Business Coaching

Formal coachingl coa

The most obvious characteristic of formal coaching is that coaching is being used explicitly - during the coaching session both parties are clear that they are engaged in 'coaching' and are committed to this process as well as the outcome.
Formal coaching usually takes place during scheduled appointments, so that time is set aside specifically for coaching work. By having dedicated sessions, the manager sends a powerful signal to individual team members that their development and success is important, and that she is there to provide support.
When a series of appointments are scheduled, coaching becomes a clearly defined programme, with the possibility of a definable beginning and end. This can have a motivating effect, with the well-known phenomenon of 'deadline magic' coming into play towards the end of the coaching process, when both coach and coachee focus their efforts on achieving the goal(s) within the allotted time.
The clear parameters of formal coaching mean that both coach and coachee tend to spend most coaching sessions in coaching mode - i.e. with the coachee doing most of the talking, and the coach primarily engaged in listening, asking questions and giving feedback, as described in the chapter on Key Coaching Skills.
Informal coaching
Informal coaching is a bit of a grey area - because coaching is used implicitly, as part of the everyday conversation between the manager and her team, it may be that neither party would describe the conversation as 'coaching'. Some team members are uncomfortable with the word ‘coaching’ or the idea of being coached - but respond well to a manager who takes the time to listen carefully to them and ask questions that empower them to find their own way of meeting a challenge or solving a problem, without being told what to do. Or a manager may be so familiar with the coaching approach (or it may be so similar to her natural communication style) that she may not consciously decide to 'coach' someone but instinctively listen and ask rather than 'tell and sell'.
Informal coaching does not take place in scheduled appointments but in everyday workplace conversations. These conversations may be short or long, one-to-one or within a group, task-focused or people-focused - what qualifies them as coaching is not a formal model or structure, but a style of conversation.
The coaching style of management is one in which the manager typically takes a 'step back' in order to empower team members and elicit their commitment and creativity, helping them to both get the job done and learn something new in the process. So instead of giving orders or dispensing knowledge, the manager asks questions and listens to see what team members come up with. For a manager-coach, coaching is not something that begins and ends with the coaching session or programme - asking questions, listening, empathising and giving observational (rather than judgmental) feedback are elements of her personal communication style. For a coaching organisation, the coaching style is simply 'the way we do things round here'.
Because informal coaching is a way of doing things rather than a clearly defined programme, there is no overall beginning and end, but an ongoing process. The coaching conversation becomes open-ended, with markers such as goal-setting and review occurring along the way, not as book-ends but part of a larger process of learning.
As informal coaching is not confined to formal sessions, the coaching style is not used exclusively but according to the demands of the situation, as part of a range of management styles. During a given conversation a manager may switch in and out of coaching mode, as well as using other management styles, as described in the chapter on Coaching and Leadership.