ELED 3714 Unit 5 (Chapter 9):One
on one leadership-Coaching
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Outcomes
The outcome you will achieve by completing this unit is:
Plan the implementation of a coaching process for one-on-one leadership
In order to achieve this outcome, you should be able to:

Apply the coaching process

Apply the GROW coaching model to conduct a developmental conversation

Apply the SCARF model to create a receptive and psychologically safe coaching
environment

Formulate powerful questions

Apply the 4 by 8 feedback principles to be able to provide constructive feedback to
others
Topics for discussion
• The coaching process
• The coaching conversation-GROW Model
• Creating a psychologically safe environment for the
conversation – SCARF Model
• Coaching skills: powerful questioning, active listening
and constructive feedback
3
One-on-one leadership:Coaching
•
COUNSELLING:
Focus on the past
•
COACHING:
Focus on the present
•
MENTORING:
Focus on the future
The Coaching process
5
What is coaching?
•
•
•
Coaching -‘a deliberate process using focused conversations to create an
environment that results in accelerated performance and development’
(Blanchard p.132).
focus is on self-responsibility, moving forward and intentional action.
The coaching session is a structured conversation about work, with a
specific outcome.
6
What is coaching?
• Face-to-face process
• Between managers and staff members
• Conversations about situations
• To recognise and develop potential
• To improve performance
• To confront unsatisfactory
performance
• Guiding and encouraging people
Why do coaching?
• Assist individuals to make better
decisions
• Solve problems that hold them back
• Learn new skills
• Assist individuals to progress their
careers
• Improve performance
FIVE APPLICATIONS OF COACHING
•
Performance coaching

Development coaching

Career coaching

Coaching to support learning

Creating an internal coaching culture
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Key elements of coaching
MANAGEMENT BY
COACHING
generates
AWARENESS
Quality and
Quantity of Input
RESPONSIBILITY
Personal Choice
and Control
The Coaching process
The coaching process contains three main elements:
1. The structured conversation (GROW model)
2. The creation of a receptive, psychological safe environment (SCARF model and
multipliers)
3. Coaching skills: Establishing rapport, formulating and applying powerful
questions, active listening skills and providing constructive feedback.
•
The focus in on both the process and the outcome.
11
The coaching process
12
Part 1: The Coaching Conversation
13
The coaching conversation
•
GROW Model (John Witmore) - to assist managers to have effective coaching conversations.
The model entails four questions:

Goal (G): What is the goal that the manager and the employee would like to achieve with the session?
What are the specific issues that need to be addressed during the conversation?

Reality (R): What is the current situation with regard to these issues or issue?

Options (O): What are options that can be considered to solve or overcome the issue(s)?

Way forward (W): What would be the best option(s) to choose in order to be able to move forward and
the commitment to implement these options?
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The
GROW Step
Examples of
Questions you could use

G = Goals
What is your goal?
What would be a milestone on the way?
How will you (and I) know when you have achieved it?
How will you know when you have reached the result
you want?
What is the present situation in more detail?
Who is involved? What is the effect on
others?
What and how great is your concern about it?
What obstacles will need to be overcome on
the way?




What other factors are relevant?
What solutions have you tried?
What worked? What didn't?
What other resources would you need?




What alternatives do you have now?
What are the possibilities in front of you?
Which choices do you have at this time?
What have you seen work in similar
situations?





If constraints were removed what would you do?
What else do you need to consider?
Who might be able to help?
Would you like another suggestion from me?
Which options do you like the most?




Which option(s) do you choose?
What are your next steps?
What might get in the way?
What could arise to hinder you in taking these
steps or meeting the goal?



Who needs to know what your plan are?
What support do you need and from whom?
What commitment on a 1-to-10 scale do you have to
taking these agreed actions?
Is there anything else you want to talk about now or
are we finished?

O = Options
What are your options?
W = Way Forward (Will)
What are you willing to do?





GROW MODEL




R = Reality
What is the reality
of the situation?
What outcome would you like from this
session?
What is the subject matter or the issue on
which you would like to work?
What would you like to achieve long term?
The Leadership Coach was brought in by the Sales Manager of a high-performing FMCG sales
team based in Johannesburg. The team consistently exceeded monthly targets—except for
Thando, a relatively new salesperson. Despite showing promise during her first two months,
Thando’s performance had dropped significantly over the last quarter. She appeared
demotivated, missed targets, and was disengaged during team meetings. The coach decided to
apply the GROW coaching model to support Thando.
GROW MODEL
GROW MODEL
GROW MODEL
GROW MODEL: EXAMPLE
GOAL:
Help individual to identify objective(s) that he/she wants to achieve and identify the outcomes.
For example:
Goal presented: Promotion to Associate Professor within next three years.
Performance criteria: Teaching; Research (Publications and study guidance); Community Engagement; Leadership roles
REALITY:
What areas are going well and what areas need to be improved/enhanced?
Does well: Teaching; community engagement; leadership roles.
Areas that need attention: Research. Lack of publications in international journals. Rejection of articles. Minimal study guidance for PhD
students.
Concerns:
•
I have a very heavy teaching load (under and post-graduate levels);
•
Lack of new research data;
•
Writing skills not up to standard for international publications;
•
Newly, younger colleagues have better research records. I may stay behind.
•
I need ways to accelerate my research outcomes
GROW MODEL: EXAMPLE
OPTIONS:
Encourage individual to find options. Explore the ways that can help to achieve the goal.
Possibilities? Who can help? Identify benefits and drawbacks of each option
•
•
•
•
•
•
Join an established interdisciplinary research project in the faculty
Approach senior professor to assist with selecting appropriate journals
Attend an article writing course (arranged by Post-Graduate School)
Become a co-promotor on two current PhD studies to learn how to provide study guidance to PhD students
Apply for research leave (3 months);
Reduce teaching load
GROW MODEL: EXAMPLE
WILL (Way forward):
Which options are you going to choose? What do you need to do next? How can I be of help?
What can you to commit to? (also agree on deadlines)
•
•
•
I will make an appointment with the Chair: Interdisciplinary research project to find out whether I can join one of the
interdisciplinary projects before the end of the week
I will contact the Centre for Post Graduate Studies and book myself on a writing retreat, so that I can rewrite the rejected article. I
will attend the first available course.
I will approach one of my colleagues and ask whether I can become a co-promotor on two of her studies (this week)
How can I be of help?
•
•
Would you assist with approaching the senior professor for assistance with selection of journal, please?
Is it possible to reduce my teaching load for one semester so that I can focus on the completion and resubmission of my articles?
Both parties commit to do the above by a certain date and to provide feedback.
Activity 1-Reflection: Application of the GROW model
Scenario:
•
You are the Head of the Department of Industrial Psychology. One of the academics in the
department is a lecturer and would like to prepare herself to be promoted to Senior lecturer
level within the next few years. An academic’s job responsibilities include several aspects: (a)
Teaching and Learning at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels; b) Post-graduate study
guidance for Masters and PhD students; (c) Research and the publication of articles in
international and South African accredited journals and (d) Community engagement.
•
To become a senior lecturer the academic will have to show evidence of being able to
perform in all the above areas.
•
Formulate questions for each phase of the GROW model to ensure that you will have a
constructive conversation about how to assist the academic with her preparation to
become a Senior lecturer
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Part 2: Creating a psychologically safe environment for
the conversation
The coaching process
25
Creating a psychologically safe environment for the
conversation
•
SCARF model (David Rock, 2008) - explains how social threats can lead people to
withdraw or move away and not be receptive to what the other person say or do.

Neuroscience research findings (e.g. MRIs) showed that our bodies react alike to social
threats and physical threats/dangers, as well as social and physical rewards.

During social interaction, the brain classifies everything with a “reward” or “threat” feeling in
our body, which then registers in our behavior (i.e. being open or protecting yourself).

Our brains try to detect whether something is good or bad for us.

It is called “A Brain-Based Model for Collaborating with and Influencing Others."
26
Create receptivity:
SCARF Model
Away
Toward
Minimise harm/threat
Maximise reward
SCARF MODEL
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FIVE DOMAINS OF SCARF MODEL
The SCARF Model targets the top five social rewards and threats
identified so far that are deeply important to the brain
•
Status: Importance, pecking order (more important than education and
money)
•
Certainty: Being able to predict the future
•
Autonomy: Provides a sense of control over events
•
Relatedness: A sense of safety with others
•
Fairness: Perception of fair exchanges between people
These five domains act as social triggers and activate either the primary
reward or primary threat networks of the brain (i.e. threat to one’s status
similar to threat to one’s life; perceived fairness similar to receiving a money
reward)
Status
•
Our importance relative to others (e.g. feeling competent and
important/incompetent or unimportant)
• A person’s status can be diminished or enhanced
• Threatening someone’s status by for example:
- mishandling performance feedback might cause defensive
behaviour or anger
- dismissing of ideas or focusing on mistakes when managing
people more experienced than you
• Improve status of a person by giving regular praise for their
performance, and opportunities to grow and develop their talents.
Certainty
•
•
Certainty is about the ability to predict the future.
When we feel uncertain about something, our brains try and work
overtime to make sense of the unknown, which makes us lose focus and
feel threatened.
• For example, people need to know what their role and responsibilities
are at work.
• Being clear with people on
- what is expected from them,
- checking in with them on this on a regular basis
- helps them to feel safe, no matter how uncertain everything else is.
Autonomy
•
•
•
•
Autonomy is about how in control we feel of events.
Micromanaging is the biggest threat to a persons' autonomy.
Whilst every person has different needs when it comes to how much
autonomy works for them, nobody is motivated when they feel boxed in.
Showing trust by involving individuals in decision making, delegating
appropriately, encouraging responsibility and granting the freedom to try
out new ideas increases safety.
Relatedness
•
•
•
•
Relatedness is about how safe we feel with others and how much we
belong.
When we don’t feel a sense of belonging in the group, we can feel
excluded, which impacts on our collaboration, creativity and
commitment.
Connection with others increases the release of the hormone Oxytocin
in the brain, and the more of this we have, the more connected we feel.
Building relationships through regular team get-togethers, coaching
sessions, or buddy systems, can increase relatedness. Especially where
people work remotely, regular check-ins are essential.
Fairness
•
Fairness is about how fair we perceive the exchanges between people to be.
•
A perception of unfairness activates the insular cortex (region of the brain that is
linked to disgust - a powerful threat response).
•
Regular, open and honest communication, and
•
Transparency with regard to decision making will reduce this threat
•
Unfairness tends to be perceived in situations where:
-
There is a lack of transparency
-
Lack of clear values and rules; boundaries are not set
-
Inconsistent decision making
DOMAINS
AWAY (Threat)
TOWARDS (Reward)
Suggestions of incompetence
Not enough positive feedback
Lack of promotion/demotion
Performance review environment
•
•
•
•
•
CERTAINTY
•
•
•
•
Not providing clear expectations
Large scale change
Uncertainty about what will follow
Restructuring
• Clear expectations
• Goal-focussed environment
• Clearly communicated strategy / goals
Positive / constructive feedback
Feel valued/competent
Feel that they learn and improve
See their potential
Public praise
• Micro management
• Highly bureaucratic environment
•
•
•
•
Collaborative environment
Self-driven systems
Give options
Enabling decision making
RELATEDNESS
•
•
•
•
Maintain professional distance
Task-orientated environment
Little focus on value added by people
In-group / Out-group
•
•
•
•
Social connection encouraged
Smaller groups
Feeling that they belong
Linked to trust
FAIRNESS
•
•
•
•
Not being transparent
Inconsistent promotion practices
Poor communication
Not walking-the-talk
•
•
•
•
Transparent decision making
Increased communication
Involvement in business issues
Value-driven behaviour
AUTONOMY
SCARF MODEL: RECEPTIVITY
STATUS
•
•
•
•
SCARF MODEL in practice
•
Almost everyone experiences a lack of safety in one or more of the SCARF areas to some degree
•
Being aware of them is the first step.
•
Different people will have different responses to a situation.
•
What might energize and engage one person, might alienate and cause another to shut down.
•
Put yourself into the shoes of the other person and consider what they might see as a threat, and what they might
be needing from the situation.
•
Firstly, know the drivers that can cause a threat response (disengaged or avoidance response) and design
interaction to minimize threats.
•
Secondly, knowing about the drivers that can activate a reward response (approach response) enables people to
motivate others more effectively by tapping into internal rewards.
•
Minimize danger and maximizing reward.
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Activity 2: Reflection: Application of the SCARF model
•
Think of a person that you do not presently have a comfortable
relationship with.
1. You need to influence this person to do or achieve something
2. By using the 5 domains of the SCARF model, identify two of the five domains
that you think may make him/her more approachable to your conversation
3. What can you do practically in terms of these two domains to ensure receptivity
for your discussion with the person
37
The Leadership Coach was brought in by the Sales Manager of a highperforming FMCG sales team based in Johannesburg. The team consistently
exceeded monthly targets—except for Thando, a relatively new salesperson.
Despite showing promise during her first two months, Thando’s performance
had dropped significantly over the last quarter. She appeared demotivated,
missed targets, and was disengaged during team meetings. The coach decided
to apply the SCARF model to support Thando by creating a psychologically
safe and motivating environment.
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39
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Coaching: receptivity
Are you a diminisher or a multiplier of energy?
Liz Wiseman: “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter”.
DIMINISHER
MULTIPLIER
•
Don’t listen (interrupt)
•
Vision
•
Controlling (not open for ideas)
•
Listened
•
Don’t delegate (only small tasks)
•
Empowered
•
Micromanaged
•
Trusted
•
Selfish (self-absorbed)
•
Communicated
•
“My way or high way”
•
“Let the team drive”
•
Empire building
•
Talent-magnet
•
Tyrant (know-it-all)
•
Liberator (create space)
•
Good decision maker
(don’t utilise people)
‒ Make decisions and get buy-in
•
Debate maker
•
Challenger
•
Investor
The Leadership Coach was brought in by the Sales Manager of a high-performing FMCG sales
team based in Johannesburg. The team consistently exceeded monthly targets—except for
Thando, a relatively new salesperson. Despite showing promise during her first two months,
Thando’s performance had dropped significantly over the last quarter. She appeared
demotivated, missed targets, and was disengaged during team meetings. The coach decided to
apply the MULTIPLIER APPROACH to support Thando in generating positive energy on her
coaching journey.
Coach: "Thando, you’ve already identified a few strategies like reworking your prospecting list and reconnecting with lost clients. I’m not here to give you all the
answers — I trust that you know more about your territory than I ever could. What else might work based on your experience?“
Thando: "I think part of it is my approach. I’ve been playing it safe, avoiding riskier deals because of fear of rejection.“
Coach: "That’s very self-aware. You know, one thing I’ve noticed is that when you do take calculated risks, your instincts often pay off. What if you treated this
month as a test of your risk muscle? Push just a little harder on bold proposals?“
Thando: "Okay… I could try positioning one premium product differently to two clients I’ve been tiptoeing around.“
Coach: "Interesting! Let’s unpack that together. What are the pros and cons of that move? And if it fails, what would be your backup plan?“
Thando: "If it doesn’t work, I could shift to value bundles. But I believe the premium option could work if I communicate its long-term ROI clearly.“
Coach: "You’ve got a great plan and I can see your thinking evolving. I’d like you to run with this idea — fully. Let’s check back in two weeks. What measures will
you track to reflect whether you’re growing in confidence and impact?"
Coach (Liberator / Investor): "Thando, you’ve already identified a few strategies like reworking your prospecting list and reconnecting with lost clients. I’m not
here to give you all the answers — I trust that you know more about your territory than I ever could. What else might work based on your experience?“
Thando:"I think part of it is my approach. I’ve been playing it safe, avoiding riskier deals because of fear of rejection.“
Coach (Challenger / Talent Magnet): "That’s very self-aware. You know, one thing I’ve noticed is that when you do take calculated risks, your instincts often pay
off. What if you treated this month as a test of your risk muscle? Push just a little harder on bold proposals?“
Thando:"Okay… I could try positioning one premium product differently to two clients I’ve been tiptoeing around.“
Coach (Debate Maker): "Interesting! Let’s unpack that together. What are the pros and cons of that move? And if it fails, what would be your backup plan?“
