Changing someone’s behavior is tricky, to say the least. Whether you are trying to get someone to give up smoking or persuade them to take more frequent breaks, altering their habits can be quite a struggle. Read this article to learn how to improve your coaching skills for the better.
However, when changing behaviors seems impossible, that is when things start to turn around.
Confronting people about their bad habits can backfire and make things even worse for them. It may hurt their feelings and make them defensive, which only makes it harder to change anything.
When you are a successful coach, you know how to deal with both of these situations. You learn how to push through those barriers and achieve your goal!
But what if there was no need to push through that resistance? What if you could easily accomplish your task without confronting anyone?
Fortunately, this isn’t like asking someone to agree to give up chocolate once a month – we can all agree that monthly chocolates are way too much sometimes. So, here are some ways to improve your coaching skills so that you don’t have to confront anyone ever again.
These tips will help you become a much better coach, not just in motivating others, but also in avoiding arguments where possible. When needed, use one or several of these strategies to bring about lasting changes.
Ask more questions
A lot of people assume that being a good coach means telling people what to do and then watching them do it. That’s not a bad thing, but there is another way to be a great leader.
As a leadership expert, I spend a lot of time educating other leaders about different concepts and strategies. In fact, one of my most popular courses is called “Become a Great Coach.”
In this course, I teach participants how to become effective coaches by learning some basic principles such as creating win-win scenarios and motivating others.
However, these lessons are only helpful if you know how to ask smart coaching questions. It sounds crazy, but asking enough qualified questions can make or break your career as a manager.
Make eye contact to improve your coaching skills
One of the biggest non-verbal cues is making direct, meaningful eye contact with someone. When you look people in their eyes, they will feel seen and understood – something that most humans need from time to time!
Making eye contact shows interest in what others have to say and encourages them to do the same. It’s also a way to keep conversations going as you lose focus when you don’t make direct eye contact with anyone.
When your coach doesn’t make eye contact with you it can come across as cold or even disrespectful. You might want to consider whether this style of communication works for you both.
If you are not getting enough responses then try asking about things more directly, but remember that silence is sometimes needed to emphasize how important something is.
Also, if your coach looks like he/she is close to tears try offering him/her some relief by expressing your understanding and let them work through it without pressure.
Be consistent if you want to improve your coaching skills
Consistency is one of the key ingredients in professional development. If you’re going to learn new things, you have to do it consistently every day for an extended period of time.
Professional coaches are constantly developing their skills because they’re always seeking out ways to improve themselves. They read books, attend seminars, meet with mentors, and work with colleagues to hone their craft.
By being consistent, you expose yourself to more effective coaching strategies and techniques. Over time, this changes your approach and helps you become a better coach.
Consistency can be hard at times, but if you’re committed to improving yourself as a leader then you need to make sacrifices NOW!
You must believe in yourself and what you’re working towards so that you can keep motivated. It takes a lot of effort, but eventually, it will pay off.
Provide structure to improve your coaching skills
As mentioned before, one of the biggest issues that coaches face is providing enough structure for their athletes. This isn’t only true when an athlete feels they are being overlooked or left out, it is also true when an athlete needs more guidance on how to improve.
As a coach, you can be in the top 1% of professional sports professionals who get paid very well, but if your players don’t respect you then you aren’t helping anyone.
Your players will never truly believe that you know what you are talking about unless they see it with their own eyes.
That is why I suggest going into at least half of your practices as structured. This could mean having drills such as sprints, skips, footwork exercises, and so on.
Having these types of workouts not only helps your player learn the basics of the game, but also gives them some basic skills they can apply during a real game situation.
Be optimistic
Even though you may not see immediate results, do not give up! Changing someone’s behavior is difficult, but it is possible if you keep putting effort into it.
It will take time for them to change their habits, but they will eventually realize how much you care about them. Keep showing interest in what they are doing and encouraging them to try harder, and they will reward you with positive changes.
Never assume that something does not work; always believe that there is at least one thing you can try. It will take some time, but you will get through this process!
Optimism is key when trying to improve others’ performance. If you cannot be positive, then at least be confident enough to believe that things can get better for them.
Never give up! Never underestimate the power of motivation.
Make it clear you are an expert
As mentioned earlier, being a good coach comes down to how well you serve as a mentor and leader for others. You can’t expect people to look up to you if you don’t believe in yourself as an expert in your field.
So why not use that confidence to inspire and motivate other individuals? Why not help them achieve their goals by proving that you know what you’re talking about?
By acting like an authority in your area, you will draw attention to yourself and your knowledge and skills. At the same time, you’ll be encouraging others to work hard and reach their dreams.
At its most basic level, this is what leadership is – someone who sets standards and encourages others to meet those expectations.
Help clients identify their weaknesses
A strong coach is someone who helps you develop your strengths and works with you to address your weaknesses. You can learn something new from just about anyone, including yourself.
Clients come in all shapes and sizes, which makes it difficult to know what they are lacking. If you cannot determine that, then you do not have an adequate level of coaching skills.
As a professional coach, you should be able to recognize your limitations and those of others. By doing so, you will realize that you need to improve certain things for your career to stay afloat.
It’s important to remember that no one is better than anyone else- we all have our strengths and weaknesses. No one has special knowledge or skill sets that everyone doesn’t already have!
By being aware of yourself and helping other people find theirs, you will set yourselves apart as professionals and leaders in the field.
Help clients identify what they can do to improve
A large part of being a good coach is helping your clients find their strengths. This article will discuss some ways you can help them do that.
Clients come to you for help with all sorts of things — something very important is if you can connect with them and help them feel like they’re in control, then they will be happier.
It’s hard to help people when they don’t seem to want to help themselves, so one of the first things should be identifying what your client’s weaknesses are.
Once they know that, they can work on improving or changing it. It might be something they’re not strong at now, but could use some help with, or maybe they need to learn more about it.
Alternatively, they might just realize they’re better off leaving this field alone because they’re not doing well enough.