When I’m developing my understanding of something, I try to research the underlying cognitive story. In this case, I’m thinking about coaching, and it’s not always easy to find handy books or articles. So, I’m relying on some cognitive storytelling here. (Feel free to lob same if you know some good guides to what the underlying mental aspects are!) It’s in the broader context of bridging, as I’m thinking about the different ways to accomplish.
To start, some terminology. There are, as I see it, two approaches. The first is where, as coach, you’re helping someone get on their feet in a domain you know. That’s the classic example of sports coaching, and that’s where my thinking normally goes. Then, I’ve found through conversations with Emma Weber, amongst others, that there’s ‘domain independent’ coaching. Here, we’re deliberately not experts in the game, and instead are focused on process. For some, that is what coaching is. If so, then what’s the label for the domain-dependent coaching? There’s also ‘mentoring’, but that always seemed more career-focused than domain-specific. So, I’ll try to be clear on what I’m talking about.
So, formal instruction typically, and for the sake of argument we’ll assume here, takes you to an initial state of capability. There’re models, examples, and simulated practice. Importantly, there’s feedback. Then, at some point, you are expected to take that ability, ideally determined to be at a certain measurable level, and start applying it in the workplace. What’s important is the feedback. Yes, the world will give you some, and that’s a slow way to develop. Can we accelerate that? That’s why we have coaching! It’s all about providing feedback on performance, in the real world.
However, we know that the learning typically can evaporate quickly if it’s not applied right away. So here’s where I suggest we still need domain-specific feedback. There is a line, and it probably falls on ‘when the learner is ready’, between when you provide directive feedback, and when you start asking the learner what they did right/wrong.That’s an important line, and we probably don’t talk enough about it: when do you stop telling folks what the right model is, and start asking?
Once they’ve mastered the nuances enough to start self-evaluating, we can move on to more domain-independent coaching. Though here’s where I wonder…I’m thinking of sports. There’s coaching for beginners, but once you move to a certain level, there’s a need for more advanced coaches. Top athlete coaching is very different than the coaching for new players. Really, for most sports there’re levels of capability and competency. If you’re going deep, you need deeper support. In orgs, maybe most of the time we just need people to be competent, and can develop the expertise over time (or not at all). However, if we want expertise, maybe we need more advanced domain-coaching?
I also have thoughts on domain-independent coaching, but I think that’s suitable for another post. Stay tuned!
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