Great coaching is all about putting people first. Whether the participant or the person coaching them, being able to understand and connect with them is essential to creating an environment in which they can thrive. Listening to the wants and needs of people is key to creating the experiences they want from coaching.
We asked a wide range of participants to help us understand what great coaching looks like to them. They consistently described the behaviours of the person who was or would be coaching them in favour of highlighting the specific knowledge or skills they might hold.
Behaviours are what people see. By defining coaching through behaviours, we are able to present clearly what great coaching looks like through the eyes of the participant. Behaviours also provide a connection to the knowledge and skills required to help enhance a person’s experience or performance.
What are behaviours?
A behaviour is defined as:
The way in which someone acts or conducts their self, especially towards others or in response to a situation or stimulus.
This is more than purely a person’s ability to do something (Competency), it also involves the what, how and why they do the thing they do.
What do people want from coaching?
We have taken time to understand what people want from a great coaching experience. We captured their thoughts and words to create a vivid picture of the coaching behaviours they are looking for across four key participant groups.
Watch our Voice of the Participant animations to see what they told us: