Wouldn't we all like a silver bullet to shatter our most challenging issues? One could easily be convinced that coaching is exactly this when selectively browsing through articles, listening to coaches, and even speaking to some teams about their experiences. But many teams - coached ones - tell a different story.
Tip 1. You shall be coached
This is a winner! Coerce your teams to get coaching. This is like asking your 2-year-old to not flip that light switch: you are more likely to get pushback and the opposite of what you ask for. Nobody likes to be told what to do, but we all know it's for their own good.
Unlike training which is focused on transferring knowledge, coaching aims to help the team accomplish its own goals by developing healthy habits and considering various points of view. Coaching can only be effective when the coachee voluntarily enters the relationship.
Congratulations. You just discouraged your team from changing at all and from wanting to work on what's holding them back, and possibly finding coaching a disgusting word all the way to eternity.
If you want coaching to be INeffective, just start applying this one piece of advice. Not only does it reduce coaching effectiveness all by itself, but it also amplifies the effect of the anti-tips below.
Tip 2. The show must go on!
We have deadlines to meet, customers to convert, new feature requests to follow up on, bugs to fix and reports to generate! No rest for the wicked! We can't just push all these things to the side and make time available for learning and development, can we? You're absolutely right! What good would come from providing the team with space to experiment and learn?
Our cognitive load - the stress on our brain, e.g. due to delivery pressure, being tired, ... - influences how open we are to new ideas. Learning at an adult age requires exposure and focus to give our brains time to create memories and form habits.
If you want coaching to be INeffective, ask your team to do those coaching activities during lunch or to stay longer and get their real work done.
Tip 3. You're doing it all wrong
As a leader you are responsible for telling your staff when they are doing it wrong. It's best to be as direct as possible while reasserting your superiority. Don't allow for any distracting challenges. Defensiveness has never led to better results.
Fear - lack of psychological safety - invokes a fight or flight response. Our survival instinct takes over and diverts our brain capacity to stay alive... now. Mid- and long-term consequences are no longer of any concern until the immediate threat is dealt with.
This anti-advice is especially effective when combined with anti-tip 1. If you want coaching to be INeffective and you are not trying this, you're doing it all wrong.
Tip 4. Let's play this educational game
Take the team away from their day-to-day activities and engage them in an educational game. Make sure the game does not obviously relate back to the work at hand - people deserve a break, right - but is something that will be useful in the future. If the team resists, make sure they understand that this is important and their participation is strongly encouraged.
Games can be an effective way to learn about concepts in a different setting. To be able to learn from it, the team needs to have sufficient brainpower to spend. To make the learning applicable, the relatedness to the work needs to be clear.
If you want coaching to be INeffective, you tried this and it does not work, you should take attendance and share notes with management.
Wrapping up
There you have it! With only four anti-tips your investment in coaching is sure to yield horrific results. If you implement them well, your team might actually never recover...
PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. Treat your teams with respect, recognize the pressure that is on their shoulders, listen to their challenges and provide support in a timely manner.
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