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The Miniclip.com founders realised low-tech, intuitive games would attract an army of users
The lure of opportunity
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individual competence by helping people assess their strengths and weaknesses to facilitate career planning and professional development.

Depending on the individual’s level of competence and commitment, a leader may exercise more coaching behaviour for the less-experienced members. Usually, this happens in the case of new team members. The individual’s direct manager gives more defined tasks and holds regular feedback sessions with the new member of staff. Over time they will gradually lessen the amount of directive coaching and move along the coaching continuum towards consultative coaching as the individual’s competence and confidence increase.

Coaching promotes individual and team excellence.

Excellence is a product of habitual good practice. Holding regular coaching oriented meetings and providing constructive feedback is incredibly important in helping to establish good habits. In a coached team individuals will develop the habit of constantly assessing themselves for their strengths and areas for improvement that they themselves perceive what knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to acquire to attain team goals. In the process, not only do they find themselves empowered to examine their behaviours but they attain individual excellence as well. An excellent analogy or example is the Orchestra: in which each member plays a different instrument. In order to achieve harmony of music from the different instruments, individuals will ensure that they play their part in the piece to the very best of their ability, aside from practicing as an Orchestra. Consequently, as well as performing in a team they improve individually as an instrument player.

Coaching develops high commitment to common goals.

A leader who coaches works to balance the attainment of immediate targets with long-term goals towards the vision of the organization. As I mentioned earlier, with the alignment of personal goals with organizational or team goals, the personal interests are also kept in balance so that they do not distract from the team purpose and goals. By constantly communicating the vision through formal and informal conversations, the team members are inspired and motivated. Setting short-term team goals aligned with organizational goals and making an action plan to attain these goals can help sustain the increased motivation and commitment to common goals of the members.

Coaching produces valuable leaders.

Leadership by example is important in coaching. A leader who professes to follow a coaching approach will soon lose credibility if they do not practice what they preach. This means that they should be well organized, highly competent is their field, communicate openly and encourage feedback, and have a clear idea of the organization’s vision-mission-goals. By working with leaders who coach individuals can acquire the same good practices and attitudes they see modelled by their leader/manager. This in turn will enable them to become coaches themselves. If an individual experiences good coaching, they are most likely to do the same things when entrusted with formal leadership roles.

In conclusion as I commented at the outset coaching enables an individual to move from where they are now to where they want to be! Those who experience coaching really do see change in their lives and by applying the skills they observe and acquire through being coached they make a difference to those they work with.

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Paul Duxbury is an experienced management trainer and Coach. Do you want to achieve your goals and live the lifestyle you really want? Read more at www.fulfilling-your-dreams.com


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