{"id":96305,"date":"2023-03-22T13:09:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T17:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=96305"},"modified":"2023-03-23T10:47:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T14:47:41","slug":"what-is-performance-coaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-performance-coaching\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Performance Coaching? Sir John Whitmore’s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is performance coaching? What are the different types? How does performance consultant Sir John Whitmore explain what it means to be a performance coach?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Sir John Whitmore, performance coaching is a partnership in which coaches help business leaders and workers develop the skills to maximize their potential and drive performance. As a pioneer of workplace coaching, his book Coaching for Performance<\/em> explains in detail the ins and outs of performance coaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to learn more about what performance coaching is (and isn’t), according to Whitmore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Performance Coaching, According to Whitmore<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Performance consultant Sir John Whitmore is a pioneer of workplace coaching and co-creator of the popular GROW model, a coaching framework for goal-setting and performance improvement. Published in 2017, Coaching for Performance<\/em> is the 5th edition of Whitmore\u2019s groundbreaking 1992 book and offers updated information on what performance coaching is, its benefits, and methods of measuring organizational culture<\/a> and performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we’ll explain what performance coaching is and some of the various types of performance coaching you may encounter, according to Whitmore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One-on-One Coaching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, what is performance coaching, according to Whitmore’s definition? Whitmore says performance coaching is a strengths-based, non-judgemental partnership in which coaches help business leaders and workers develop goals, strategies, and skills to maximize their potential and drive performance<\/strong>. Performance coaches should view their coachee as fully capable, resourceful, and proficient in their thoughts, abilities, and skills\u2014the coach\u2019s role is simply to reveal <\/em>their best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Although performance coaches view coachees as equal partners, the reverse isn\u2019t always true. Experts say that 70% of senior executives are alpha males<\/a> who believe they\u2019re smarter than everyone else and can be critical and resistant to change\u2014making them difficult to coach.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitmore says a performance coach\u2019s job is not<\/em> to instruct employees on how or what to do<\/strong>, which can rob your coachee of the chance to absorb information they need to develop self-confidence, autonomy, and ownership of their work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Whitmore\u2019s rationale for allowing your coachee to learn on their own is similar to experiential learning<\/a>\u2014an approach in which instructors allow students to directly engage in a task instead of showing them how to do it. For example, a welding instructor would allow students to operate<\/em> welding equipment instead of just talking about how it works so they know how heavy it is and how to physically operate it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitmore\u2019s belief that a coach\u2019s role is to help workers maximize their potential is rooted in psychologist Abraham Maslow\u2019s hierarchy of needs. Maslow believed that all humans have the same basic needs and must satisfy each level of need to fulfill their greatest potential: self-actualization<\/strong>. His hierarchy is illustrated as a pyramid with five horizontal layers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n