Thando: "If it doesn’t work, I could shift to value bundles. But I believe the premium option could work if I communicate its long-term ROI clearly.“
Coach (Investor):"You’ve got a great plan and I can see your thinking evolving. I’d like you to run with this idea — fully. Let’s check back in two weeks. What
measures will you track to reflect whether you’re growing in confidence and impact?"
Activity 3: Reflection: multipliers and diminishers
Reflect on your behaviour when you interact with others.
•
List three things that you do that may be multipliers (creating energy in
others)
•
List three things that you sometimes do that may be diminishers (take
energy away from people)
47
Part 3: Coaching skills: powerful questioning, active
listening and constructive feedback
48
The coaching process
49
Coaching skills: powerful questioning
•
One of the greatest assets that leaders have at their disposal is the
question, artfully asked
•
If questioning is a technique that can
be utilised for a wide variety of
purposes, it must be used with
thoughtful care
What does a powerful question do?
•
Stimulates reflective thinking
•
Challenges assumptions
•
Is thought-provoking
•
Generates energy and create a desire to explore
•
Touches a deeper meaning
•
Evokes more questions
Three dimensions
of powerful questions (Eric Vogt)
Powerful questioning : summary
Architecture:
Power of question increases:
from Yes/No; where; when; which; who;
what; how; why
Scope:
Question encompass more people,
volume, time, more concerns
Meaning /
Context:
Challenges assumptions / Deeper
meaning
Generates energy
Compete vs. Collaborate
The linguistic architecture of powerful questions
The linguistic architecture of powerful questions
Increasing the power of questions: probing to increase
understanding
Closed question: Do you think you have stagnated in your job?
Yes
•
Who is to be blame for this?
My manager
•
Since when have you felt that you stagnated in your job?
Since I have visited one of our other branches and realized that the employees who started in the same year and in similar positions than me, have
been promoted twice.
•
What do you think you should do differently in order to get promoted?
I would need to take on additional responsibilities and show that I have the potential to be a supervisor
•
How can this be done?
I would need to discuss this with my manager and ask to apply to attend the supervisory training offered by the company to prepare for me to become
a supervisor
•
Why do you think being a supervisor will make your job more challenging and less mundane?
I have always loved to work with people and to focus on their development.
At the moment I only work with data and figures. Supervising others will give me the opportunity to work with different personality types and assist
people to achieve their best. I find that very exciting and challenging
Increase the scope of questions
•
Questions which encompass more people, more volume,
more time, or more concerns have greater scope and are
more powerful questions.
•
“Example: ‘What can I (the bread winner)’ do to reduce my
monthly costs and increase my net income?
•
What can we (as a household) do to reduce our costs and
increase our net income?
•
Increase scope of question when individual may be too
narrow-minded.
•
encourage broader thinking
Increase the scope of questions
Change the meaning/context dimension of questions
•
•
•
Challenges assumptions
Touches a deeper meaning
Generates energy
o “How can we compete with the Japanese?”
o “How can we collaborate with the Japanese?”
Use when individual may be too rigid in their thinking;
e.g. What would the opposite perspective on this be? How can we include
both perspectives?
Change the meaning/context dimension of questions
Putting it all together
Activity 4: Group exercise: Powerful questions
•
Increase the power of this question by changing first its architecture, its scope and finally
its meaning/context:
•
Example 1:
•
You are the manager of the sales department. You realize increasingly that more and more
employees are looking stressed, overworked and even disengaged at work. You decide to
facilitate a session to find out what can be done to counteract the situation by finding out:
•
“What can I (the manager) do to improve the morale of these individuals”
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Activity 4: Group exercise: Powerful questions
•
Example 2:
•
You are the only breadwinner in your household. You live with you partner and three
children, aged 20, 18, and 16 years old. It is becoming financially more and more difficult to
provide for everyone. You decide to take action to increase the household income.
•
‘What can I (the bread winner)’ do to reduce my monthly costs and increase my net
income?
•
Increase the power of this question by changing first its architecture, its scope and finally
its meaning/context:
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Active listening
There are three types of listening:

