Client query: When to Coach .... and when not to?

Academic over specialisation has caused many issues for organisations seeking to maximise their performance.

A key problem is the understandable loyalty experts have for their own specialisms and associated tools.

We found that, when asked, ‘what is the best response to x’ coaching specialists answer ‘coaching’ and constructive feedback specialists answer ‘constructive feedback’.

A more helpful approach integral to our Cathedral/Higher Purpose Model is to ask ‘ is the gap in performance discretionary (from good to great) or required (from below standard to standard)?’.

There are some exceptions but asking the question will prevent many of the costly mistakes that happen when leaders apply the wrong approach and coach when they should be giving constructive feedback and give constructive feedback when coaching would be better.