MSLD 633 Module 7- How Do Coaches Help?

To be an executive coach, it is necessary to know that clients are the first and best experts capable of solving their own problems and achieving their own ambitions; that is precisely the main reason why clients are motivated to call on a coach. When clients bring important issues to a coach, often they already made a complete inventory of their personal or professional issues and identified all possible (known) options. Clients have already tried working out their issues alone, and have not succeeded.

As the statement above mentioned, everyone is an expert of themselves. Despite the knowledge and ability in making the best decisions, it is important to keep in mind that self-decisions often times follow a one-side approach. According to Nosich (2012), effective decision-making is established with sufficient and relevant information. Information not only includes general research and data, but also includes different point-of-views (Nosich, 2012). This is where coaching comes to play: as it provides confidence, clarity, as well as additional information to enhance ones’ knowledge. Coaching is what I primarily do for my current position as an academic advisor. While my students are overall independent, it is important to keep in mind that obstacles may come across throughout their degree program. Whether it’s personal or academic-related, our goal is to provide both informational and emotional support to overcome these obstacles.

Academic assistance is the primary form of coaching at my campus, and this includes anywhere from providing clarifications to making recommendations. Perhaps the most common form of coaching is making course recommendations. When students visit or contacts me for assistance, they almost always have some kind of plan developed. While I respect their preferences, my goal is to provide information that they might consider. For example, I usually suggest some elective courses that I or another student found helpful. Unlike regular information (database, policies, etc.), word-of-mouth not only informs the student, but they can see information from a similar perspective. By viewing a situation from "others' shoes", they may be able to obtain additional information they initially were not aware about that may help them make more effective decision-making. 

While clarifying and providing additional information is important in coaching, I also believe that emotional support can be just as important. According to Whetten and Cameron (2016), there is a tie between emotions and productivity. It is not uncommon to come across students who are stressed, worried, and struggling with their degree progress. When a student is worried about a particular class for example, I try to share success stories. For example, I had a student last year that became worried about retaking a physics class he failed the previous term. Rather than simply giving him a "good luck", I told him a story of how it is actually common for students to retake the course and that even I had to retake the class myself. I told him that since he already has some previous background knowledge, re-taking the class should be much easier. Often times, students regain some confidence and when success does happen, the relationship between the student and I usually strengthen. 

References:

Nosich, G.D. (2012). Learning To Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum. Boston: Pearson Education.

Whetten, D. A. & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills, 9th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.