Written by: Alexandra Elinsky, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Coaching is how we fine-tune a good candidate into a fantastic one. Bad coaching, however, can set up the entire team for failure. How do you know you’re investing in the right kind of coaching services?
When ongoing research finds Americans pessimistic and frustrated about their job prospects, it’s more important than ever to meet them halfway. Today’s coaching trends aim to provide empowerment and inspiration for future leaders. Let’s take a look at what you should consider when investing in coaching programs.
Trend No.1 Learn By Doing
Too many businesses today set themselves up for failure by not embracing workers’ unique learning styles. As such, clever coaching strategies have targeted learning styles as an area of focus.
Psychological research has proven the kinaesthetic method – learning through action ‒ is the preferred learning method of nearly 27% of students. This is followed behind by visual and auditory learning styles. Learning by doing puts future executives and thought leaders in the driver’s seat, giving them the first-hand experience needed to understand the role.
Trend No.2 Positive Feedback is the Best Loop
Tough love is a faulty strategy. Positive feedback isn’t just lovely to hear, but feeds into a productive loop that spans across the entire team.
When coaching your future executives, you need to dive into the psychology behind motivation and leadership. For example, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is one approach that focuses on a blend of physical and mental wellness within the business.
Positive feedback includes (but isn’t limited to):
Positive reinforcement
Group accountability
Personal investment
Immediate rewards v.s. Long-term benefits
Proactive communication
Trend No.3 Increasing Coaching Access
There’s a common idea in business that coaches should only be for top-level leadership. As it stands? Coaches can help every level of a business, from a part-time data analyst to a full-time CEO.
Think about all the different niches that life coaches occupy. Sometimes they help people lose weight over the next six months. Other times they can help people finish their studies on time! The one-on-one strategy is how you connect with people on a personal level, prioritizing their unique growth over an ill-fitting one-size-fits-all formula.
Increasing coaching access throughout your business will improve your entire team’s morale, helping workers target their shortcomings with professional help.
Trend No.4 Specialized Coaches Provide Stronger Results
Generalist approaches aren’t cutting it anymore. When today’s workforce spans multiple generations, it’s imperative you choose coaching services that specialize in their niche.
Specialized coaching services can look like a coach specifically aimed at Millennials. It can also look like a coach that targets executive-level leadership decisions. Choosing a highly general coach runs the risk of applying generic advice to people who need more specific answers to their problems.
Trend No.5 A Little Automation Will Help Immensely
You may find yourself wondering how you can improve your hiring and retention rates while still saving time. Automated coaching services are one such way to streamline the process.
Technology has leveled the playing field in business. Coaching services can now be streamed online from anyone’s home. Schedules across different states (or different countries!) can be synced up seamlessly to save teams time. While too much automation can run the opposite effect, there are ways to get more ROI out of the system.
Are you ready to coach your next thought leaders? Empower HP offers basic, executive, and full coaching services for businesses.
Trend No.6 Boost Soft Skills
Focusing entirely on financial results is not a sign of good coaching. Businesses are built on the strength of their workers: nowhere is this more clear than soft skills.
It’s essential you know the difference between hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are abilities such as technical writing, business math, or sculpting. Soft skills are more subtle abilities such as being able to network or connect with people on a personal level. They’re so important they can make or break a team.
Not convinced? The U.S. Department of Labor has defined soft skills as one of the most in-demand features of future workspaces.
Trend No.7 Reduce the Wait Time
Coaching executives is often an arduous and time-consuming process. It doesn’t have to be.
Streamlining the coaching process means thinking critically about old systems. Can a training session be completed in six weeks instead of eight? How effectively are we teaching people useful skills and how can we do a little better?
Trimming the wait time for approval should be a major focus of any efficient, streamlined coaching process. The sooner a worker can get to work, the more money and time everyone will save. That said, you don’t need to rush unnecessarily!
Conclusion
Today’s innovative and empathetic coaching trends will set the stage for tomorrow. When’s the last time you cast a critical eye over your coaching process?
There’s always room for improvement when it comes to your hiring and training model. To conclude, an effective coaching process should prioritize:
Flexible learning styles, especially kinaesthetic and visual
Positive feedback loops
Increased coaching access across teams
Specialization
Automation
Soft skills
Shorter wait times for approval
The best coaching resources are just around the corner. Contact Empower HP today to start empowering your employees and teaching them the skills they need to succeed.
Alexandra Elinsky, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Elinsky lives to support professionals of all levels from all walks of life to book a call on her calendar, use this link – https://calendly.com/teamempoweryou/60min Dr. Alexandra Elinsky has a Ph.D. in Industrial Organization Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and is a trained Executive Coach, Corporate Trainer, and Researcher. Dr. Elinsky is the owner/founder of Empower Human Potential LLC and owns/operates another event planning business that builds confidence and leadership skills in children and teenagers. Dr. Elinsky has 10+ years of professional business and corporate experience and has built both of her businesses from the ground up with nothing short of patience.
