Seven Key Element of Coaching

Effective coaching is not amorphous. It is grounded in certain basic understandings, which could be called "The Seven C's of Successul Coaching."
Context: The coach is able to provide appropriate and meaningful support by understanding the issues within the context of the organization's business environment, culture, and competitive demands.
Clarity: The participating leaders are able to clarify objectives, expectations for change, and how the coaching process will be conducted.
Commitment: The organization is committed to supporting the leader and the leader is committed to working for change.
Coachability: The presenting issue and the people it affects are amenable to coaching, and the situation can best be addressed through one-on-one coaching. In reality, there are some situation where coaching would not be productive, and a responsible coach knows when to turn down an engagement on the basis of the coachability issue.
Courses of Action: The coach and the leader establish a development plan with clearly stated objectives and realistic strategies to help the leader become more effective.
Confidentiality: A "must" of trust-building.
Chemistry: Leader/coach rapport and compatibility characterize interactions and secure the relationship.

When leadership coaching meets these "7 C's" criteria, transformational learning is not only possible but probable. Some of the results are subtle, some are dramatic, including:
- Incremental improvements, such as upgraded skills, new practices and behaviors, doing things better, and relating to others with greater self-awareness.
- Reshaped patterns of thinking, such as a revised frame of reference, a change in assumptions about how things work or how one sees the world.
- Personal transformation, such as a shift in one's point of view about "who I am" and "how I am."