The Top 10 Coaching Mistakes.

Leadership E-Bulletin ISSUE #41


This week our second list features “The Top 10 Coaching Mistakes.” We all make mistakes. Even the very best coaches make mistakes. However, what distinguishes these coaches is that they readily recognize these mistakes and take immediate corrective action. Additionally, they minimize the impact of any coaching mistakes by having noble intention (i.e. always doing what is best for the person being coached and being their fiercest advocate).

Here are the Top Ten Coaching Mistakes:

#1. Trying to be a great coach.
instead, put your energy into helping the person being coached become great.

#2. Working too hard.
it’s your job to challenge the person being coached to do the hard work.

#3. Not saying what needs to be said.
always walk away empty knowing that nothing important was left unsaid.

#4. Neglecting to ask the person being coached how you can be most helpful.
you do not own the agenda, the person being coached does.

#5. Assuming the person being coached is a challenge to overcome or a problem to be fixed.
coaching is not a project but rather a special relationship and conversation.

#6. Talking too much.
silence and attentive listening are some of the most powerful coaching tools.

#7. Owning the outcome.
the person being coached owns both the success and the failures; you don’t.

#8. Giving well-meaning advice.
this is a very weak form of coaching that makes the coach feel good but does little for the person being coached.

#9. Steering the conversation towards the path you know is best.
the person being coached is resourceful, creative and perfectly capable of finding their own best path forward.

#10. Finishing without a commitment.
insist that the person being coached promises to advance their cause in some way.