Paraphrasing - to paraphrase, one simply rewords what another individual
has said

Open question - a question that helps a person explore their feelings
(rather than forcing a “yes”, “no”, or other certain answer)

Feeling reflection - your perception of the speaker’s feelings based on
words, tone, and body language
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How can listening skills be improved?
• Listen carefully so that you will be able to understand,
comprehend, and evaluate
• Be mentally and physically prepared to listen. Don’t try
to think of answers in advance
• Don’t talk too much
• Think about the topic in
advance, if possible. Be prepared
to listen
• Listen with empathy. Try to put
yourself in their shoes
Listening: Tips for supportive responses
• Ask for clarification
• Try not to preach, blame or demand
• Don’t defend
• Be comfortable with silence
• Avoid straying from the topic
Providing constructive feedback
•
When providing feedback on performance or behavioural issues the leader needs to keep
the following in mind:

Feedback must be specific rather than general (use clear and recent examples).

Only include behaviour that the receiver may be capable of doing something about.

Do not overload the receiver with more information than the person can handle at any
particular time.

Asks the receiver to rephrase and restate the feedback to test the validity of the of
feedback.
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The art of 4 by 8 feedback
Principle 1: Timely and Sincere
Step 1: Make your feedback sincere
Feedback must come from a desire to improve
Performance and assist with personal development
Step 2: Make your feedback timely
Offer it as soon as appropriately possible
Step 3: Choose a comfortable place
Always deliver in private feedback that is
not positive
Coaching skills: Constructive feedback
Principle 2: Build a bridge
Step 4: Preface your request with feedback
o Before requesting someone to change
their behaviour, a leader should
provide specific feedback first to
support that request.
o Make sure to ask the listener for permission
before delivering feedback
Constructive feedback
Principle 3: Speak your truth
Step 5: Be specific and objective
o
o
o
o
Avoid interpreting behaviours; simply note specific behaviours
Refrain from unspecific labels (e.g. bad attitude)
Focus on what behaviours happened,
not what should or could have happened
in the future
Step 6: Make it relevant to the organisation
Draw connections between feedback
and organisation’s goals and statistics
o Note how the behaviour affected the
organisation
Coaching skills: Constructive feedback
Principle 4: Invite dialogue
Step 7: Make this a discussion
• Always ask for the listener’s response after giving
feedback
• Listen openly, paraphrase the response, and reply to
the teammate’s reaction
Step 8: Make the discussion a start, not an end
Offer advice and encouragement, and leave the door for
communication open.
The Leadership Coach was brought in by the Sales Manager of a high-performing FMCG sales
team based in Johannesburg. The team consistently exceeded monthly targets—except for
Thando, a relatively new salesperson. Despite showing promise during her first two months,
Thando’s performance had dropped significantly over the last quarter. She appeared
demotivated, missed targets, and was disengaged during team meetings. The coach decided to
apply the 4 x 8 model provide constructive feedback to Thando.
Activity 5: Providing constructive feedback
•
Read the following scenario and apply the four principles and eight steps of constructive feedback.
•
Scenario:
•
You are leading a team of six people. The team is very productive and the interpersonal relationships between team members are good. There is
an openness and honesty within the team that allows the team to debate issues without team members taking it personally. However, a new member,
Clarissa joined the team recently. She tends to be very defensive and opinionated.
During a meeting last week, she became aggressive when the team was reviewing its progress regarding the team’s sales targets for the month. Since
the new team member is also responsible for sales, she did not wait for the team member who was providing feedback, to finish her argument and
immediately told the team member that she has no idea how tough the market is out there. The rest of the team members were shocked, since they are
not used to this type of behaviour within the team. Team members did not act on Clarissa’s behaviour and just withdrew for the rest of the meeting.
Clarissa wrote an email to you. She copied in one of the other team members, Peter. In the email she told you that during a sales visit to a potential
client by her and Peter, he made a joke that she thought was biased against women. She wrote that she found Peter’s behaviour unacceptable because
she felt humiliated in front of the client. When you asked Peter about this email, he was stunned. She did not say anything to him previously and he did
not even realize that she was upset about the joke. According to him she did not interpret the joke correctly and was completely over-sensitive. You
could see that Clarissa’s behaviour was starting to influence the rest of the team. The next day, you received a complaint from the Human Resources
Department. According to them, an individual in another department submitted a complaint about Clarissa’s behaviour in the parking garage.
Apparently, Clarissa told the individual that she parked too closely to Clarissa’s car and if she does that again, she will see what will happen to her.
The individual did not know how to react as it was clear that Clarissa was furious.
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Activity 5: Providing constructive feedback
•
After these three issues, you decided to have a conversation with Clarissa
about her behaviour.
•
Explain how you will approach a constructive feedback session with Clarissa
by applying the principles and steps of constructive feedback.
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