101 Tips Template 2

This is the template for the Current List of Tips Web page for the e-mail game 101 Tips.

This template is just an example of a list of tips. You will have to make your own list of tips suited to your subject area. You must give each tip a unique number, as we have done below. You don't need to number the tips in any order (especially since the order may change in future rounds). But be sure that each tip gets a unique number, or your participants will have difficulty voting!

COACHING CONVERSATION

1. Before entering into a coaching relationship, honestly examine the role you want to play. Do you want to be a nag, a bully, a friend, a critic, a mentor, a leader, a teacher, a manager, a counselor, a disciplinarian, or a role-model? Are you trying to play multiple roles? If so, why are you doing that and what should be your primary role?

CONCLUDING A COACHING SESSION

2. At the end of a coaching session, ask the coachee for feedback about your coaching performance. Model appropriate behaviors for receiving feedback. And change your behavior during your next coaching conversation.

FRAMING THE COACHING PROCESS

3. 'Coaching' is an inappropriate term because it is frequently associated with dysfunctional behaviors of autocratic sports coaches. Use some other positive term such as 'co-creation' or 'problem-solving partnership'.
4. Most coaching conversations are framed as attempts at solving problems or overcoming the coachee's weakness. Try the opposite approach of profiting from opportunities and building upon the coachee's strengths.
5. Once you have a topic, a problem, or an opportunity, ask the coachee for ideas. Listen actively and attentively. When the coachee says that he or she has run out of ideas, ask for some more. Offer your ideas only after the coachee has completed his or her list. Even then, offer your ideas tentatively as things to be improved.

GIVING FEEDBACK

6. The coachee is likely to be her or his worst critic. So begin your feedback session by asking, 'What did you do that makes you feel positive and proud?'
7. Never sit across the table from the person you are coaching because this suggests an adversarial relationship. Sit side by side or at right angles to each other.

INITIAL ACTIVITIES

8. Demonstrating how to perform a procedure improves your skill level--but does nothing to improve the coachee's skill level. So spend more time requiring the coachee to demonstrate his or her skills and provide appropriate feedback.
9. Don't over-plan and over-rehearse your coaching session if you want to avoid appearing to be rigid and obsessive. Have a general idea of your goal and invite the coachee to suggest the specific process.

RESOURCES

10. Read the book, Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen (ISBN 0-670-88339-5). Although this book is not directly related to coaching, the concept of mapping the contribution system (figuring out how everyone contributed to the present mess rather than attaching blame) has significant relevance to the coaching process.