Coaching Conversations

About this course: Throughout the Coaching Skills for Managers specialization, we’ve discussed many topics for improving coaching conversations with our employees. It is now time to put all of that theory and discussion into practice and examine great examples of common coaching conversations! Note: This course builds on all previous courses in the Coaching Skills for Managers specialization. It is highly recommended that students complete or be familiar with the topics covered in those courses before taking this course. In particular, you should be familiar with the coaching strategies and tools discussed in previous courses (such as the 5 whys technique, resisting what is, among others), and should have a full understanding of the Thought model and the various components of it: circumstances, thoughts, feelings, actions, and results. By the end of this course, you will be able to demonstrate appropriate and effective strategies when engaging in coaching conversations with those that you lead. By exploring and analyzing common coaching scenarios that are acted out in this course, you will have a great sense of what works well and not so well during such a conversation. Specifically, you'll be able to better differentiate between a developmental coaching approach and a directive management style, discuss new strategies and techniques for dealing with both mind set and skill set gaps, describe how to use the feedback loop effectively in a conversation, and demonstrate the use of good questioning techniques and the thought model to not only help an employee identify issues, but help the employee really change their thinking. The final assignment is all about actually having a coaching conversation with another person where you can apply everything you've learned in this course and throughout the Coaching Skills for Managers specialization. Again, it is highly recommended students complete the other courses in the specialization before taking this one. This peer review assignment, in particular, will be difficult to complete without knowledge of the topics covered in these courses. After going through the course materials and completing the assessments, you will be able to have more effective one-on one-coaching meetings with those you manage and deepen your understanding of the essential practice of coaching conversations.

Who is this class for: While this course is probably most useful for those learners who are already managing people, it's also a great course for learners who plan or aspire to manage others in the future or who just want to assist in improving overall team dynamics within their respective organizations. As stated above, while there are no official prerequisites for this course, this course does build upon ideas and materials presented in the three other courses within the Coaching Skills for Managers Specialization. The final peer review assignment, in particular, will be difficult to complete without taking these previous courses or being familiar with the topics covered. It is highly recommended that you either complete the following courses or be familiar with the coaching topics covered in these courses before taking this course: Managing as a Coach Setting Expectations and Performance Issues Coaching Practices

Created by:  University of California, Davis

• Taught by:  Kris Plachy, CEO and Founder & Instructor

  Leadership Coach, LLC & UC Davis Extension

Basic Info Course 4 of 4 in the Coaching Skills for Managers Specialization Level Beginner Commitment 4 weeks of study, 2-3 hours/week Language English Hardware Req You'll need a smartphone, tablet, laptop, video camera, or audio recorder for the final assignment. How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.7 stars Average User Rating 4.7See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

Help from your peers

Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.

Certificates

Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.

University of California, Davis UC Davis, one of the nation’s top-ranked research universities, is a global leader in agriculture, veterinary medicine, sustainability, environmental and biological sciences, and technology. With four colleges and six professional schools, UC Davis and its students and alumni are known for their academic excellence, meaningful public service and profound international impact.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Missing Deadlines and Dealing with Change



Welcome to Coaching for Managers Specialization Course 4: Coaching Conversations. In this first module we're going to focus on two common coaching conversations - an employee who consistently misses predetermined deadlines, and an employee dealing with a process change. By the end of this module, you should be able to differentiate between a developmental coaching approach and a directive management conversation, suggest strategies for both mindset and skill set coaching, and identify mindset and skill set gaps in employees. After a short introductory video, you will watch both an ineffective example, and effective, model example of how each type of conversation should be handled; we will wrap up each lesson with an in depth review and analysis of both the ineffective example and the effective example before you have the opportunity to check your understanding of the material.


10 videos, 5 readings expand

1. Video: Coaching Conversations Overview
2. Video: Missing Deadlines and Dealing with Change Overview
3. Video: Consistently Missing Deadlines Introduction
4. Video: Consistently Missing Deadlines Ineffective Example (Scenario)
5. Video: Consistently Missing Deadlines Example (Scenario)
6. Video: Consistently Missing Deadlines Review & Analysis
7. Discussion Prompt: Missing Deadlines
8. Video: Dealing with Change Introduction
9. Video: Dealing with Change Ineffective Example (Scenario)
10. Video: Dealing with Change Example (Scenario)
11. Video: Dealing with Change Review & Analysis
12. Discussion Prompt: Dealing with Change
13. Reading: The Executive's Guide to Better Listening
14. Reading: How to Have a Coaching Conversation
15. Reading: Leaders and Impatience - An Undermining Combination (Podcast)
16. Reading: Coaching People Through Change
17. Reading: What Needs to Change When Things Change (Podcast)

Graded: Module 1 Quiz

WEEK 2


Former High Performer & Consistently Late to Work



In this next module we'll focus on an employee who is a former high performer who is experiencing a skill set gap and an employee who is consistently late to work. By the end of this module you should be able to articulate some additional strategies for skill set coaching, such as peer mentoring, as well as be able to describe how to make use of the feedback loop in a coaching conversation. As in Module 1, after a short introductory video, you will watch both an ineffective example, and effective, model example of how each type of conversation should be handled. Then we will wrap up each lesson with an in-depth review and analysis of both the ineffective and effective example. A quiz at the end of the module will allow you to assess your understanding of the material.


9 videos, 5 readings expand

1. Video: Former High Performer and Consistently Late Employee Overview
2. Video: Former High Performer Introduction
3. Video: Former High Performer Ineffective Example (Scenario)
4. Video: Former High Performer Example (Scenario)
5. Video: Former High Performer Review & Analysis
6. Discussion Prompt: Coaching a High Performer
7. Video: Consistently Late to Work Introduction
8. Video: Consistently Late to Work Ineffective Example (Scenario)
9. Video: Consistently Late to Work Example (Scenario)
10. Video: Consistently Late to Work Review & Analysis
11. Discussion Prompt: Late to Work
12. Reading: Fixing the Skills Gap Through Knowledge Transfer
13. Reading: Performance is not an Opinion (Podcast)
14. Reading: Coaching the Top Performer (Podcast)
15. Reading: Coaching to Eliminate Chronic Tardiness
16. Reading: Give a Coaching Conversation a Try (Activity)
17. Discussion Prompt: Give a Coaching Conversation a Try

Graded: Module 2 Quiz

WEEK 3


Dealing with Difficult Colleagues & Coaching the Coach



In our last module covering techniques and strategies in common coaching conversations, we're going to go over how to coach someone who is dealing with difficult colleagues as well as how to coach a fellow coach-manager. In this module, you'll learn how to empower your employees to deal with their own problems (instead of fixing them for your employees) through coaching, be able to demonstrate the use of good questioning techniques and use of the Thought Model to not only to help identify issues but to help the employee come up with new solutions and thoughts, and, finally, how to apply coaching techniques you already know and use when coaching another coach-manager. We'll also discuss the importance of coaching the person in the room. As you're reviewing this material, think about how you can apply the strategies you learn in these videos to your coaching practice.


8 videos, 4 readings expand

1. Video: Dealing with Difficult Colleagues and Coaching the Coach Overview
2. Video: An Employee Dealing with Difficult Colleagues Introduction
3. Video: An Employee Dealing with Difficult Colleagues Ineffective Example (Scenario)
4. Video: An Employee Dealing with Difficult Colleagues Example (Scenario)
5. Video: An Employee Dealing with Difficult Colleagues Review & Analysis
6. Discussion Prompt: Dealing with Difficult People
7. Video: Coaching the Coach Introduction
8. Video: Coaching the Coach Example (Scenario)
9. Video: Coaching the Coach Review & Analysis
10. Discussion Prompt: Coaching the Coach
11. Reading: How Managers Can Help Employees Deal with Difficult People (Podcast)
12. Reading: Basic Elements Required for Accountability (Podcast)
13. Reading: Workplace Bullying
14. Reading: Tips for How to Coach Managers

Graded: Module 3 Quiz

Key Takeaways for Effective Coaching



Before moving on to this course's specialization milestone, we're going to step back a bit and take a look at some final items to consider as you really begin to put everything you've learned throughout the specialization into practice within your organization. You'll be able to relate the importance of identifying an employee's thoughts, acknowledging an employee's strengths along with what needs to be worked on when coaching, making sure that an employee buys into the process and actually wants to participate in a coaching conversation. We'll wrap up with talking about how, like any skill, coaching takes practice, and making mistakes is part of the learning process.


5 videos, 3 readings expand

1. Video: Key Takeaways for Effective Coaching
2. Video: Identifying Thoughts
3. Video: Acknowledging Strengths
4. Video: Confirming Willingness to be Coached
5. Video: Making Mistakes is Okay
6. Reading: The Business Benefits of Positive Leadership
7. Reading: Managers and Kindness (Podcast)
8. Reading: Appreciation, Not Recognition (Podcast)
9. Discussion Prompt: Making Mistakes

Graded: Module 4 Quiz

WEEK 4


Milestone 3: Demonstrate Your Ability to Coach Effectively



In this final module, it's time to actually prep for and have some coaching conversations. This is a true test for yourself to see how far you've come in this specialization and will help you reflect on areas in which you're already doing well and areas where you still may need a little work. This module contains an overview video discussing key ideas to consider when working on the milestone, as well as some review videos from earlier courses in the specialization that should help you as you work on the assignments related to this milestone. Good luck!


8 videos expand

1. Video: Milestone 3 Overview
2. Video: Actions and Results (from "Managing as a Coach" course)
3. Video: Circumstances, Thoughts, and Feelings (from "Managing as a Coach" course)
4. Video: Coaching Tools (from "Coaching Practices" course)
5. Video: Acknowledging Strengths (from earlier in this course)
6. Video: Tips for Giving Feedback
7. Video: Course Summary
8. Video: Specialization Summary

Graded: Milestone 3: Demonstrate Your Ability to Coach Effectively