Coaching

(another Effective Structure)

Coaching is not about telling others what to do, but helping people discover for themselves what God is calling them to do. It is the process of coming alongside a person or team to help them discover God's agenda for their life and ministry, and then cooperating with the Holy Spirit to see that agenda become a reality.
The North American Division (SDA) Evangelism Institute

A coach helps someone else succeed. Bob Logan (author of Coaching 101 - our textbook) says that success is "Find out what God wants you to do, and do it"

Coaching is one of the Effective Structures we are building to support you in ministry.

What Coaching Isn't

• Telling others what to do


• Mentoring


• Being the expert
  

What Coaching Is

• Listening


• Asking good questions to help people sort things out in their mind


• Let them come to their own conclusion


• Encouraging them to do what they come up with.
  

Why Coach?

• It keeps people focused on what is important


• It is fun. There is serious joy in working with God to achieve things in this world.


• It works. People actually get things done. As a coached leader said "I get more done as a result of one one hour coaching conversation than in a year of meetings."
  

My experience is pretty limited but this week I was sitting in the staff room eating my lunch and reading Coaching 101 (what else?) and not really hearing two staff complaining about how their jobs were getting so hard.

When one of them left to have a cigarette and the other turned to me and continued complaining. I tried to ignore her but realised (well duh...) here was a "coaching opportunity". So reluctantly closing my book, I turned to my ditzy blonde friend and asked one of the "good questions" (We'll work through the list of questions, the starting questions are all in Coaching 101). Here is a summary of the conversation:

"So what would you rather be doing at work?"
She stopped and thought and answered.
"Have you ever done that?"
Ditzy Blonde "Yes, last week I did ...."
"Why do you think you enjoyed it so much?"
DB "I guess because I had more control and I could use my enthusiasm for ..."
"So what would you need to do to get more of this?"
DB "Well... I could get my boss to ... and I could ..."
(I then made my first statement)
"I think you should... (slightly rephrased her last answer)."

Her workmate had finished her cigarette and came back in about then, at which my friend enthused "Hey you know what, Bruce and I have been having a great talk and I reckon if we ... Thanks Bruce, that was really good advice!"

I hurried back to work before I got another "client" and before DB realised that I had, in fact, not given her any "advice" at all. The agenda, goals and action plans were all hers.

That was coaching, and it was fun. Much more fun than I expected.

We will be starting training soon. How involved will it be? Bob Logan says that you can start as an effective coach after only three hours of training. So 3 hours training,, spread over 2 Sabbath afternoons, is coming up and with all the resources around Coaching 101, many of you will make great coaches.