Following on from my last post where we looked at the structure of a first coaching session, here’s how to structure ongoing coaching sessions and review.- Review Coachee’s mood and current situation – this means checking how the person feels, what has happened and where believe they are now. However, this should not become the focus of the session.
- Check on assignment progress since last session – what the person believes they have learnt, what went well, what could have been done differently?
- Make a problem list for the current session – the Coachee may choose something from the original and ongoing Agenda or, want to develop something he or she discovered from undertaking the assignment or the person may wish to add a new item to the existing ones.
- Work on chosen Agenda item from list in session – this means the Coachee needs to choose one item to work on.
- Ask/help Coachee to set next Assignment – as the session progresses it is likely that action items will come to light and that these are likely to form the basis of the Coachee’s next assignment.
- Ask for feedback on coaching session. As with all sessions a simple request for feedback is made of the Coachee as such feedback ensures that the Coachee takes responsibility for his or her sessions.
Reviews
Although each session has a space for a mini-review of work at the end, it can also be helpful to set specific dates for more formalised reviews. If, for example, you have a 12-week programme with a Coachee, you might want to set a formal review at around session 6 or if you have agreed 4 sessions, you might want a formal review in session two.
The idea of a formal review is to encourage the Coachee to take responsibility for his or her progress by focusing the person on the task in hand.
The Coach can ask the Coachee at the previous session to consider three questions for consideration at the Review.
The Review comprises of three simple steps:
- Where was the Coachee when they first started Coaching with you? The Coach asks the person to consider, “where were you when you first started the coaching process?”
- Where does the Coachee perceive themselves to currently be, what progress has been made, what have they learnt etc.? The Coach asks the person to consider, “where are you now?”
- What does the Coachee perceive they need to work on for the remaining time? The Coach asks the person to consider, “what else do you feel you need to do?”
The Review also provides an opportunity for you to provide your feedback.
You may also be interested in an ‘Introduction to Cognitive Behavioural Coaching’ Quick Start Guide.
