The 7 Most Common Mistakes of Coaches!

Coaching has become a necessary tool for managers and leaders today. However, many coaches do not perform well in their roles, and here are 7 reasons why.

1. They lack credibility

Some leaders lack credibility in terms of their character and competence. As a result, the coaching given is repudiated because the coachees do not respect them.

2. They talk too much 

More effective coaches have a knack of asking the right questions rather than telling their coachees.Some leader-coaches have the habit of just dishing advice without listening to their coachees.

3. They lack skills in asking questions

Some leader-coaches are not skilled in asking questions to get the right responses from their coachees. Many of them are not trained to do so, or go back to their default mode of advising, judging and listening to correct.

4. They don’t plan 

Some coaches do not plan their coaching goals, agenda and time. They should ask their coachees to prepare the agenda and send it to the coach ahead of time to avoid mostly exchanges of pleasantries and purposeless ramblings.

5. They don’t have chemistry with their coachees

Affinity is an important aspect in the coaching relationship. If there is a lack in affinity, it is difficult for the relationship to be open and transparent. It then becomes a must-do exercise, which brings us to the next mistake.

6. They see coaching as perfunctory 

Some coaches disdain coaching or do not believe coaching can do any good. They themselves have not benefitted from any coaching experience. But since the company leadership has mandated it, they do it perfunctorily. As a result, the effective is nullified.

7. They do not spend enough time 

The most common mistake of all is that most coaching sessions are rushed. Leader-coaches don’t spend enough time in the coaching. A carefully planned hour-long effective coaching session can save 100-hour of fire-fighting. Unfortunately, leaders tend to give this a low priority. They spend little time and therefore, coaching becomes ineffective.

Look at these 7 most common mistakes in coaching, please feel free to write me if you have others. Also, if you want to know how to deal with any of these factors, please write me  john.ng@meta.com.sg . I love to hear from you!