What you will study
This course expands on core coaching skills which equip coaches to work on a one-to-one basis for the benefit of yourself and others in your organisation. You may already be practicing as a coach or perhaps you feel you have limited opportunities for coaching conversations. Whatever the case, this course will help you to apply your interest and enthusiasm for coaching in the context of business, a voluntary organisation or a social context that matters to you. The emphasis is on realising benefits to people and organisations beyond the usual confines of the quiet coaching room.
As an online course you are free to move around it or browse as you like, however when writing it, there was a flow to the activities devised in successive units, and so some earlier activities underpin those in later ones. There are eight units in the course and as a practice-based course, many of the tools and techniques can be used to help provide structure and a framework to help your coaches clarify their thinking and define their goals. All units have something to offer and so we encourage you to engage with all Sections in them.
Unit 1
Me and my coaching assesses what you have to offer and pitches a vision for your coaching future.
Unit 2
My coaching community explores the organisational culture and opportunities for using your coaching skills in different situations.
Unit 3
Relationships, boundaries and transitions looks at the nature of coaching relationships and how you connect with others in the right way at the right time, recognising the importance of remaining non-judgmental and coaching ethics.
Unit 4
Conversation matters examines the power of effective questions as you develop a bank of questions to support your practice.
Unit 5
Deep listening, gentle challenge enables you to practice active and authentic listening and explores push and pull techniques for your conversations.
Unit 6
Minding our language shows how you can harness power in your coaching conversations to help teams talk, give feedback and how to use storytelling with candour and courage.
Unit 7
Reflecting on and in coaching cultures considers the benefits of coaching as a reflective opportunity and introduces you to the coaching supervision model.
Unit 8
Learning and growing together furthers your understanding of the ‘cycle of reflection’ and provides you with an opportunity to compare your experiences with other practitioners.
You will learn
After completing this course, you should be able to:
- assess and progress your own practice as a coach and advocate for coaching in an organisational setting using feedback to direct your own development
- explain and demonstrate active practice in core skill areas required for an effective coaching approach: rapport building, listening, summarising, questioning, goal setting, using ‘clean’ language
- explore new and emerging practices in coaching using a variety of different media to apply a coaching approach, contract with and engage others in the use of coaching tools
- record and reflect on your experience of coaching, communicating and working with others
- adhere to ethical standards in coaching, paying attention to the ‘being self’ (values, core identity, relationships) as well as the ‘doing self’ (career, roles, skills)
- create a plan to enhance coaching culture in an organisation.
Learner support
Expert, confidential learner support is available when you need it from a learning adviser, who will respond to you directly. Other support is available via the course forum, dedicated website and computing helpdesk.
Practice-based assignment
There is a practice-based assignment (PBA) which you complete at the end of the course to demonstrate how you have applied, or are intending to apply, the theories and models you have learnt. Once completed and successfully passed you will receive a digital badge and a course completion certificate which you can download as a record of your learning.