Leadership Moments 2/2012: About Coaching

Hi everyone,

I'm back and welcome to another sharing on my leadership moments 2/2012. Some time in June, my Staff Development Division sent a broadcast out to all leaders in the organisation to encourage them to share some insights on their coaching experiences. I decided to make my contribution by putting all my thinking on coaching into a mind map for sharing.


"The test of a good coach is that when they leave, others will carry on successfully."Author Unknown 



I'm very lucky to have very good coaches throughout my 16 years of service in my organisation. These wonderful coaches of mine shaped my mental models, thinking and behaviors. All my coaches in the past and present contributed to the leader and coach I am today.

Jimmy as a coach is still work in progress. Every encounter with an individual I work with is a new coaching experience. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to coaching. The following are some of my thinking, assumptions and sharing on coaching. I hope you will find them useful as a leader.

"Part therapist, part consultant, part motivational expert, part professional organizer, part friend, part nag -- the personal coach seeks to do for your life what a personal trainer does for your body." Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune



My assumptions about people as far as coaching is concern

1. People are insecure and they don't like uncertainty. As a coach, I will give them confidence, certainty and show them hope whenever possible.

2. People like to feel special and appreciated. As a coach, sincerely compliment and appreciate them whenever possible. Do it both at the individual and group level.

3. People sometimes lack direction or may be traveling in the wrong direction. Navigate with them (like a captain of a ship) and share your life experience to help them in their journey.

4. People tend to be interested in themselves first. As a coach, always see from their perspective, seek first to understand and speak to their needs first!

5. When people is low and out, encourage them. Cheer them on and support them to the best of your abilities.

6. Lastly, people want to be successful. As a coach do your best to clear their path (like a Combat Engineer in the army - I use this example very often) and help them to win and succeed!


"You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within." Bob Nelson

I never cease to be amazed at the power of the coaching process to draw out the skills or talent that was previously hidden within an individual, and which invariably finds a way to solve a problem previously thought unsolvable. John Russell



3 Keys principle I try to follow when I coach

1. Be personal, always build the relationship first

I am a highly adaptable person. I can easily blend in with the people I am with and connect with them quickly. For example, whenever I am with young people, I will be young! When I am with intellectuals, I talk differently. When I am with bosses, I put myself in their shoes, think and communicate like them. In other words, I behave, speak and thinking differently with different people I am with to connect. As a coach, you must be interested in people and their needs. You cannot start coaching anyone before you connect with them.

You cannot teach a person anything; you can only help him find it within himself. Galileo Gallilei

2. Be authentic

I always tell my staff every human being is a walking lie detector. You cannot fake it if you are not interested. This is critical when it comes to coaching. You must be sincere!

“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” John Wooden


3. Be patient

Coaching takes time besides skills. You need time and experience to become better (you cannot give what you don't have). You need time to connect with the person before coaching. And to influence and help anyone through coaching, it will not happen overnight. You will encounter setbacks and failures. Most importantly, never give up and keep trying. To do that, you need to be patient and believe in others!


"Make no mistake, as you change your leadership style to one of a coach you will face challenges. There will be times when you question why am I doing this. However, you must at all times keep the long term benefits of being a coach at the forefront of your mind." Byron & Catherine Pulsifer


“Failure is good. It's fertilizer. Everything I've learned about coaching, I've learned from making mistakes.” Rick Pitino


I hope you will find this sharing on coaching useful. Do share with me your comments and thinking. :)

"The goal of coaching is the goal of good management: to make the most of an organization's valuable resources." HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

* Any unauthorized redistribution or reproduction of the mind maps is not allowed without written permission from Jimmy Lee. Copyright Jimmy Lee 2012.