I remember being at a party with my sister and she was at a crossroads in her career. She was talking to one of my colleagues from work, who is a phenomenal coach. She was explaining her dilemma to him and his response was really interesting. He could have given her ideas, thoughts, suggestions, even a solution, but he didn’t. He just asked questions. He questioned her motivations, processes, ideas, goals, and over a very casual drink, she achieved clarity as to the solution that would work for her. She didn’t realize she had been coached, but she went and implemented her plan, as a result of this informal conversation.
One of six management styles, coaching lies at the opposite end of the spectrum to ‘command and control’ management styles. It is a set of tools and techniques to help someone achieve their goals, either personal or in business. It can help an individual, grow, develop and take ownership of the decisions that they are making.
If an individual comes to you for guidance and asks, “How do I do this?” It is very easy for you to simply tell them. Since you are giving them the answer, they are not taking ownership. This is where there is an opportunity to coach them. Because the reality is, they may have ideas, they may know what to do, they may just be lacking the confidence to do it. Coaching allows you to support them in that moment by asking questions.
Coaching Questions
Here are some questions to start off with. Try them out and see how the coachee responds.
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What is the outcome you are looking for?
- What have you tried so far?
- What was the result of that?
- How do you think you can achieve that? • What ideas have you had already?
- What would happen if you tried that?
- What is stopping you from trying it?
- What are you going to do next?
- When will you do that?
As you read these questions, you may realize that some of them are similar but are being asked in a different way. One of the techniques used in coaching is to frame questions differently to trigger alternative thought processes.
Coaching Benefits
The benefit of this style of coaching is the individual is empowered to own the solution and the implementation, they feel pride and excitement. They have been given the trust to put their ideas into place. As opposed to you just telling them what they need to do.
This leads to happier, more fulfilled staff members and a team that is more productive and takes ownership of what they are doing. The ripple effect it has on your patients is the environment shift – it is a far more dynamic, happier practice and therefore creates an enhanced patient experience, leading to higher conversion rates, better retention and more referrals.
About the Author
Chris Stock
Chris is a certified executive coach, a Neuro-linguistic programming coach and trainer who helps aesthetic practices convert leads into patients by delivering worldclass training and coaching. Prior to working with medical practices, Chris, a global leader in sales development, had an impressive portfolio of clients including Google, Adobe and GE Medical. He has translated world-class sales training to be specific to aesthetic practices. In doing so, he delivers transformational results.
