The 7 Most Common Mistakes of Coaches

— John Ng

Dr. John Ng and Eagles Communications have done amazing work for the kingdom based out in Singapore. We are happy to have them as part of the FDE team!

In particular, Eagles Leadership Institute (ELI), a ministry of Eagles Communications, seeks to genuinely live and creatively share the authentic, transforming experience of grace and truth in God. As an organization with Asian roots, they strive to leave a legacy of effective leaders in Asia. Using their model, experience, and network, they seek to impact Asian societies through the witness of Christian communities led by God-centered leaders.

Please enjoy the article below originally published on their website…

…..

Coaching has become a necessary tool for managers and leaders today. However, many coaches do not perform well in their roles, and here are 7 reasons why.

1. They lack credibility

Some leaders lack credibility in terms of their character and competence. As a result, the coaching given is repudiated because the coachees do not respect them.

2. They talk too much

More effective coaches have a knack of asking the right questions rather than telling their coachees. Some leader-coaches have the habit of just dishing advice without listening to their coachees.

3. They lack skills in asking questions

Some leader-coaches are not skilled in asking questions to get the right responses from their coachees. Many of them are not trained to do so, or go back to their default mode of advising, judging and listening to correct.

4. They don’t plan

Some coaches do not plan their coaching goals, agenda and time. They should ask their coachees to prepare the agenda and send it to the coach ahead of time to avoid mostly exchanges of pleasantries and purposeless ramblings.

5. They don’t have chemistry with their coachees

Affinity is an important aspect in the coaching relationship. If there is a lack in affinity, it is difficult for the relationship to be open and transparent. It then becomes a must-do exercise, which brings us to the next mistake.

6. They see coaching as perfunctory

Some coaches disdain coaching or do not believe coaching can do any good. They themselves have not benefitted from any coaching experience. But since the company leadership has mandated it, they do it perfunctorily. As a result, the effective is nullified.

7. They do not spend enough time

The most common mistake of all is that most coaching sessions are rushed. Leader-coaches don’t spend enough time in the coaching. A carefully planned hour-long effective coaching session can save 100-hour of fire-fighting. Unfortunately, leaders tend to give this a low priority. They spend little time and therefore, coaching becomes ineffective.

NOTE FROM AUTHOR: Look at these 7 most common mistakes in coaching, please feel free to write me if you have others. Also, if you want to know how to deal with any of these factors, please write me john.ng@meta.com.sg . I love to hear from you!

——
[Special thanks to Wade Austin Ellis on Unsplash for the cover image.]