612 Coaching Skills for Leaders

Unit Overview

612 Coaching Skills for Leaders is a unit within the CMI Level 7 module that focuses on improving the ability of executive managers and leaders in the organisation. Executive and senior leaders contribute significantly to setting coaching approaches within the workplace. Executive leaders are critical in creating approaches that improve the ability to effectively mentor and coach within the organisation context. Coaching should play a business within a strategic business environment. It ensures that the activities and approaches that are implemented within the workplace contribute towards sustaining the leaders must understand their roles and the impact of the business environment to push the coaching activities within the workplace hence improving the performance of the subjects of the employees in different areas of responsibility.

612 Coaching Skills for Leaders is a unit that focuses on understanding the context of coaching in a strategic business environment. The main purpose and aim of the unit are to enable the learners to review the role and contribution of coaching at a senior level to individuals and organisations. This unit is taught in 15 hours of guided learning and contributes 7 credit values towards the completion of the CMI Level 7 module.

Suitability of the Unit

For a person to be an effective coach and mentor, they must first understand the skills, principles and practice of coaching. This involves being aware of the meaning and definition of the concept of coaching and the differences between the two approaches to performance management. This helps to ensure that the leader is able to address the weaknesses that could arise from personal, operational or factors hindering the process of coaching and ensuring that the process achieves the desired impact on individual and organisational performance.

612 Coaching Skills for Leaders is, therefore an important and highly versatile unit that should be pursued by professionals seeking to be involved in the process of performance management and improvement of mentees and learners within the organisation. The unit is designed to improve the performance of the senior and executive managers within the organisational context. It helps these stakeholders to understand the active role that they should play in creating an enabling work environment.

It boosts the understanding of leaders and managers within the organisation who oversee both formal and informal coaching activities. However, other leaders, including junior leaders and team leaders, can pursue the unit to prepare them for coaching responsibilities within the organisation. Employees in positions of improving others can also pursue this unit to improve their capabilities and understanding of their roles in the process of coaching and the required skills to accomplish the roles. This makes this unit suitable for most of the stakeholders within the organisation who are in positions of coaching others, as well as private consultants.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the unit, the learners should be able to:

• Understand the different types and forms of coaching that are sued within the workplace to facilitate eh success of the organisation within the area of working

• Conduct effective research on the operational principles and policies that are implemented in the process of coaching for individuals, teams, and organisations

• Asses the application of coaching in different areas of practice within the organisation

• Discuss the impact that leaders can have in coaching individuals using a structured approach ins implementing specific theoretical models within the organisation

• Reflect on the impact of coaching to respond to individual learning needs

• Identify ethical practice in relation to coaching individuals within the workplace

• Reflect on personal abilities t coach individuals and identify areas of improvement within the individual leadership abilities.

Key Learning Areas

This unit focuses on aligning the coaching or mentoring strategies and approaches to organisational context and environment. Some of the key areas of learning include:

Coaching or Mentoring

This area of learning helps the learners to understand the differences between the concepts of coaching. The learners are guided to understand the context within which each approach is applied. It includes understanding the focus, functions, and processes involved in each concept as well as understanding the approaches that are utilised in each approach that is selected within the organisational setting. This area of learning also helps to understand the various approaches that can be effectively implemented within the organisational setting. It improves the understanding of the characteristics of the coaching or mentoring relationship.

Ethical Coaching Practice

This area of learning contributes to understanding the standards that individuals pursuing coaching or mentoring from the senior level must exhibit. The learners are guided to understand the required skills, behaviours, knowledge, and attitudes that effective coaches and mentors should develop. They are also guided to understand the various codes of practice and behaviour that are applicable in the process of coaching, including in the contracting and supervision of mentees or individuals pursuing the coaching practices.

In this area, the learners are introduced to different models of coaching, mentoring, and learning, as well as identifying the alternatives that they can apply in their organisational context and environment to achieve the desired levels of performance management and influence. The area of learning also helps to develop OD, strategic and organisational objectives, and focus on business planning strategies that contribute towards achieving these goals and objectives. This helps the mentors and coaches to effectively meet the preset learning goals and objectives.

Evaluation

Upon completion of the unit, the learners are put through the evaluation process, which involves being able to effectively handle the coaching process, including establishing effective relationships and contracting approaches that are applicable within the organisational setting. The evaluation includes supervised practice simulated exercises and a written assessment. The learners must meet the assessment criteria to ensure they pass in the unit.