Coaching Gym: Accountability Plus
The many images evoked by the term “gym”–sweat-jewelled men and women pumping iron, spandex-clad aerobics classes, and maybe even (for the less athletically inclined) the humiliation of getting picked last for the murderball team in Grade 4–don’t seem to relate to coaching. It’s true that “members” of a “coaching gym” are more likely to lift a telephone handset than a free weight. But, like members of a fitness gym, coaching gym members are committed to self-improvement.
Sage Portfolio Group’s coaching gym takes the principles of executive coaching and packages them in an affordable, efficient format that can be made available to a larger number of employees at all levels of an organization. The philosophy of business coaching remains intact: solutions are generated by the client and are supported by the coach, who holds the client accountable for the steps or tasks that are identified and, through the process, teaches the client how to internalize that accountability so that it is sustainable outside the coaching relationship. The approach in a coaching gym, however, is more focused. Goals may be identified by the organization as a whole or a specific manager. Or the coaching sessions could be designed to support the learning from a particular training session. