How can you use coaching to increase your team's self-awareness?

As a program manager, you are responsible for leading and developing your team members to deliver successful outcomes. One of the key skills that can help you and your team achieve this is self-awareness. Self-awareness is the ability to recognize and understand your own emotions, strengths, weaknesses, values, and motivations, as well as how they affect your behavior and interactions with others. Self-awareness can improve your communication, collaboration, decision-making, and problem-solving skills, as well as your emotional intelligence and resilience. But how can you use coaching to increase your team's self-awareness? Here are some tips to help you:

1 Define coaching

Coaching is a process of facilitating learning and development through supportive and constructive feedback, questioning, and guidance. Coaching is not the same as mentoring, teaching, or consulting. Coaching focuses on helping the coachee discover their own solutions and actions, rather than providing advice or instructions. Coaching also emphasizes the coachee's potential and goals, rather than their performance or problems. Coaching can be done formally or informally, individually or in groups, and can be tailored to the specific needs and preferences of the coachee.

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2 Establish trust

Trust is the foundation of any effective coaching relationship. Trust means that both the coach and the coachee respect each other, listen actively, communicate openly, and are committed to the coaching process. Trust also means that the coach creates a safe and supportive environment for the coachee to share their thoughts and feelings, explore their challenges and opportunities, and experiment with new behaviors and actions. To establish trust, the coach should clarify the purpose, expectations, and boundaries of the coaching, as well as the roles and responsibilities of both parties. The coach should also demonstrate empathy, honesty, confidentiality, and feedback skills.

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3 Use powerful questions

Questions are one of the most powerful tools in coaching. Questions can help the coachee increase their self-awareness by stimulating their curiosity, reflection, and insight. Questions can also help the coachee identify their goals, values, and motivations, as well as their strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. Questions can also help the coachee explore different perspectives, options, and consequences, as well as their assumptions, beliefs, and emotions. To use powerful questions, the coach should ask open-ended, neutral, and specific questions that invite the coachee to think deeply, creatively, and critically. The coach should also avoid leading, judging, or suggesting questions that impose their own agenda or opinion.

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Gaurav Sharma

Associate Director-India & South Asia, Welbilt Inc.
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An incident or a situation can be easily forgotten by the coachee due the very human nature. By asking open questions such as why and how - the coachee can be made to unravel his thought process during the situation. At this point he needs to be guided to self reflect to understand the situation dynamics better. This immensely helps in providing new insights into how could the situation be handled differently. This process enhances the analytical skills of the coachee.

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4 Provide feedback

Feedback is another essential tool in coaching. Feedback can help the coachee increase their self-awareness by providing them with information and observations about their behavior and impact. Feedback can also help the coachee recognize their achievements and progress, as well as their areas for improvement and development. Feedback can also help the coachee adjust their actions and strategies to achieve their goals and desired outcomes. To provide feedback, the coach should use the SBI model: describe the situation, behavior, and impact of the coachee's actions, and then ask for their reaction and response. The coach should also use positive, constructive, and specific feedback that is timely, relevant, and actionable.

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Kshitiza Bawa, PMP

Program Management | Project Management | Stakeholder Management | Governance & Execution I Strategy I Operations | Healthcare
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In order to increase your team’s self awareness, coaching can go a long way. It gives a platform for providing constructive feedback, gives time to reflect back and also helps set clear expectations from the program or the project. The setup is such that the people getting coached feel comfortable opening up and asking several questions. This helps them to explore their strengths, weaknesses, and development areas, which further gives them a clear roadmap of what they need to do and work on.

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5 Encourage action

Action is the ultimate goal of coaching. Action means that the coachee applies their learning and insights to their real-life situations and challenges, and takes responsibility for their results and outcomes. Action also means that the coachee experiments with new and different behaviors and actions, and learns from their successes and failures. Action also means that the coachee sets SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. To encourage action, the coach should help the coachee design and plan their action steps, as well as identify and overcome their potential obstacles and risks. The coach should also support and follow up with the coachee, and celebrate and acknowledge their efforts and achievements.

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6 Promote reflection

Reflection is the key to continuous learning and development in coaching. Reflection means that the coachee reviews and evaluates their actions and outcomes, and identifies their key learnings and takeaways. Reflection also means that the coachee recognizes and appreciates their growth and change, as well as their challenges and opportunities. Reflection also means that the coachee updates and revises their goals, actions, and strategies, based on their feedback and results. To promote reflection, the coach should ask the coachee to summarize and share their reflections, as well as to document and record their learnings and outcomes. The coach should also provide the coachee with tools and resources to enhance their reflection process.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you use coaching to increase your team's self-awareness?

1

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3

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1 Define coaching

2 Establish trust

3 Use powerful questions

4 Provide feedback

5 Encourage action

6 Promote reflection

7 Here’s what else to consider

Program Management

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How can you use coaching to increase your team's self-awareness?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Define coaching

2 Establish trust

3 Use powerful questions

4 Provide feedback

5 Encourage action

6 Promote reflection

7 Here’s what else to consider

Program Management

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