What is the difference between transactional and transformational coaching?

In the art of coaching there are many different approaches and definitions. However, at a basic level they all are either transactional (coaching for performance) and / or transformational (coaching for a change in awareness and understanding that can lead to improved performance). The two foci are strongly interrelated with the transactional often leading into the transformational depending, in part, on the coachee’s readiness for coaching as well as on their context. I will discuss this below while also providing an overview of some of the similarities, differences, and overlaps between transactional and transformational coaching.

Broadly, transactional coaching - the ‘how’ approach - is focussed on the readily apparent, current performance of the coachee and tends to focus on acquiring skills, knowledge and techniques. It relates mainly to a coachee achieving their desired goals. The emphasis is on professional change and is often based on models of effective behaviour with change occurring through cognitive development and action (Unsell, 2015). The coach, while remaining non-directive, may place an emphasis on structured sessions that help a coachee narrow their focus (Chittenden, 2012), set goals, self-identify measures for success, as well as the skills required to achieve those goals.

In organisations transactional coaching relationships tend to be short (around three to six months) with frequent sessions to support a coachee to reach short term milestones, while creating new habits and ways of thinking, including, possibly, an ability to coach themselves (autocoach) (Southern Institute of Technology, n.d.). This short duration can be effective in helping someone to develop within a specific domain of their work where a company is looking for a reasonably rapid return on investment (Chittenden, 2012). Psychologically quick wins are motivational for the coachee, and positive for other stakeholders.

Transformational coaching (the ‘who’ and ‘why’ approach) aims to raise a coachee’s self-awareness, as well as to recognise the reason(s) for, and to catalyse, change in order to improve not only the coachee’s professional performance, but also to positively impact the coachee’s sense of self and wellbeing. The transformational approach is a step beyond - but still includes - transactional coaching, and includes the use of similar techniques (Chittenden, 2012). The interrelatedness between transformational and transactional coaching might be envisaged as a cycle with interconnected nodes. As such, a coachee who has worked successfully in a transactional coaching relationship to achieve a positive outcome and has consequently experienced a boost to their confidence, may start to get a gut feeling that there is ‘something more’ (Southern Institute of Technology, n.d.). The positive experience tends to encourage the coachee to try again with the expectation that, even if it doesn’t work there will be valuable things to learn, and the likelihood of success is good.

A coachee who is working in a transformational coaching relationship needs to have a high readiness for coaching with a willingness to venture further. They are likely to move through a series of ‘stages of development’ during which they grow in “capacity to explore and understand … [themselves]  together with more and more perspectives and, as a result, an ability to deal with greater complexity” (Chittenden, 2012, Para 5). In other words, the coachee is able to deal with ambiguity, and take on board a range of perspectives, including those that may not align with their own values. As a result, they are likely to be able to make more balanced decisions. The associated shifts in attitude and behaviour positively impact their resiliency as well as their ability to identify creative ways forward - for themselves, and for the organisation or company - especially if they are in leadership positions.
The coach will work with a coachee to expand their focus (Chittenden, 2012), draw on the coachee’s experiences, encourage robust self-reflection, and dig deep into long-held values, motivations, and attitudes. Sessions will occur over a period of twelve or more months, every four to six weeks, and be free-flowing to enable the unpacking of insights and challenges as they arise.

In conclusion, whether a coaching approach is transactional or transformational (unless shaped by an organisation’s requirements) will necessarily be different - and in different proportions - with every coachee. The coach will need to ‘meet the coachee where they are at’. With every coachee the coach’s approach needs to be fluid, organic and responsive such that they can 'dance' with pretty much anyone in a way that supports them to ‘go where they are ready to go’.

References

Chittenden, C. (2012). Transaction Or Transformation? Retrieved from http://www.talkingabout.com.au/TransactionOrTransformation.
Chittenden, C. (2015). What Is Ontological Coaching? Retrieved from http://www.talkingabout.com.au/TransactionOrTransformation
Southern Institute of Technology. (n.d.) Transformational Coaching and its outcomes (Module C) [Lecture notes]. Retrieved from CBC103 (NET).
Unsell, F. (2015). Leadership development. Retrieved from http://www.developmentctr.com/religious_leaders_docs/tranact_vs_transform_coaching_updated.htm.

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Paining some life into this fruit. CC ( BY NC ND ) licensed Flickr image by ClaraDon: https://flic.kr/p/9wWAPo

"Coaching and mentoring happens alongside people..."

A lovely overview from Sarah Whiting, about what coaching and mentoring is...and isn't, and a couple of the options available through CORE Education.

The description from the Edtalks site reads:
Sarah Whiting, facilitator for CORE Education, discusses the role of coaching and mentoring in teaching. She talks about how important it is that coaching and mentoring happens alongside people, providing support in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space. Sarah explains how coaching and mentoring has two different options for the way it may work in schools. One as an external partner, providing unbiased and sometimes different points of view, and the other where a school may want to develop a coaching and mentoring relationship that helps them to make changes from within the school's existing structure. Sarah discusses the different ways schools can use the coaching and mentoring support offered by CORE and how important it is that schools build their capacity in this area to become their own coaching and mentoring community so that the skills become embedded in the education system.

Coaching and mentoring for all generations in the workplace

I must admit to feeling just a bit excited when I read recently that people are crying out for coaching and mentoring (although I did wince a bit at some of the language used in the article :D). This is a significant shift from seeing coaching and mentoring as something that used to be about performance management, or as something that seemed to be mainly reserved for executives, to a way of supporting all employees in their professional learning and development.

The article I read (Survey Says: Your Employees Want Coaching and Mentoring), unpacked the results from an October 2017 survey of over 2000 learners conducted by Wainwright Research, and highlights some key points, after first suggesting that "many who talk about learning in the workplace tend to think of the generations as significantly different in their preferences. Wainhouse’s findings show this is not the case. Across all the generations, learners prefer a range...." (Pagano, 2018).
Some of the key results were:

• Coaching and mentoring appeals most to the oldest (50+ years old) and youngest learners (21-25 years old) out of all age groups in the workplace.
• Young workers find informal conversation with a subject matter expert to be extremely useful. As workers age, this becomes less of a top priority. However, by late career the trend reverses again, and the 50+ group shows greater interest in informal conversation with SMEs than those in mid-career.

           (Pagano, 2018).

Interesting stuff. The implications for organisations are many, and, beyond the practical, the findings maybe offer a window into a different way of thinking about learning as something we do as a 'whole person' as opposed to 'a role'. Consider, for instance, the difference between content delivered to you to teach you something (no guarantee you want, need, or are going to learn it), compared with a series of conversations that help you identify your aspirations, and figure out how to move toward them (aspirations that you 'own', with an underlying reason to be accountable to yourself). Absolutely, sometimes you will need to access that content. However, coaching and mentoring will support you to figure out what your reason for doing so is - one that aligns with your values, and has direct and immediate relevance for you.

Maybe that where I differ most from the author of the article is that, even for employees in the mid-stage of their career, the combination of coaching and other professional development opportunities can be potent. What are your thoughts?



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A way to visualise coaching and how it works...

Coaching is a bit of a buzzword, and you may be wondering why you might want to work with a coach, and what you’d get out of it. Mark Edwards and Hazel Owen (Ethos Consultancy NZ) have worked together with Cyma in a coaching partnership for the last year, and in this post we set out to explore these questions from Hazel’s experience as the coach and Mark’s perspective as the coachee.

WHAT IS IT LIKE WORKING WITH A COACH?

Have you had that experience where someone advises you to do something in a certain way, and is quite insistent about why, how and what should be done? What was your reaction? Perhaps miffed, resentful, or annoyed - or maybe you felt it was one way forward and gave it a go. The thing is, at the end of the day, advice is someone else’s take on your situation … and who you are as a professional. In comparison, coaching supports you to identify your own strategies, based on your skills, knowledge of your strengths, areas you would like to work on, and your context.

As a potential coachee (or coach), given the range of definitions and approaches, I feel it is important for you to find an approach that resonates with you as well as being suitable for the organisation in which you are working. The definition that feels comfortable for me is...

"A human development process that involves structured, focused interaction and the use of appropriate strategies, tools and techniques to promote desirable and sustainable change for the benefit of the coachee and potentially for other stakeholders." (Cox, Bachkirova, & Clutterbuck, 2011, p. 1)

In other words, it’s a fluid, responsive conversation where the coach uses an approach that draws on a range of tools and frameworks. The conversation helps you work through your thinking, ideas, and experience, and in doing so figure out a ‘way forward’.

WHAT YOU AND YOUR ORGANISATION CAN GET WITH A LITTLE COACHING

In practical terms, coaching can help you:

• See opportunities within your organisation
• Identify next steps towards moving towards these opportunities
• Develop personalised ‘toolkits’ that are tailored to the work you do - toolkits you might want to share with colleagues
• Move through transition times, such as when you join an organisation, or move into a new role
• Identify when you feel that you are no longer stretched, or enjoying, your role, and to seek other avenues (within the organisation, or within other organisations)
• Identify possible risks (for the organisation, as well as professional and personal)
• Work through immediate challenges and issues
• Talk through strategies
• Move through processes such as goal setting, planning, reviewing, and refining

THE COACHING APPROACH AT CYMA

The roadmap below illustrates the nuts and bolts of the coaching approach at Cyma, where people are seen holistically; as people who are professionals with a personal life, emotions, and areas they would like to work on that would support them outside of work, as well as in their professional role. It’s an iterative approach, with built in opportunities to revisit and review how well things are going at each stage, and reflect on ongoing learnings. This makes it easy to be responsive, identify risks, and address challenges and issues as they arise, as well as to plan for the future. At the end of an overall cycle (which is often related to goals) there is time to evaluate and refine in a way that feeds into the next iteration.

