Coaching for Commitment

When you are coaching people, it is your job as the coach to help them develop crystal clarity as to their action plans. If they leave the meeting not quite sure of what they are going to do, the session was (almost) wasted.

Just finished a helpful book called "Coaching for Commitment" by Dennis Kinlaw. He makes this statement, "Ambivalence and confusion are the enemies of commitment" (Kinlaw, p. 11). People need to know what they are going to do before they can commit to it.

So he itemizes four ways to test a person's core values and commitments before the session is over:

1. Talk about the person's core values
It is what a person holds close to their heart which will impact future performance and behavior. What do they really value? That is what will get done. You as the coach want to check if their core values match their stated action plans. They may say that they are going to improve a particular program, but it will not happen unless they hold in high esteem the goals of that ministry or program.

2. Raise Real Problems
Talk about specific situations and ask how they would handle them. This gives you, and them, a better insight as to what is important to them.

3. Discuss Priorities
During your coaching sessions, raising up the issue of priorities, helps to surface internal values, by helping them to talk about what is important to them by comparing options. "Would you do this first, or that first?"

4. When a completed task fails to meet expectations
This is a good time to examine root values which may have led to the less than hoped for results. This is a great time to reveal values.

If a person has crystal clarity about what is important to them, and what are their highest values, or what they will never stand for, or what is the greatest good in their opinion, you will be able to help them fashion action plans which match their values and have the greatest chance of success.

This is one of your roles as a good coach.

Later,

Dr. Bill