The Importance of Behavioral Coaching

There are many important reasons for hiring a coach. Companies may hire one to help develop individuals identified as high potential, facilitate role transitions, act as a sounding board, or address performance issues. Individuals may hire a coach to help them in their own career path development, job searches, transitions, or other personal development. Many coaches are hired because of their own personal business experience. This is also true of leaders who try to serve as internal coaches. Their advice is based on their own industry specific skills, such as: project planning, strategic planning, team building, time management, goal setting, etc. This type of coaching provides guidance on what to do to be better, what to change, and what is a standard for high performance. However, your goal is not to be a copy of someone else but rather the best version of yourself. That requires an understanding of the developmental complexities that make each of us the unique person we are and the relational dynamics that determine how we act in conjunction with ourselves and others. Behavioral coaching is an effective tool for developing the behavioral and relational tools that will enhance your performance and help you achieve long-term success.

Behaviors are important because they are what others experience and effect the way they respond to you as an individual or as part of a group. That is why the coaching done by Cooper Margolin is behavioral based and focuses on the way we act in conjunction with ourselves and others. Most people are hired for the skills they have developed through education and hard work. Those skills are predominately technical skills that are needed for “doer” roles. However, no matter how good your technical skills are, they will not help you be seen as a leader or to perform effectively, efficiently, and successfully as a leader. There are some key differences between a doer and leader role. The first difference is the breadth of your scope of function. As a doer, you might collaborate with colleagues across the organization to achieve organization goals, but your primary focus is centered on your assigned area, project, or transaction.  It is a ME type of performance where other people are used to enhance the results you are seeking. Leaders, however, must stay on top of all activities they lead either directly or through internal partnerships.  They need to build top quality teams and are responsible for all the work that is being done under and related to their leadership.

The second difference is the level of expectations. As an individual doer or even as a doer who is part of a team lead by another you certainly have expectations for your performance.  However, leaders must deliver on their own personal goals as well as make sure that their team delivers on team goals as well as the team’s part of the overall company vision and goals. The expectations become more demanding and tougher to meet if you have not developed a high level of relational and behavioral skills. Leading people is an art and takes a collection of key tools that can be learned by working with a skilled behavioral coach. In addition, the behavioral skills that help you be a successful leader are the same ones that will help you be seen as a leader. Therefore, you can practice them to become a leader of yourself first and a leader of others next.

Keep in mind that it is the client who sets the goals for coaching. When we are hired by a company to coach someone, the company is the client. If an individual hires us, they are the client. We customize each engagement to meet our client’s goals. Because coaching is a highly personal process, it is important to be comfortable with the person you hire. To help you get to know our coaching, we offer a free fifteen-minute phone consultation to discuss your goals for coaching. The good news is that behavioral change can happen if you care, want to work on an issue, are willing to try to change, see a need to change, and are willing to give a fair chance for actual change to happen. We use a proprietary feedback driven approach to help our clients achieve measurable, meaningful, and long-lasting behavioral changes. With the right coach and a commitment to the coaching process, individuals and organizations can realize significant benefits.