Frequently Used Terms

Frequently Used Terms (coaching)

A

Assessment

A measurement process or tool of the performance, knowledge, learning, or other measurable qualities of a person, position, or named subject that has either taken place or can take place. Usually measured against stated outcomes.

Awareness training

Training used to disseminate information that provides an individual with the basic knowledge/understanding of a policy, program, or system.

C

Coach

A person who gives honest feedback and support, inspires, challenges, facilitates growth and change, and partners with another person to achieve stated goals. A coach may perform these functions on a personal or businesslevel.

External Coach

A coach who is contracted from the “outside”, by an individual, corporation or organization, to come “inside” to provide coaching services. The external coach may or may not have technical experience in the client’s industry or field, but WILL have experience in dealing with conditions and goals related to that industry or field, as well as with the people issues involved. An external coach may negotiate an ongoing general coaching contract, or one which specifies a limited period of time, dealing with stated issues.

Internal Coach

A coach who has been trained to perform the functions of coaching within and for an organization, and is a paid employee of that organization or corporation. The internal coach may or may not have other specified job duties in addition to coaching within the organization. The internal coach can be either a full-time or part-time employee.

Coaching

The continuing process of a coach engaging a client in a variety of coaching fields.  Some of those include the following:

Corporate Coaching

Coaching an entire corporation or different divisions, departments/teams within the corporation or organization. May entail organizational improvement, communications or team building among many areas.

Executive Coaching

Coaching at the executive (“C”) level either with a single individual or a team of individuals either within an organization or corporation, or as a unique individual relationship outside the organization’s boundaries. The goals of coaching may be unified change or improvement or individual skills that translate into more effectiveness and better internal communication with executives, board members or subordinates. It too may assist executives in dealing with external demands such as public relations, investor relations or community relations.

Facilitative Coaching

Used in both the business and personal realm, it focuses on the client gaining a deeper insight into new skills, ways of looking at situations, coming to grips with problems, motivating action both individually and on an organizational basis. While all coaching is meant to facilitate, the depth of insight and action is relative to the challenges that are facing the client. Facilitative coaching usually has a high stakes end game such as corporate solvency.

Personal Coaching (Also known as Life Coaching)

Coaching with an individual, working on personal issues with a client. The issues rarely deal with historical trauma or psychological origin but focused on gaining control, realizing potential, eliminating unproductive attitudes or behaviors, setting goals and meeting personal objectives. Individual coaching may also be qualitative that lead the client to embrace a “better life” or achieve new goals.

Career Coaching

Coaching that focuses on work and career transitions, or issues around careers. It may include personal marketing, research, branding, skills including resume writing and interviewing. It may also focus on programmned learning from personal skills, self awareness into social media and its roles.

Performance Coaching

Coaching that is generally done within an organization or corporation, focusing on the skills and competencies required for optimum performance to meet expectations. This may be centered on “goal posts” where the business has a certain performance measurement in a given department that must be met or exceeded by group efforts.

Coaching Culture

A culture within an organization or corporation that embraces the competencies and the mission of coaching as a means to facilitate change or improvement.

Cognitive

The mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and behavioral processes. Cognitive also refers to attempts to identify a perspective or theory in contrast to emphasizing observable behavior.

Complex Coaching Situation

A “Complex” coaching assignment may directly relate to Facilitative Coaching which some but not necessarily all of the following apply:

– the performance factors are not well-defined;
– the consequence of error is significant
– the coach is expected to be at the cutting edge of knowledge and practice;
– the coach is expected to produce innovative and novel responses to the demands of the situation; objectives are long-term.

Comprehensive Business Survey

A battery of iterative questions, tests and fact gathering mostly business-related that aid in the Facilitative Coaching process by honing in on the core organization issues, problems, threats, survival requirements, alternatives for conflict resolution. The process may also include both inductive reasoning by the coach and deductive compilation of fact-driven data that lead to a common course of action.

Conflict Management

The art of managing conflict effectively. Nearly all projects encounter conflict. The object of successful conflict management is to handle conflicts so that the result is positive change or channeling to navigate through obstacles creating conflict.

Counseling

A means of assisting persons to resolve and overcome personal (and sometimes professional) problems using standardized behavioral psychological methods. A coach is not a counselor. In addition to “problem-solving” a coach maximizes the person’s potential. A coach works with a person to move confidently forward in life, not just over or around a hurdle. A counselor may inadvertently foster dependency. A coach empowers individuals that are basically healthy emotionally to move toward immediate betterment or improved attitude. The presence of deep emotional or behavioral trauma past or present is better handled by medical or psychotherapist practitioners.

