There are many different opinions as to what coaching is and also what it is not. If you look at coaching from a high level, the Merriam – Webster dictionary defines the root word coach as: to instruct, direct, or prompt as a coach. The common theme derived from this definition is guidance. The original Germanic term means to transport or move from one place to a new place. However, some organizations define coaching as the way to develop people and improve performance. Others say coaching is for confronting problems, empowering employees, and building support within an organization. In reality coaching is a combination of all these put together.

CMOE (Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness) has been helping organizations over the past three decades with their coaching needs. During that time our team has researched and studied what great coaches do. We have defined the process and behaviors that help managers succeed at this task that great coaches exhibit. At CMOE we believe Coaching to be an interactive process between organizational members aimed at achieving a positive influence on people's actions. Truly effective coaching should enhance communication, motivation, performance, awareness, and development regardless if you are facing performance problems or encouraging growth and personal development.

In our latest hardbound book on Coaching titled Win-Win Partnerships, we discuss how people today are generally more accepting and responsive to change if their leaders will be open and display trust and respect; hence the need for a great coach. Coaching should not push or drive individual talents, skills, and knowledge underground but should bring them out and use the often hidden potential employees possesses to create a great organization.

Coaching is about communication with those around you to create a better environment. If you take the time to learn and invest in the coaching process you will see dramatic improvements the performance of others that will lead to bottom line results. Coaching is a skill that takes time and takes practice to perfect.

If you would like to develop the skills for you or your leaders, please contact a CMOE representative to learn about our Coaching process. There is a reason why our coaching process has been translated into almost every major language and used by Fortune 500 companies and many multinational organizations for the past three decades. It works, it's proven, and it is a researched based process. Contact our main office today at (888)262-2499 or via email at info@cmoe.com

Quick Tip: A coaching conversation is collaborative discussion. Don't dominate the conversation, lead it with stimulating questions and you will get the greatest results.

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Christopher Stowell is the International Manager for CMOE. Chris has been assist organizations around the world in the areas of coaching, team development, and leadership development.