Overcoming Barriers to the Use of On-demand Coaching – Part 2

In our last blog we talked about the obvious need for more coaching support for more people at work. We made clear our believe that on-demand virtual coaching is an “obvious” answer both for people who want to coach themselves or others.

But as we also suggested, what’s “obvious” to us may not be obvious to others because people’s expectations about what coaching is and how it must be provided may limit their receptivity to alternative approaches.

This blog and the two that follow each discuss a different barrier to the wider use and acceptance of on-demand virtual coaching. And, because we believe in on-demand coaching, we’ll also include some “coaching advice” to help readers think through their objections and reconsider what may be long held traditional beliefs about how coaching is provided.

Let’s start with a refresher.

By on-demand coaching we are referring to coaching support provided virtually and used by individuals to coach themselves. In addition to coaching self, it can be used to coach others.

Coaching on demand is not competitive with person-to-person coaching nor is it designed to replace live coaches. Rather, it is a way to extend the benefits of coaching to a broader audience, by providing an alternative and supplemental way of providing it.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to using on-demand coaching is the belief that if someone needs coaching the only or the best way to get it is by hiring a coach – an external one or finding someone within the organization. In other words, the barrier is thinking that the only way to get coaching support is to use a professionally trained coach – someone educated in the art and science of coaching people for improved performance and success.

Thinking that coaching needs a live coach Is sensible and it is likely that there is agreement that the gold standard for coaching success is to utilize a skilled coach.

But even if there is a coach available, and especially when one is not, it is possible, with targeted on-demand coaching, to get the help everyone needs, values, and appreciates.

To overcome this barrier – this preventive mind-set — here are some ideas to help you broaden your thinking about and receptivity to self-coaching and the use of on-demand coaching solutions.

Tip one:

Model the reality that one can and often should coach themselves. If you are a manager, try coaching yourself then share your experience with others around you. Identify one thing you’d like to improve or challenge you’d like to overcome and do the following:

• Ask yourself what’s holding you back.
• Seek advice from others.
• Read a book or articles about the subject.
• Observe others who seemed to excel in the area you find challenging.

In other words, try coaching yourself, then make it clear to others that coaching oneself is important and necessary to success in any field. It doesn’t deny the value of having a personal coach. Rather, it makes clear how self-coaching can help especially when access to a live coach is not possible.

Tip Two:

Offer some specific suggestions to people who are struggling with workplace issues. Use your own experience or consider resources you have tried or heard about. Get in the habit of suggesting the use of experimentation at work by being open to trying various new approaches and then evaluating the results.

Tip Three:

Search and find one or two articles or podcasts that might be useful to someone struggling with a workplace issue. Offer your suggestions in a helpful, supportive, and positive way.

Tip Four:

Ask a person struggling some simple yet powerful questions. For example:

• What have you already tried and what happened?
• What advice have you considered?
• What ideas have you tried.
• Whether successful or not – what did you learn?
• What ideas have you discarded that might be worth another look?
• What new ways are you open to trying?

In other words, get people working on solving and working through their own problems.

Accepting the need for and benefits associated with self-coaching is step one for helping people address workplace challenges. To do this, you must work to overcome the self-imposed barrier that says using a personal coach is the only way to solve problems and address workplace performance issues and be open to alternative approaches.