Jeff Cockerham is a smart guy. Not just because he invited me to train
coaches in his church, but because of the way that he enlisted church members
for that training. In my work with
Pinnacle Leadership Associates, I train clergy and laity to use coaching
principles in their congregations with the Disciple Development Coaching©
process. We recently began providing a
congregational model for this training and Jeff invited me to lead it at
Central Baptist Church, Fountain City (Knoxville), Tennessee, in August.
I was impressed by the approach that Jeff took in assembling the
group for training. He sought out people
in the congregation who were already invested in empowering their brothers and
sisters in Christ. These were leaders in
various areas of church life who are already calling out the best in
others. In reality, they were already coaching
other church members.
So, if they were already doing this, why did they need
training?
First, DDC provided them with the encouragement to continue
what they were already doing. Ken
Blanchard and others talk about finding people doing something right and
encouraging them to do more of it. Just
being recognized is a motivator and assures continuation of an important
ministry.
Second, DDC training gave them a vocabulary to use in their
coaching. The training helps a coach,
even one who is doing coaching on an informal basis, to understand the meaning
of terms like “accountability” and “design” in the coaching process and apply
that understanding.
Third, DDC training helped them to develop and improve their
skills in coaching. They can now be more
intentional as they build rapport with, encourage, and walk alongside the
persons they are coaching. They are more
aware of what they bring to the process.
When Mark Tidsworth invited me to become part of Pinnacle
Leadership Associates as a coach, my first response was, “I am not a coach.” Mark explained to me, “You have really been
coaching people for years, even though you have not been trained as a coach.”
Seek out those who are already doing coaching and find ways
to encourage them.
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