Advanced skills training for coaches
Once coaches have some initial experience, they typically want to consolidate and grow their skills. Some of the practical ways internal coaching programmes meet this need include:
- Webinars demonstrating tools and techniques, or different approaches
- Newsletters, covering similar content
- Short masterclasses
- Regular feedback from coaches and coachees about their experience, to inform the selection of themes for these interventions
- Supervision groups – an opportunity to share experience with peers and receive guidance from a qualified mentoring supervisor
- Using experienced coaches to mentor new coaches
- Coach development centres, where coaches experience the same level of observation that professional executive coaches would undergo in a coach assessment centre, but with more feedback and with the addition of a year-long Action Learning set
For those line manager coaches, who want to be recognised for their skills in the role, there is a plethora of qualifications, many of them accredited by one or more of the three main professional organisations in the field (International Coach Federation, European Mentoring & Coaching Council, Association for Coaching) and/or by universities. The Foundation Level programmes tend to be very basic and may not add much know-how beyond what the line manager coach has already received in his or her initial training, However, there are several further levels of accreditation beyond this, which can add greatly to the coach’s ability. For those with many hours of mentoring experience, the European Mentoring and Coaching Council’s European Individual Award provides the most substantial recognition, being based on evidence of coaching efficacy.
© David Clutterbuck, 2015
Prof David Clutterbuck
Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd
Woodlands, Tollgate,
Maidenhead,
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ
www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
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