Coaching
Unlocking individual's potential
Coaching unlocks an individual’s potential to maximise their performance by focusing on what’s inside their head and helping them to find the answers to their own problems.
New!
- Organisational Development are excited to announce the launch of the Coaching Culture Platform, providing you with ‘in the moment’ development you can use to grow your skills and mindset. Log on to the platform and see what is available to support your development.
- The Coaching Professional Apprenticeship is a new and exciting way to develop your coaching capability and obtain a coaching qualification. Interested? Click here to find out more and contact Organisational Development if you have any questions.
You can click here to find out more about coaching at Aston.
The Organisational Development Department takes a blended learning approach to developing coaching capability and offers the following development opportunities:
- Coaching for non-coaches: this is an introduction to coaching and is a series of 10 modules lasting 12 minutes a module, creating a two-hour course overall. Email Organisational Development to gain access.
- Introduction to Coaching Journey: provides an overview of what coaching is, the benefits of coaching and how to begin.
- Manager as a Coach Journey: deepens your coaching skills and is suitable for managers, heads of departments or those with a supervisory role who have people to coach and develop.
- ILM Level 5 Certificate in Coaching and Mentoring: aimed primarily at managers who have people to develop and coach and who wish to gain a coaching qualifiation and subsequently offer coaching to other University staff (5 months duration approximately)
- Level 5 Coaching Professional Apprenticeship
- Level 5 Coaching Qualification Comparison
You can access the Coaching Framework here:
Coaching Pool
To further expand the development opportunities available to all staff at all levels, the Coaching Pool, managed and supported by Organisational Development, provides the opportunity for people to work with a qualified coach. If you have development needs which you feel more traditional approaches, such as training, can't really address, then you might want to consider working with one of our coaches. Coaching can be for when you feel stuck and need to talk and think things through or when you want to develop and enhance your performance.
To request a coach, fill out this form and forward it to the Organisational Development Team
External Coaches
Sometimes it is beneficial to work with an external coach. An external coach usually works independently or runs a small consultancy offering a coaching service to organisations. Independent coaches sometimes specialise in specific areas such as management of change, creating a vision and other leadership issues. An external coach may also have extensive experience of a specific sector.
The factors which might influence you in deciding whether to work with an external coach include cost, availability and the nature of the issue(s) you want to work on. OD has a list of preferred external coaches. These people are known to us and have a successful track record as coaches.
Payment for a coaching programme is covered by the school/department.
If you are a manager and would like to explore external coaching for yourself or a member of staff, contact the Coaching and Mentoring Team.
Action Learning Sets
Action Learning Sets - guide
Action Learning Sets - process
Coaching FAQs
- How does coaching support the University strategy?
Major drivers of change in the H.E. sector include government policy, economic growth, demographic changes, increased provider competition and the impact of technology on teaching and learning. Together these factors mean that to continue to be a successful university in the future we will need to:
- Diversify revenue by being beneficiary focused and market–led
- Demonstrate continuing relevance to industry partners
- Operate professionally with agility and pace
A coaching culture has been proven to enable agility and innovation and an environment of continuous improvement. Within a coaching culture people tend to feel more empowered to take action and look for ways to improve.
- What is coaching?
Coaching is having effective conversations to realise potential, solve problems and face challenges.Coaching is working 1 to 1 or within teams with an accredited coach who is able to help you think through aspects of your work and help to you find a way forward. They do this through questioning and listening techniques as well as introducing models to help you think in different ways.
Although the coach will manage the process of coaching, the content of the discussion is down to you. Therefore it is very personal development aimed directly at helping you achieve your work based goals.
Coaching is seen as a time-limited process (usually 2-6 sessions) focusing on the identification and realisation of goals/priorities; emphasising your ability to think, feel and behave differently in relation to your work, and to help you develop and improve in your role.
- What does coaching involve?
Sessions normally last between 1-2 hours. They may be face to face or over the telephone/Skype. The coach may come to your place of work, or you might prefer another location for sessions (being away from your usual environment can often be beneficial for focused sessions).
