Tasking VS. Coaching

Lately, we've been talking a lot as a team about taking some big steps forward in creating a reproducing culture at The Orchard - specifically in terms of coaching and apprenticing new leaders and volunteers. 

As is the case with any cultural shift, this isn't something that is accomplished through a "3 step program" or a one time initiative.  Rather, it is something that is built over time and through lots of clarification and vision casting. 

Yesterday, I shared a few thoughts along these lines with our team and specifically about a few differences between a "tasking" mentality and a "coaching" mindset.  Here's an overview of what I shared:

1. Tasking focuses on WHAT.  Coaching focuses on WHY. 
   
   A good coach always explains the "why" behind the "what."  If a person is only in tune with the "what", they will never catch the vision and purpose behind it and therefore will not be able to fully reproduce themselves and the type of culture that we value.
   
   
2. Tasking focuses on a job well done.  Coaching focuses on WHY it was done well.
   
   A coach explains WHY the job was done well.  The impact of being specific in your praise towards someone else increases the impact more than we can imagine.
   
   
3. Tasking sees people as a tool to get a job done.  Coaching sees every opportunity as a chance to better others and to build relationships.
   
   The relational aspect is huge!  Because........people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.  (Maxwell'ism...)
   
   
4. Tasking focuses on HOW the job was done wrong.  Coaching always corrects by going back to the vision/mission.

If we can help people identify for themselves where they went wrong or dropped the ball by bringing them back to the vision/purpose of the environment, the response will almost always be more positive.  This can be accomplished by asking two simple questions: "Did we hit the target?" and "Why or why not?" 

Those were off the top of my head.  What did I miss? 

Comments

[Chris]

Wow - great stuff Scott. Well said.

[Joni]

Amen, amen, amen, brother. I can't say it enough. Amen, amen, amen. I was an office trainer/coach in my pre-mom life and the beauty of teaching the "why" is that it also frees up the "trainee" to use their own brain and gifts to find solutions rather than just go by the book the way its always been done. Ok, how huge a run-on sentence was that?!

[metromom]

love the coaching analogy...so accurate

[bob]

good thoughts...coaching also focuses on values, that helps in making real-time decisions when there isn't a script to follow.

Great meeting you at the ICC.

[Erik Thornton]

dude, dont get me started on the coaching vs. "what most churches do" tasking. coaching focuses on the collective win vs. tasking focuses on the personal individual accomplishment... i could continue, but great stuff! Read more thoughts...