My description is a bit esoteric, so Mark shares his experience of this coaching approach below with a couple of actual examples.

FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A COACHEE

In a nutshell, my coaching partnership has provided me with a disciplined focus to ‘sit down’ and pay detailed attention to my journey - in both my professional and personal life. It made me realise I spend more time planning things like outdoor activities, than planning my life’s journey, which is kind of weird!

Initially working with Hazel, I used my Cyma Professional Development Plan as a starting point, which was focussed on developing a leadership capability for innovation and new services for Cyma. It soon became apparent that I needed to consider much more than my professional development to achieve a work / life balance, so my personal development aspects were included as part of my coaching and development plan - something I’ve never really considered or visualised before.

The initial coaching sessions provided a foundation on which to develop a plan, out of which my goals and actions were established. We reviewed my progress on actions and discussed things like blockers, measurement evaluations, achievements and issues, using reflection.

As part of the regular coaching review process, not only are next steps and actions identified, but also evaluation (via scoring), on what didn’t work so well. This has been very beneficial for me to identify areas where I need focus, which, in turn, has led to the development of personalised toolkits.

The coaching sessions with Hazel have also provided an opportunity for me to reflect how I work on a day to day basis, and to develop a repeatable, structured approach to my engagements, resulting in a great customer experience in terms of professional working relationships.

Including my personal life aspects into coaching has allowed me to visualise and focus on a work lifestyle balance that allows me to plan to achieve it. By regular plan reviewing, it is constantly adjusted and helps provide focus on the things that are important to me outside of my professional work.
  

The visualisation below provides an overview of my coaching journey, showing how my Cyma Personal Development Plan and personal well-being is used to develop my own coaching goals and actions.   

In summary, the coaching I receive at Cyma is a fantastic investment, not only on a developing professional level, but also on a personal level, to help me maintain a balanced and evolving lifestyle.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Whether you are a professional wondering if investing in coaching is worthwhile, or an organisation considering coaching for your employees, this post has hopefully illustrated some of the major benefits, and why it is worth taking the plunge.

We’d love to hear any questions and experiences you may have, so please jump into the comments below. You can also contact Mark at Cyma (mark.edwards@cyma.co.nz) to find out more about his thoughts. Hazel is keen to work with you and your team to find that winning formula - so please contact her directly (hazel@ethosconsultancynz.com) to find out more about the coaching opportunities she offers.

Reference

Cox, E., Bachkirova, T., Clutterbuck, D. (2011). The Complete Handbook of Coaching. London: Sage Publications Ltd.

What are some of the 'soft factors' that influence a student's initial experience of distance online learning?

What are some of the 'soft factors' that influence a student's initial experience of distance online learning? A couple of years back, this study sought to identify some of the key aspects that helped shape their experiences, as well as some of the expectations that they came with.
The study drew from video diaries submitted by 20 students, who were participating in their first semester of online courses. Tara García Mathewson from Education Dive summarises advice for online course creators and facilitators, taken from the study, as including:

• encouraging students to participate in support services from the beginning
• creating opportunities for students to interact with their peers and develop a sense of belonging
• offering additional training for students who may not be as comfortable with the course technology
• providing timely interventions to address a second at-risk period just before the end of the semester - the point just before their last assignment of their first course is due, where students and may begin to question their ability to complete their full programs (Mathewson, 2016, source).

If you are involved in online course design and/or facilitation, this article is a highly recommended read.
You can find the full paper here: Stories from students in their first semester of distance learning.





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Poodlling in Japan: Becoming a Moodle developer

Justin Hunt is based in Japan, where he has been for the past 21 years.  He taught English in Japan for the first 9 years. His Moodle journey began by developing a GPS application for a specific phone. It didn't go well and he lost a lot of money.

He went back to teaching English, and got a job at a High School that had a nice language lab. As part of his role he installed Moodle and wrote an audio recorder, which they called PoodLL. It was a winner because PoodLL became a brand.

As things progressed he was requested to develop various things for Moodle, and was trying to do this at the same time as teaching. Finally he decided to make the jump and go full time with the development. PoodLL got a bit left behind, but the plugin 'stable' grew.

Some of the plugins are not in the plugins database because it takes quite a lot of time to maintain the plugins - so you end up not putting them in the database. One way of addressing this is by commercialising the plugins to help ensure that they are compatible with new releases of Moodle.

