Success at becoming a coach depends on your learning style and how committed you are to the process. For best results, combine at least several of the methods listed below.
1. Listen to coaching classes. Passive attendance in coaching classes is probably the most common method that people use to learn to coach and it can work - eventually. Problem is, you’re not really learning coaching, you’re just learning
about coaching. (Big distinction.)
School of Coaching Mastery has many classes you can listen to and we encourage you to do far more than that, as well. Read on…
2. Listen to masterful coaching demonstrations. Here, you’re getting much closer to learning to coach. You’re hearing what works. (However, sometimes hearing what
doesn’t work is even more enlightening and actually practicing coaching is better still!) All our coaching skills classes include coaching demonstrations from some of the top instructors in the field.
3. Practice coaching other coaches. This is a fantastic way to learn, because it strengthens your coaching muscles and gives you a safe space to make mistakes. (To get full value, though, you need to be willing to screw up in front of your friends! ;-) SCM coaching skills Modules always include practice periods where everyone gets a chance to use what they just learned and we encourage you to practice outside classes and give you tools for finding practice partners, a.k.a. “coaching buddies”, easily. Join the
SCHOOL OF COACHING MASTERY ON FACEBOOK to find coaching buddies now.
4. Get expert verbal feedback on your coaching. This is one of the best ways to learn. Get immediate feedback from an expert. Some coaches are afraid to experience this, but when done well, it’s inspiring, not painful. You learn what works, what doesn’t, why you got stuck, why you succeeded, and/or why the client resisted and how to do it even better next time. Great stuff! (Why struggle along, not knowing if you’re doing it right?) At SCM you’ll get frequent feedback on your coaching from your instructors in class and private email feedback after class. Without it, learning coaching skills can feel like target practice in a dark room! Click the link for upcoming
coaching classes where you can get feedback are here.
5. Listen to recordings of yourself coaching. This is priceless! You’ll be surprised what you hear and what you learn. (Former President of the IAC,
Natalie Tucker Miller, MMC, says she still records her coaching sessions for her own learning.) Your SCM classes are all recorded and you’ll receive those recordings by email within 24 hours, so you can hear everything you may have missed.
6. Read expert written notes about your coaching. This is even more powerful when you follow up verbal feedback with reading written notes and listening to the recording of your coaching session. Big “Aha’s” happen here. (As one coach put it, “Now I’m not flying blind, anymore!”) You’ll get frequent written feedback on your coaching if you take our Coaching Groundwork Advanced or Master Coach Training series. We don’t know of another coaching school that does this for its students.
Check out upcoming Coaching Groundwork Advanced and Master Coach Training modules.
7. Listen to your peers coach and take detailed notes. This uses your brain in a whole different way. When you write down what you’re hearing, you’re imprinting what you’re learning. SCM classes use ICF and IAC scorecards to speed up your learning this way and you can use these scorecards to score yourself when you listen to recordings of your own coaching, too.
8. Give verbal feedback to your peers about their coaching. When you articulate specific feedback about what you heard (Not just “It was nice”), you take a stand for what you know and you find out quickly if you’re on the right track. You’ll learn how to deliver excellent feedback in our Masteries Classes. Learning to do this, while being in service to your colleagues' learning, is fun!
9. Meet in study groups with your peers. No “experts” allowed! Without the presence of a teacher or any other “expert”, coaches start to step up and take ownership of what they know. Often, this is a crucial final step to becoming masterful. (Peer-to-peer learning is powerful!) That’s why SCM has ongoing study groups, hosted by coach/students, like you, meeting every month and they’re free. Go here to find out more:
Coaching Study Groups10. Coaching real clients. (What a concept! ;-). This obviously is what you’re preparing for. Coach real people in real situations. Develop ongoing relationships with clients, because that relationship is about a lot more than one coaching session. If you can get feedback from your clients, that’s a hundred times better. This is one of the many reasons why the
Coach 100 Revolution has been so successful. Coaches get written feedback from everyone they coach and find out what works from the client’s perspective. The Coach 100 Revolution is included in the SCM Full Coach Training program.
School of Coaching Mastery is the only coaching school that incorporates all of these methods into our coach training programs and that’s why our coaches learn so much, so fast. To get on the fast track to masterful coaching,
join us here.To talk to a real person and ask questions you may have about the school, call 877-244-2780
Great fallout from the Best Coaching Blogs Contest continues to roll in.
