Coaching is by far the most rewarding management skill you can practice. When done well, coaching is a gift to both the coachee and the coach. However, before you can realize the value and power of coaching, you must understand what coaching is and what it is not. Consider these 5 "do's" and "do not's" of coaching:

• Effective coaches do not give the coachee the answers, solve their problems or tell them what they should do.
• Effective coaches do not look to control, dictate, know all the answers or focus on keeping all the decision-making authority.
• Effective coaches do facilitate conversations in which the coachee comes up with their own solution or decision. Effective coaches do posses the intention to have the coachee become increasingly more competent, confident and committed.
• Effective coaches do not give away the answers, but promote discovery in their coachee's thinking and guide them to their goal through the use of questioning and active listening.

You see, coaching is a process that engages and broadens the coachees' mindset so s/he can see options, choices and alternatives that they couldn't see before on their own.

When done well, coaching is a gift that benefits both parties. The coachee receives their coach's time, energy and interest. Plus, their confidence is bolstered and their ability to solve problems on their own, increases. On the flip side, the coach is the recipient of a more productive and engaged team member and eventually, receives the gift of time because now his/her staff can solve problems on their own, thus freeing up the coach to higher-order challenges.

Most importantly though, the coach and coachee develop a partnership – the roles of boss/employee are replaced with a mutually-supportive, high-trusting partnership that results in enhanced performance and engagement.

Coaching is one of the coolest gifts you can give someone - when was the last time you gave the real gift of coaching?

~ Beth Murphy