A Coachable Moment (noun, countable) : a pocket in time and space used to accelerate innovation in organisations. Grounded in positivity, with enough critical mass they can generate cultural shifts in organisational change and leadership development.
In our Coaching Clinic at Nova Terra, we often use the term ‘coachable moments’. At first, our participants find them difficult to spot – until you become aware yourself of what they are – and then you tend to find more and more of them every minute, of every hour, of every day…
So how do you find a coachable moment?
To be fair, coachable moments are rarely found. They arrive between two people. How do they arrive? Frustrating to hear this, but ‘they just do’. However, through years of experience and coaching I have come to understand that coachable moments arrive when the conditions are set:
1 – You’re in conversation
2 – You’re actively listening
3 – You’re supporting, not advice giving
Let’s quickly explore these elements:
1: The term ‘coaching conversation’ gets thrown around a lot in the workplace, but in short, every conversation has the potential to be a coaching conversation. So if you’re open to coachable moments, there’s no place or time that is ‘best’ – it can be in the car park, at the water cooler or even on the phone or over zoom. You become aware and remain open to that fact. This forms a small part of the Coaching Mindset which my colleagues and I explore in Mastery & Art of Coaching.
2: Listening actively is not about hanging onto every word or remembering every detail of the story. It’s more so the intention of attention; it’s about listening to the whole of the person – what they are saying and how they are saying it. We often say at Nova Terra that you’re listening to them, so that you can listen for them – to understand what is truly being conveyed and also, does it align with who they (say they) are?
3: When you impose your own ideas, you’re not coaching. Much like clothes, one size doesn’t fit all. It’s up to the person opposite you to ascertain what will work best for them – your task is to challenge or support as necessary, building a sense of trust so that your partner in that moment feels safe to constructively resolve their challenge.
Having shared these secrets of what relates to a coachable moment, it’s surprising that there’s not a bigger culture of coaching across all industries. The coach approach really offers an efficient and effective approach to accelerate businesses and performance management more generally. Moreover, when there are enough people employing the coach approach, organisational culture can shift resulting in candid conversations, strengthened relationships and increased employee engagement.
Of course, it takes practice – and through the unique partnership between Nova Terra and the influential American coaching school, Coach U (a co-founder of the International Coaching Federation) we are proud to offer our ‘Coaching Clinic’ workshop to individuals and teams alike. You can discover more about how it works here.
Or for any further questions, you can contact me gareth@coachingbrussels.eu or my colleagues via info@novaterracoaching.com where we will be delighted to partner with you.