All of this you will agree with your coach and line manager/sponsor when you are setting up the arrangements.Agreeing to work with a coach means you are likely to need time away during working hours to attend sessions, but remember this is time away to focus on topics required for your work, and therefore should be treated as a valuable use of your time that you commit to attend.
You will need a willingness to be challenged, be up for trying out new things and committed to develop. If you can answer 'yes' to the following questions you will be able to make the most of the opportunity:
- Do I allow myself to be open and honest?
- Am I committed to put the time in to make this work?
- How does coaching differ from mentoring?
Mentors have more expertise in specific areas the mentee is looking to work on. A mentor is often seen as someone in a more senior position but can also be someone less senior with particular experience - this is known as 'Reverse Mentoring'.The mentee learns from and is inspired by the mentor's experience and the mentor will tend to guide the mentee on how to achieve a specific goal.
A coach does not need knowledge, experience or expertise in any specific area, they will facilitate the thinking of the coaches to enable themto come up with their own solutions.
Mentoring relationships tend to be longer term whereas coaching relationships are time/session limited to focus on specific goals over a shorter period of time (less than 12 months).
- How can coaching help me?
Coachees who have had a coach identified the following benefits of coaching:
- Improved confidence to lead and manage difficult situations
- Improved productivity through identifying and making changes to managing their teams
- Improved delegation and time management giving themselves greater capacity
- Significant improvement in relationships with colleagues
- Better communication across all levels
- Increased value in their own abilities
- Career progression
- Improved wellbeing and happiness
- Improved resilience and ability to manage situations more effectively
- Improved productivity and quality of work
- Improved work/life balance
- Who can access a coach?
Literally anyone. If you choose an internal coach there is no financial cost. For external coaches you must source your own finance.
- How do I access a coach?
If you are interested in being coached, firstly identify your need and agree with your manager that coaching is an appropriate avenue, then just complete the request form above.
- Why would I consider coaching?
Coaching is a cost effective development approach. It is tailored to the individual’s needs and style so If you are looking to review your current and future work, to assess your focus, influence, direction, challenges or aspirations, then coaching could be for you.
- How can coaching help me as a manager?
Leaders with well-developed coaching skills have a huge positive impact on people’s performance, resilience and helping their team embrace change. This in turn adds pace and innovation to your organisation by increasing capacity within teams, bringing confidence to explore and develop new ideas, releasing the tensions of change which enables people to think positively about the future and feel empowered to take action.
- How can I develop coaching skills?
Organisational Development offers a variety of ways to develop your coaching capability:
- Coaching for non-coaches: this is an introduction to coaching and is a series of 10 modules lasting 12 minutes a module, creating a two-hour course overall. Email Organisational Development to gain access.
- Introduction to Coaching Journey: provides an overview of what coaching is, the benefits of coaching and how to begin.
- Manager as a Coach Journey: deepens your coaching skills and is suitable for managers, heads of departments or those with a supervisory role who have people to coach and develop.
- ILM Level 5 Certificate in Coaching and Mentoring: aimed primarily at managers who have people to develop and coach and who wish to gain a coaching qualifiation and subsequently offer coaching to other University staff (5 months duration approximately)
- Level 5 Coaching Professional Apprenticeship
- Level 5 Coaching Qualification Comparison
Use the staff portal to book your place. Any questions, please contact Organisational Development
Recommended Resources:
Articles:
- Managers: Are you a Doer or a Coach?
- Know When to Manage and When to Coach
- The Most Important Leadership Trait You Need To Succeed
- How Great Coaches Ask, Listen and Empathise
Websites:
Books:
- The Coaching Manual: The Definitive Guide to The Process, Principles and Skills of Personal Coaching Paperback by Julie Starr
- Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement by Tony Robbins
- Coaching for Performance: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership by Sir John Whitmore
- The Inner Game of Tennis: The ultimate guide to the mental side of peak performance by W Timothy Gallwey
- Excellence in Coaching: The Industry Guide by Jonathan Passmore
- Being Brilliant: The Art of Being Yourself ... Brilliantly! by Andrew Cope
- Challenging Coaching: Going Beyond Traditional Coaching to Face the FACTS by Ian Day and John Blakey