Coaching

I learned a very interesting approach to coaching this week. PCP.

Praise - Find something initially positive to say about the person
Correct - Suggest a different approach
Praise - Congratulate them on the change

I was helping a kung fu student with his tiger strike recently and as I am one for details I was aiming for perfection. I worked with him for quite some time and there were so many points I wanted to get across. Hand positioning, stance shifting, center of balance etc. We were working through all of these and he was getting frustrated as there was so much to think about. We worked through it and eventually his tiger strikes were excellent. I now know the best approach would have been to spend less time and just correct the hand positioning, work it through a few times and then allow him to practice and have it sink in. At a later point I can then address the other issues one at a time giving them a chance to sink in.

This is great advice for many situations outside kung fu; training someone who has started a new job in your team, teaching your children etc. It is also important to allow them to undertake their own journey of discovery and learn how to teach themselves rather than relying on you to answer all their questions. By always being there to correct them and answering everything you disempower the other person, it is so easy for them to just ask whenever they don't know rather than truly understand by playing with it and self-observing.

Nick
Yellow stripe sash