CPD – How to coach others in the workplace

Understanding how to effectively coach others in the workplace as a Manager, Leader or within an overall team, is now a crucial part of developing a productive and successful workplace. The following CPD article aims to explain the importance of coaching others in the workplace and how coaching can be developed and successfully implemented.

The importance of learning how to coach and develop others

The fundamental importance of learning how to coach and develop others is that it can enhance the productivity of a workplace, increase competitiveness and improve overall success. Effective coaching also leads to a more fulfilled and motivated workforce as individuals feel valued, and encouraged and empowered to improve.

Coaching can also be seen as distinct from training. Whilst training might be perceived as an event or an isolated piece of learning, coaching is a process – it looks to ensure that new knowledge imparted actually becomes learned behaviour. Coaching can facilitate an open and progressive culture in the workplace as individuals feel engaged with their leadership rather than simply instructed or told what to do.

A workplace with an active approach to coaching can also help recruitment and be attractive to potential new employees. Individuals will perceive the work environment as somewhere where they can grow and develop.

Why coaching others in the workplace can help to improve performance

The key benefit and value of effective coaching is that it looks to empower the individual. It is not about dictating or doing work for others, but helping to develop the skills and knowledge of others so they can take ownership of their work and positively improve performance.

This emphasis on allowing the individual to focus on taking ownership and find their own solutions, also helps an individual build confidence and develop a capacity and willingness to respond and adapt to new challenges as they arise. Coaching is about understanding the individual and encouraging them to find the best ways to learn, develop themselves and be successful. An active support for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the workplace can play a significant part in a successful coaching strategy, with the commitment of CPD as a concept to ongoing improvement and lifelong learning.

What are the CPD skills needed to coach others?

There are many skills that lead to good coaching and can be gained through active CPD. This list is not exhaustive but identifies some of the most important skills required in coaching:

Planning/Objectives – It is critical that a leader or coach clearly identifies and explains expectations. This may be overall organisational strategy or the terms of an individual project. The leader must have their own clear understanding of the wider goal and articulate this – this allows individuals to define their role within the whole and recognise how they can contribute and in what areas they can develop and improve. 

Listening – In order to effectively coach, it is important to hear the needs and thoughts of the coached. Good listening ranges from hearing the weaknesses or lack of understanding of an individual to taking on board their feedback and potential suggestions for improvement. Listening is the first step to understanding the individual and how they can be guided. Listening also builds trust and opens the space to improve – an individual will feel comfortable and gain confidence when it is safe and supported to be heard.

Empathy – A good coach needs to be open to the experience and viewpoints of an individual. It is not a case of simply imposing a point of view. An open understanding of an individual perspective helps reveal the needs of an individual but can also provide useful insights for improving the organisation and overall workplace. A successful coach needs to keep an open mind and be willing to be coached themselves.

Questioning – An effective use of questioning is an integral part of good coaching. These are usually open rather than closed questions, which lead to further consideration from the individual. Examples would be “What are the advantages”, “What do you think is important” or “What support do you need”. In effect, it creates an open dialogue for understanding and progression.

In addition, good questioning does not always need to be overly supportive or friendly. Sometimes it can be constructively challenging. An example might be “You said you wanted more challenging work but declined the opportunity to work on the new project” In all cases, the questioning aims to encourage greater understanding from the individual and to empower them to look for improvement.

Feedback – Providing constant and regular feedback is a key part of coaching. This means arranging regular meetings and celebrating achievements in work. It will also mean identifying weaknesses but highlighting why this happened and how this could be improved. The regularity of feedback is important. It is a chance to reiterate overall goals and potential next steps, and to sustain the focus of the individual and maintain their progression towards empowerment and improvement.

Encourage Teamwork – Coaching does not always resemble a teacher and student model. A good coach will sometimes recognise the value of peer working. Two or more individuals of different skill sets working together and sharing their knowledge can lead to mutual improvement. Additionally, a culture of coaching in the workplace encourages individuals to feel enabled to support and progress each other. Establishing and promoting CPD can help build this, as a workforce with a commitment to learning can share and benefit from each other’s development. 

How to coach different personality types

Individuals are all different and coaching needs to be adapted to different personality types. There have been many academic studies from fields such as psychology identifying and defining different personality types. From a coaching perspective, the fundamental requirement is to apply and adapt the key skills listed previously. By utilising listening and empathy, a coach can establish personality type and tailor their coaching to individual needs.

In simple terms, an introvert personality may require more listening and explanation to progress whereas a more extrovert, confident personality may need more immediate constructive challenge and hands on experience to empower them. A coach must use the emotional intelligence inherent in their key skills to make these distinctions.

Some coaching and leadership studies have also recognised experience as well as personality as an important judgement in coaching. A new starter with limited work experience is likely to need greater periods of listening and explanation, while an experienced worker will benefit from being challenged with the work and a more hands off approach. A coach must always assess the best approach to facilitate the empowerment and progression of an individual.

How to coach and train using different CPD learning types

CPD offers immense value both for the development of coaches and as a means of providing effective coaching. The CPD Certification Service offers hundreds of specific courses in coaching and leadership which would allow both aspiring and experienced coaches to develop and enhance their coaching skills.

Equally, CPD offers courses and events across industry sectors and subjects, which would underpin and complement a workplace coaching culture. CPD recognises both structured and unstructured learning – for example, depending on the workplace coaching needs, a structured online or in person course in marketing, finance, business strategy or public speaking may be valuable. Alternatively, unstructured CPD through the latest industry articles or podcasts may also prove beneficial to an individual’s progression. There is more explanation of CPD and the types of CPD here.

Where to find CPD coaching courses?

If you would like to find specific coaching courses or other courses and events that may benefit your workplace coaching, please visit the CPD Courses Catalogue. Here you will find thousands of training courses and events suitable for any coaching and Continuing Professional Development requirements. All of the certified providers, courses and training have been reviewed and recognised as meeting the required industry standards and benchmarks.

CPD accreditation for coaching and professional development courses

We hope this article was helpful. Established in 1996, The CPD Certification Service has over 27 years’ experience providing CPD accreditation. With members in over 100 countries, our CPD providers benefit from the ability to promote themselves as part of an international community where quality is both recognised and assured.

If you are interested in offering training courses, seminars, workshops, eLearning, or educational events suitable for Continuing Professional Development, please visit the Become a CPD Provider page or contact our team to discuss in more detail. Alternatively, if you are looking for a free online CPD record tool to help manage, track and log your ongoing learning, as well as store your professional training records and attendance certificates in one simple place, go to the myCPD Portal page.