There is not a lot of help for people who want to get up to speed with Moodle development. There is some opportunity to make some money as a Moodle developer however.

Education is really big in Japan, and high schools are very well funded, but Japan is very slow on the uptake, for example with mobile phones...but once the momentum starts it can happen quickly. So, eLearning is not very big in Japan. Many teachers aren't interested. Right now, the enthusiastic foreign teachers are pushing Moodle in Japan. The Japanese who are there are players in the organisations and institutions. When Japan does get going, they are likely to be innovative and meticulous, and it will take off. The partners over in Japan are Version 2, e-learning, and Manabu 3.

Blackboard is in Japan, and there are some proprietary systems. Moodle is there but tends to be in high schools.


poodllsupport@gmail.com

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Reflections on coaching characteristics

What are the personal characteristics of a coach? It's an interesting question because the response, while apparently simple, also requires a look at characteristics that could potentially work against a coach, and their suitability to develop in an organisation in that role.


Every individual has a different personality, and this means that every coach must, as a consequence, be different. Each coach uses similar tools or approaches, but each is different because the coach’s personality shapes and influences how the coaching is experienced. However, there are some personal characteristics that form the foundation of really effective coaching. I will reflect on some of the strengths and attributes that I have found have helped - or that I need to work on to develop further - as a coach.

1. Self-awareness

As someone who is usually self-aware, I find that this has been a real help in developing as a coach. It means, that, for instance, I am aware of the nuances of how I am listening, or asking questions … or that I have momentarily let my concentration drop.

On the down-side, this self-awareness can mean that when I identify that I have not performed as well as I might, or a coachee gives me feedback that they would have liked to have covered something differently in a session, for example, I have a tendency to over-analyse. On the upside, this means that I don’t tend to make the same mistake or misinterpretation twice!

I am also aware that I am an introvert, who enjoys her own space, and is happy to go days on end without talking with anyone. This can mean on busy days I feel exhausted when I have been coaching several people. On the other hand, one of the benefits of being an introvert is being very happy to listen, and I have received feedback from some of my coachees that they feel I am a really good listener and asker of questions. “To listen is to be the master of both content and context” (Burdett, 2005, p. 8), so the focus for me is to remain fully engaged and non-judgemental so that I can listen for what a coachee says, as well as what they don’t say - the gaps, silences, and hesitations - which can help uncover the coachee’s intentions.

2. Flexibility

Every coachee will need different approaches depending on their own preferences, as well as their context and/or current circumstances. As such, I find that I need to work closely with a coachee to initially identify what these preferences are; for example, a more analytical coachee may identify that discussion of process and data is really helpful for them. Then, during each subsequent session, I ensure that I adjust the approach and tone I am using to continue to ‘go where the coachee needs to go’.

Something I have to be aware of though is supporting my coachees to unpack their challenges, sometimes “introducing conflict to promote self-examination and further development of alternative perspectives” (Stokes, 2011, p. 8). This isn’t always easy and is likely to be challenging, but when I do it well, it results in us both becoming aware of shifts in perspectives and thinking. These factors help the coachee and I watch for indications “that the relationship may be transformative and growth producing for both partners” (Stokes, 2011, p. 8).

3. Patience

I have a very positive attitude, and am committed to work actively with my coachees such that I am “an active partner in the communication dance” (Burdett, 2005, p. 8). One thing that can be frustrating, however, is when the coachee and I have worked together, and the coachee has identified their goals and the changes that they want to work toward - and yet progress seems to be three steps forward and one step backwards. The frustration comes from knowing the person has the potential to change and a sense that sometimes they aren’t making the progress that they might be.

However, I am also acutely aware that change - especially in core beliefs and identity - takes time and energy, and is not comfortable. Patience is required to help ensure ongoing motivation, recognition, the celebration of positive growth when it occurs, and at all times the provision of “a mirror… to extend the...[coachee’s] self-awareness” (Daloz, 1986, in Stokes, 2011, p. 8). Sometimes mistakes are made (analysed by the coachee and learned from), and I find that kindness and empathy can be powerful ways of supporting a coachee through challenges.These factors can be enhanced by the practical strategies I use, such as helping my coachees stick to our coaching schedule, using a consistent process, and ensuring that I remain reliable.

The knowledge of my own characteristics means that I am conscious of both the benefits and the drawbacks, and can actively tweak, respond and reflect during and after coaching sessions.
What are your characteristics?


Reference
Burdett, J. (2005). The listening paradox. Organizational Performance Review, 7-9.

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Me Fish! CC ( BY ) licensed Flickr image by Hamed Saber: https://flic.kr/p/2t37Rp