In September 2018, the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance and direction on the importance of creating a coaching culture. The guidance asserted that coaching is a critical tool as the Federal Government strives to develop a workforce that supports the effective and efficient mission achievement and improved services to the American people. This coaching initiative supports the President’s Management Agenda, especially in the areas of Continuous Learning and Strategic Workforce Management.
The benefits of coaching individuals and teams include higher engagement, retention, organizational performance and productivity; increased focus on mission and organizational objectives; improved creativity, learning, and knowledge; and better relationships between people and departments. The guidance included FAQs on coaching in the federal government; those can be found at: https://chcoc.gov/sites/default/files/Attachment%20-%20Coaching%20in%20the%20Federal%20Government%20FAQs.pdf.
Coaching is an activity where managers work with subordinates to foster skill development, impart knowledge, and instill values and behaviors that will benefit the employee and the organization. Coaching is often the byproduct of the performance appraisal process.
Most of the time, coaching takes place in the course of everyday business, whenever a supervisor or manager sees a way to help an employee do something better. Coaching can be initiated by the supervisor, or the employee, depending upon the need and the situation.
The process of successful coaching uses skills found in the self-awareness and communication competencies. The formal coaching process as defined by OPM recognizes both internal and external coaches, as well as coach-leaders and recommends that formal coaches avoid situations where they are coaching individuals that could be in their chain of command. There is a government-wide database of coaches on OMB’s MAX portal. Access to the database is limited.
How is coaching different than mentoring? Although the two words are often used interchangeably, there is actually a difference. The chart below highlights those differences:
|
Coaching |
Mentoring |
|
Professional relationship |
Combination of friendship and professional relationship |
|
The coach listens actively and doesn’t offer opinions or conjecture |
The mentor gives advice based on experience and observation |
|
The coach assists the employee in activating personal resources |
The mentor adds resources to the learning process |
|
The coach offers unconditional respect and remains nonjudgmental |
The mentor offers feedback based on organizational expectations and experience |
|
The coach thinks with the employee and makes observations |
The mentor challenges employee assumptions and beliefs |
