Some thoughts on how to develop skills (including coaching!!) that are very nuanced…

This comes up often for me – particularly when the coaching focus is to develop the skills experienced people need to allow them to feel they are still progressing and to allow leaders to take a step back in the knowledge that the organisation is in good hands.

Context is crucial in developing nuanced skills but in general it can be helpful to ask…

• How nuanced is the skill you need to help them develop? Unpicking how to develop some skills is complex (particularly skills around how you interact with others…) and there are important questions around whose role it is to work this out – you or the person you’re coaching? – and if what they decide to do is in their comfort zone and works OK rather than something that really stretches them but has a much better potential outcome.
• What are some of the factors that influence how strongly you are attached to how you developed this skill? The stronger the influence, the more likely you might be to (inadvertently!?!) steer someone towards this approach – this is particularly relevant if you feel your success is based on long hours and hard work.

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