D

Development

The training and nurturing of people to acquire new horizons, technologies, or viewpoints, enabling leaders to guide their organizations onto new expectations by being proactive rather than reactive. It enables workers to create better products, greater productivity, and more competitive organizations. It is learning for ultimate growth of the individual, but may not be related to a specific present or future job or function. This may directly parallel Performance Coaching as well.

E

Evaluation

The process of gathering information in order to make informed decisions. It is broader than testing, and includes both subjective (opinion) input and objective (fact) input. Evaluation can take many forms including tests, assessments, and self-reflection. Evaluation may be preliminary to the Comprehensive Business Survey in business Facilitative coaching.

Expert

A person whose knowledge, skill, and experience is specialized and extensive, especially as the result of much practical experience. By example the business recovery or turnaround coach will have specific experience with operational, financial, administrative, organizational, legal, accounting and numerous other business specialities in the context of troubled or restructuring businesses.

F

Facilitator (facilitation)

A person who makes it easier for others to learn and grow, or assists in and directs the implementation of processes, programs, actions or plans. A facilitator determines the best way to make information available to the people involved by providing the knowledge, systems, or materials which enable persons to perform a task more effectively. This is done by listening, asking questions, providing ideas, suggesting alternatives, and identifying possible resources. A good facilitator is adept and experienced with people and people issues.

Feedback

Providing information about the nature of an action and its result in relation to some criterion of acceptability. It provides the flow of information back to a person so that actual performance can be compared with planned performance. Feedback can be positive, constructive, or neutral. This may be part and parcel to Facilitative coaching or the iterative process of the Comprehensive Business Survey in business matters.

I

International Coach Federation (ICF)

The largest and foremost professional association which accredits coaching schools and certifies individuals in coaching. (www.coachfederation.org)

Intervention

The ability to mediate effectively with individuals, groups or teams in order to facilitate the achievement of a specific outcome. It may be understood as a dynamic interpersonal process performed with a clear purpose whereby the coach may have to communicate, teach, inform, mentor and empower the client to action or avoidance of a negative consequence or event.

M

Mentor

A wise and trusted advisor. Three mentoring roles can exist in a work context:

– business mentor – usually a highly respected manager, specialist or executive that takes “under-wing” a younger or less experienced person with a goal of that person advancing in some way or achieving a role that is reserved in waiting.
– mainstream mentor – someone who acts as a guide, adviser and counselor at various stages in someone’s career destined for a senior position.
– professional qualification mentor – someone required by a professional association to be appointed to guide a student through a program of study, leading to a  professional qualification.
– vocational qualification mentor; someone appointed to guide a candidate through a program of development and the accumulation of evidence to prove competence to a standard.

NOTE: A coach is generally not a mentor, except to another coach, or someone within their field of experience.

Model (also role model)

(1) A person who serves as an example for another person to emulate.
(2) A representation of a process or system that shows the most important variables in the system in such a way that analysis of the model leads to insights into and understanding of the system.

Module

A stand-alone instructional unit that is designed to satisfy one or more learning objectives. A separate component complete within itself that can be taught, measured, and evaluated for a change or even bypassed as a whole. A module consists of one or more lessons.

Needs Analysis
A method used to determine specific needs by reviewing tasks, identifying performance factors and objectives, and defining objectives and recommendations. This may, in the business context be a part of the Comprehensive Business Survey.

N

Needs Assessment

Problem identification process that looks at the difference between “what is” and “what should be” for a particular situation. A systematic study that incorporates data and opinions from varied sources in order to create, install and evaluate people, products and services.

Organizational Development

This is a large area of expertise, encompassing the ability to conduct overviews, interviews, analyses and any other assessments required to determine the overall structure and function of an organization, including all the inter-dependent parts and how they function together. The purpose of this review is generally to determine where problem areas may exist and then to suggest changes, or to provide expertise to those in start-up businesses. Many executive coaches specialize in this area.

P

Performance Analysis

It is the process by which professionals partner and team up to identify and respond to opportunities and problems, and through study of individuals and the organization, to determine an appropriate cross-functional solution system.

T

Team Development

The process of forming and advancing a team to be more effective, and to develop higher functioning relationships.

Trainer

A person who directs the growth of learners by making them qualified or proficient in a skill, task, attitude, system, or process. Utilizes coaching, instructing, and facilitating techniques to accomplish the learning objectives.

Training

Learning that is provided in order to improve performance that may be related to personal or business growth or competence.

Turnaround Coaching

A form of Facilitative coaching that trains, empowers and encourages those individuals (Executives, owners, principals) tasked with changing a downward spiral of their failing enterprise in stabilizing, changing, restructuring (reorganizing), rehabilitating and revitalizing their organizations. In some cases where there is no hope of the current organization continuing to explore alternatives to dissolution or dealing with dissolution and moving on to new opportunities.