My leadership team and I will soon be discussing how we can improve upon our coaching sessions. In preparation of this, I would like to solicit YOUR feedback. I would appreciate your responses in the Comment section on the following:
- What makes an effective coaching session with a team member?
- How often do you coach a team member? Once a month? Twice a month?
- What is the difference between a team member who has experience vs one who demonstrates expertise? How does a team member move from experienced to expertise?
- How should talk the most in a coaching session – the coach or the team member?
You may respond to any or all of the above. Just make a note of the question you are answering by typing the corresponding number and then your answer.
Thank you in advance for your participation. No matter what part of the world you are in or what your occupation is, please share your thoughts! We can all learn from each other.
Go, Leader, Grow! 
Question #2: My job is very unique, but I do 1:1 life coaching everyday with students earning their 4-year Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. I coach once per week with each student. This coaching lasts 1-4 years, depending on how long it takes for the student to graduate.
Question #1 and #4: An effective coaching session would be encouraging insight (probing questions – asking/listening, getting them to “see” the answers through their own answers) and then accountability (consistency and follow-up by the student/team member and by me). I think that behaviors change when you have trust and accountability. I love the book: Crucial Accountability!
Question #3: It’s about trust, influence, and mutual goals. So, the approach has to be different for experienced, experts, young, older, single, married, etc. (we call this personalized mentoring). It’s about how to connect with that unique individual to help them have a growth mindset and to help move them in a positive direction. I love the books: Influencer by Patterson and Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck
Hope this helps!