Coaching others: 40 Useful Performance Feedback Phrases

Coaching is the process of improving performance that focuses on enhancing and bridging the gap from where one is to where they want to be.

Coaching others: Exceeds Expectations Phrases

• Prepares a set of written procedures with step-by-step details on how to do a certain position in order to help a trainee remember everything
• Has strong listening skills; is good at gathering information and then clarifying it to the person being coached
• Does not jump in straight away with the answer but rather makes sure that one has fully understood the issue by clarifying and reflecting
• Possesses strong questioning skills; does not offer opinions but rather asks questions to help the person being coached understand the issue at hand
• Gives time and space for the person being coached to try out things and does not get angry about mistakes
• Provides constructive feedback in order to help the person being coached improve on weak areas
• Has high emotional intelligence; is good at understanding and relating to all types of people
• Puts aside any preconceived ideas about the person being coached and tries to focus on the coaching process and what one learns about the individual through that
• Parks one's own subject expertise and helps the person being coached to develop their own solutions
• Organizes with the person being coached a suitable place and time to conduct coaching in accordance with the company's policy

Coaching others: Meets Expectations Phrases

• Monitors a trainee's progress with the new skills in the workplace and provides supportive assistance as needed
• Identifies performance difficulties and problems with the coaching and rectifies them or refers them to the appropriate person for follow-up
• Proves that the person being coached is a valuable asset to the company even though they may not be 100% competent
• Allows the person being coached to share any additional coaching needs they might have or are reluctant to share
• Highlights the benefits of receiving coaching to the person being coached, the company and to the customers
• Sticks to the main topic during the coaching process; does not waste time on unimportant or peripheral issues
• Gets the person being coached to observe and then to reason about what they have seen
• Puts the task in context and illustrates how the content in question fits into the overall running of things in the company
• Teaches the basics first; moves from the most important points to the less important points
• Creates a conducive environment for the person being coached to learn and ask questions

Coaching others: Needs Improvement Phrases

• Gets angry when the person being coached makes a mistake instead of trying to recover the situation calmly
• Steps in and solves problems for the person being coached instead of giving them time to think and come up with solutions to the problems
• Tortures the person being coached into figuring out answers to a series of hard questions on their own
• Constantly interrupts a learner during the coaching process thus cuts off something crucial that he/she might want to say
• Asks the person being coached more than one question at a time thus makes them lose focus or get confused
• Asks closed questions thus does not allow the people being coached to come up with their own ideas and suggestions
• Pushes an approach and hopes it solves a learner's problem instead of letting the learner's problem dictate one's approach
• Gets too emotionally attached to the learner's goals and gets disappointed when he/she doesn't achieve these goals
• Steps in and does the learner's work instead of helping them to be more effective so that they can work on their own
• Does not put a way to measure progress in place and does not care whether or not the person being coached is on track

Coaching others: Self Evaluation Questions

• What are some of the techniques you have used to coach your employees? How effective have these been?
• How do you help a person you are coaching achieve their goals?
• What are some of the things you have done to help you remain focused during the coaching process?
• Is there a time when an employee has made a terrible mistake as a result of poor coaching? How did you fix it?
• What are some of the things you have done or courses you have taken to improve your coaching skills?
• Is there a time when you missed an important project deadline because you were not properly coached on how to handle the project?
• Is there a time when you have had to deal with an employee who was not cooperating during coaching sessions? How did you go about it?
• How do you prepare for your coaching sessions? How do you get your staff ready for coaching?
• Is there a time when you have had to deal with an employee who was always late for coaching sessions? How did you go about it?
• Is there a time when you have had to coach someone you didn't get along with? If yes, how did you handle it?