably coaching more than they thought!

The group began to really think about conversations that they had had recently where they could have used a coaching approach. There were so many examples of everyday situations where members of their team asked questions about their work and were automatically told what to do.

There are plenty of opportunities for us to use our coaching skills, especially in the workplace. We just need to notice that the conversation is presenting a chance for us to help the individual to think and act for themselves.

When we really think about how we participate in a conversation it can change it from a ‘good chat’ to one that can benefit the other person in terms of their learning and progress. Our mindset needs to shift, but it can be a simple adjustment.

Often the popular misconception is that a ‘coaching conversation’ takes place in a formal meeting over longer period of time. A coaching conversation may well take place in that environment but it can also be a quick chat, one that takes place over the coffee machine.  It can last ten minutes or two hours.

In was liberating for the group to realise that when deploying our coaching skills the timeframe, the subject matter and the location are largely irrelevant. It is how we participate in the conversation that matters the most.

By adopting a coaching mindset and deploying some simple coaching techniques we can transform our everyday conversations to produce fast and substantial results!

For more information on how to utilise a coaching style in your organisation and build a sustainable coaching culture talk to Edinburgh Coaching Academy.