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A Culture of Coaching Multiplies Disciples
Listening and asking questions are the most basic skills of coaching. The power of truly listening and discerning what the Holy Spirit is up to in a discipleship or leadership conversation can lead to powerful insights. Personally, I have applied myself to be more and more proficient in discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit – there is no substitute for time and focus. Developing others in the ability to listen to and discern the voice of the Holy Spirit is exciting, challenging, and transformational.
It blurs the lines between spiritual direction and coaching, but in the long term, disciples stay engaged and are more likely to reproduce into the third and fourth generation. Leaders lead authentic lives, consistent with who God has created them to be. One leader who has introduced a coach approach into his community has observed a significant change in the manner in which disciples engage in their disciple-making journey. One of the outcomes has been a greater sense of “mystery” – a mystery about Jesus’s desire to capture the attention of all peoples, and for the surprises people find along the way.
One area that has been impacted is its ministry to “young adults”. Placing the responsibility where it belongs, new disciples are taking action to align their lives in more life-giving ways, which has shifted the culture. An emerging leader has stepped up and taken the lead role with the vision to help others listen and obey!
Beyond Individual Coaching: Empowering Networks
Perhaps you’re a pastor or leader looking to empower others through coaching. One of the most strategic tools you can learn to empower other leaders is indeed coaching!
As your need for more coaches outgrows your individual capacity—going from one to many—a common and vital step is to institute a standardized coach training process. This ensures that all leaders using a coach approach, regardless of their prior experience, utilize a uniform process and practice consistent skills. This creates essential quality control for your network and for the “clients” (disciple-makers, leaders, pastors, church planters, missionaries) you serve.
However, standardizing practices is just the beginning. To truly see your coach network flourish, you need ongoing quality control and investment in the development of your coaches.
The Challenge: Ensuring Coaching Excellence
Early on, your network might qualify coaches based on past successes, good people skills, or formal training like Christian counseling. While these experiences are helpful, they don’t always predict consistent coaching success. The reality is that leaders coached by “coaches“ with a wide range of competencies will experience varying levels of success.
Competent and consistent coaching is the “X” factor that will have the greatest impact on your network’s success. Without reliable and valid assessment and development, it’s very difficult to know where to focus your efforts for a coach’s growth.
Here are five common challenges networks face when they don’t assess and develop their coaches:
- Mixed Results: Without formal assessment, a coach has a 50/50 chance of maximizing a leader’s potential.
- Intuition Can Be Misleading: Most coaches, even with some training, often rely on intuition for their own growth, which isn’t always accurate.
- Unreliable Feedback: While client feedback is important, it’s limited as a primary means of assessment.
- Lack of Developmental Pathway: Without a repeatable process, coaches lack a clear roadmap for continuous improvement.
- No Guide to Walk Alongside: Coaches need mentors to help them sharpen their skills effectively.
Even as a solo pastor launching a leadership training process in your congregation, you’ll encounter these issues. In a team or network, the problem’s complexity grows with the number of coaches involved.
When was your last formal coach assessment?
So far, I have talked about everyone but you. You might have gone through a basic coach training program. You might have gone through a competency-based assessment. If not, have you considered taking the 360° Christian Coach Assessment?
Perhaps you went through coach training that culminated with the 360° Christian Coach Assessment. Is it time for you to take another look at how you are progressing in your coach development? It will provide a new baseline, help you see the changes in your development, and incorporate up to seven clients you have coached. Typically, most leaders only have two assessors in their initial assessment.
We view the 360° Christian Coach Assessment as a kind of annual physical for coaches, recommending anywhere from 12-24 months between assessments. The important thing to consider is whether taking the next step in your coach development is the assessment or some other specialized coach training that fits your unique ministry focus area.
How about you?
- Reflect on what you can do to increase your coaching effectiveness.
- Download the FREE Action Planner.
- Find a date on your calendar for your 360° Christian Coach Assessment.
- If not right now, when?
- Consider having a coach mentor walk alongside you.
- I can guide you through your coach development journey and accelerate your growth.
The bonus?
The International Coach Federation (ICF) recognizes the 9 Christian competency areas, 55 behavioral outcomes, AND coach mentoring with InFocus. Bottom line: 10 hours of coach mentoring satisfies the requirement towards ICF certification.
Ready to take the next step in your personal coaching journey, or to empower your team with truly excellent Christian coaches?
Contact us to get started today!
Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash
