Tool: Common Coaching Mistakes Worksheet

LSM584: Coaching Skills for Leaders

Cornell University ILR School

Tool: Common Coaching Mistakes Worksheet

Below is a list of common coaching mistakes. Have you made these mistakes in the past? What could you do differently in the future to avoid making these mistakes again?

Save this worksheet and refer to it in the future, as needed, to guide your coaching efforts.

Common Coaching Mistakes
1. Leaders tend to think they understand the problem. They don't take the time to listen; they jump to conclusions and try to solve the wrong problem. Unless you take the time and really try to understand what is the underlying issue, you haven't really coached the other person.
Think of a time when you might have made this mistake in the past. If you have, what could you do differently next time to avoid making it again?
Notes:
2. Many leaders, experts in their fields or job roles, are trying to coach others who are not as knowledgeable, not as experienced, or not as informed about the issues. The mistake is a tendency to give advice or to solve the problem for them. This is a missed coaching opportunity. Instead, use the opportunity to push them to come up with solutions and develop agendas. Let them figure it out.
Think of a time when you might have made this mistake in the past. If you have, what could you do differently next time to avoid making it again?
Notes:
3. People tend to make things about ourselves; we want to share our experience. Leaders who do that too soon make the coaching conversation about themselves. They are inadvertently leaving the other person behind.
Think of a time when you might have made this mistake in the past. If you have, what could you do differently next time to avoid making it again?
Notes:
4. Coaches sometimes set an expectation that the movement forward will be symmetrical, linear, and always lead to progress. Planning for a simple progression from short- to long-term accomplishments is easier than trying to anticipate all the alternative outcomes, but things rarely proceed simply and linearly. The coach’s challenge is to help the other person understand that the plan must be executed one step at a time and that adjustments along the way are necessary.
Think of a time when you might have made this mistake in the past. If you have, what could you do differently next time to avoid making it again?
Notes: