Coaching Skills for Leaders + Internal Coach Training Programs

Most large organizations have moved away from command-and-control models of management to leading by setting inspiring visions, mobilizing teams, and developing individuals based on personalized plans. Yet even these practices often fall short of desired results based on the demands of today’s chaotic workplace and the needs of the younger workforce.

Employees want to be seen, heard, and valued for who they are and what they know. They want to be able to seize opportunities and succeed more quickly on their own. They want leaders who authentically care about their success and will interact with them on an equal level respecting the human more than the title.

This calls for new cultural values and norms and a more engaging style of leadership based on using a coaching approach in all conversations. All employees must be taught not only to listen and respond with the intention of everyone’s success, but also to deepen their capacity for empathy, emotional intelligence, and forward thinking. Using coaching skills will ensure the organization can quickly innovate and adapt to succeed today and in the future.

These new skills, roles, and cultures require both shifts in mind-set and relational skills so conversations feel positive and safe while activating imagination and action, including the ability to:

• Establish a connection that quickly creates feelings of trust and safety for open, honest conversations.
• Use collaborative coaching skills to actively listen with empathy and prompt exploration to envision effective and innovative solutions to problems.
• Detect their own reactions and urges to push instead of engage so they can regulate their emotions and behavior while coaching with positive intent.

Whether you want to provide your current internal coaches with skills and practice to be more effective in ensuring behavioral change, or you know it’s time to shift the organizational culture, you want to give your internal coaches the complete training and mentoring requirements they need to earn professional certification by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Dr. Reynolds will customize a program for you.

Coaching Skills for Leaders

Drawing on recent discoveries in the neurosciences and workplace motivation, Dr. Reynolds can deliver customized programs and consultation to meet your leadership-development needs.

Providing a 1 – 2-day Program for leaders to learn essential coaching skills will give them the essential skills to integrate a powerful coaching approach into their performance and development conversations. Dr. Reynolds will first take time to understand your current company culture and then design a program that will ensure leaders who attend will demonstrate an increase of engagement and performance in their organizations. Ideally, they will positively affect the lives of the employees and peers they interact with. Studies have proven that when leaders have a coaching mindset and use the skills they practice, engagement and results increase (pdf).

Contact us to talk about your organizational needs. We will provide you with proposals and case studies of our successes to help you envision what is possible and plan to achieve your desires.

“Marcia’s training with our internal team of coaches was tremendously impactful. There were three key benefits. Firstly, it improved our ability to coach leaders and navigate difficult conversations with more confidence and effectiveness; secondly, it increased our effectiveness as individual leaders through our increasing our awareness of the importance of leading with brain, heart and gut; and thirdly, it brought us closer as a team by fostering more trust and openness.” – Amee Olson, Director, Coaching and Executive Development, The Hershey Company

“This course presents a comprehensive system for coaching on an elite level, transforming your clients’ lives and all your relationships. Marcia’s unique blend of academic knowledge, coaching, and teaching experience, and the love and care she has for helping, is unparalleled. This course is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not like anything you have ever experienced.” – Dr. Eli Shur, Executive coach / Adjunct Professor

“Marcia’s mastery courses have immediately impacted my coaching style and effectiveness. She dives into specific skills and techniques to implement in your coaching sessions from day one! Marcia’s warmth, kindness, and compassion are hallmarks of her teaching and add to the intensity of the learning. I cannot recommend this course enough. – Arlene Schneider, Certified Professional Life Coach

Coach Training Programs for Internal Coaches

Dr. Reynolds can also provide an in house certification program to meet the needs of the International Coaching Federation so participants can receive professional certification. Below is a sample 60-credit certification program for internal coaches. 

In-house 60-credit Leadership Coaching Program

Dr. Reynolds can provide webinars and workshops for your internal coaches based on their ongoing needs. She will customize the presentations and delivery after having a conversation with the stakeholders on what is desired to help the coaches on their path of mastery.

The following program provides advanced training and practice for your leadership coaches and development professionals. The elements provide the participants the necessary training and mentoring needed to apply for an ACC credential from the International Coach Federation.

Live Classroom #1 – 2 Days = 15 Hours/Credits

The first 2-Day live intensive is designed to deepen the understanding of coaching as a methodology for shifting perceptions and seeing greater possibilities for taking action. The course focuses on the following core competencies: establishing trust and intimacy, coaching presence, active listening, powerful questioning, direct communications, and creating awareness. The participants will gain a deep understanding of the competencies both theoretically and in practice.

Objectives:

• Explore the coaching competencies as defined by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and what they look like in action.
• Introduce the critical need to be present to self while being present with others when coaching. Practice techniques for self-awareness while with others.
• Explore the concept of “I” in how we relate to others in coaching and leadership relationships.
• Delve into the DREAM model of coaching that combines both structure and spontaneity to allow a new awareness to emerge in the conversation.
• Determine the difference between the topic of a session and the desired outcome. Practice drilling down to the real desired outcome to get to the source of the problem.
• Differentiate the three levels of listening and what can be heard at each level.
• Practice listening from the three major processing centers in your nervous system so you know what questions to ask that will disrupt and create a broader reality.
• Learn the pathways for coaching certification.

Live Classroom #2 – 2 Days = 15 Hours/Credits

The program will go deeper in exploring the need for disruptive practices and how to use these effectively in coaching, especially with strong egos. Concepts from Emotional and Social Intelligence will be integrated into the coaching practice to further locate blind spots and points of resistance. Each participant will have the opportunity to practice and receive feedback on their coaching.

Objectives:

• Learn recent discoveries in behavioral learning psychology and why disrupting and challenging are necessary for successful coaching.
• Define and explore the difference between establishing trust (safety) and intimacy (risk) and the need for both in coaching.
• Identify the typical causes of blind spots and resistance in leaders and high potentials to help focus what you are listening for.
• Use Emotional and Social Intelligence in coaching to get to the source of the block in thinking and find a different, more effective solution.
• Determine how to both separate and blend consulting with coaching for the most beneficial results.
• Practice coaching with feedback specific to the core coaching competencies.

Live Classroom #3 – 2 Days = 15 Hours/Credits

Participants advance their coaching skills through working through case studies, focused practice on particular competency development, small group mentoring sessions and discussion on issues of cultural awareness, including biases around power and privilege that affect both leadership and coaching relationships. In preparation for ICF certification, they will also participate in feedback sessions to assess their ICF competency development.

Objectives:

• Share coaching cases and possible approaches to both deepen awareness around the ICF competencies and how to masterfully apply them to typical coaching scenarios with senior leaders/executives.
• Participate in full class and small group mentoring sessions. Each person will coach at least twice and feedback from the instructor.
• Discuss the concept of “success” in the coaching relationship and the many ways to define what could be considered a positive outcome.
• Identify cultural differences, including the concepts of power and privilege, and how this affects both leadership and coaching dynamics.
• Discuss the ICF credentialing requirements needed after instruction is completed.

The program includes the following virtual classes and mentoring to complete the ICF requirements:

Coaching Standards and Ethics (2 Virtual Classes = 4 Hours/Credits)

This course focuses ethical and professional issues applicable to a coaching practice consistent with the standards established by the International Coach Federation. Discussions include additional challenges the students might face in organizational settings to help them navigate “tricky situations.”

Client Types and Patterns (2 Virtual Classes = 4 Hours/Credits) Although each person coached brings personal challenges, there are specific client types that present motivational and personality patterns that will show up while coaching. Some patterns are common to organizational structure, such as first-time leaders, late stage career professionals, and experienced new hires. Some patterns are common to dominant personality types, such as the high-achiever, the visionary, and the organizer. It is useful for the coach to quickly identify these patterns while not stereotyping the individual. This course explores both identifying patterns and listening beyond patterns to ensure effective coaching.

Internal Contracting and Boundary Setting (2 Virtual Classes = 4 Hours/Credits)

This course explores the many situations where coaching can be effective for both teams and individuals. It also looks into scenarios where coaching would not be helpful or where the coach’s professional standards might be called into question. The participants will create their own contracting documents and coaching agreements. They will also practice coaching in situation where they might have to draw boundaries. The second class will also take a deeper look at how the coach works with the coachee to determine the desired outcome of coaching and what to do if the outcome requires more than the coaching can provide.

Mentor Coaching – Reviewed sessions with feedback

Participants going for ICF certification will need 3 additional sessions reviewed (live or recorded) with written and oral feedback.

ALL IN-HOUSE PROGRAMS CAN BE CUSTOMIZED TO MEET YOUR NEEDS.