During coaching sessions, a coach must ensure that there is mutual accountability for the tasks at hand.
This means that the coachees will make sure they do the agreed task and that the coach will make sure that the coachees actually do it.
Two things must happen for this to be realized:
1.The coachees must come up with the solution.
The coach may guide the coachees to process their thoughts and emotions, but it’s the coachees who must come up with solutions. Of course, sometimes there will be a bit of a nudge from the coach, but that’s all, just a nudge.
The coachees must be in control of the decision on which of the possible solutions they will act on.
Take a scenario where the coachee comes to work late. The coach will not simply say, “set the alarm clock to ring.” It sounds easy enough since everyone must have an alarm clock. But what if they don’t, and they agree to the coach’s solution? Later, when they come in late again, the coach will remind them of the solution and they will simply shrug it off saying, “but the alarm clock is broken.”
So, the solution must come from the coachees. Because they were the ones who offered the solution, they can’t say that the task is difficult or that they were pressured into agreeing to it when the going gets tough.
2. The coach establishes safeguards or milestones to monitor task fulfillment
It’s like double redundancy in creating safety systems. The coachees will make sure they do the task, while the coach ensures they are monitored when they accomplish the task.
But how can it be done without the coach breathing down the necks of the coachees? One word: SYSTEM.
Let’s go back to our alarm clock scenario above. If it’s the coachees who thought of using it, the coach can then add questions like “how can we make sure you set the alarm clock to ring?” The coachees may then offer to initially send an SMS to the coach after they have set the alarm. This way, the coach will know if the alarm clock was set and that the coachees did not simply forget.
Accountability is important in coaching. The coachees must be accountable for what needs to be done. But the coach can still be there, helping them out to make certain the tasks are done.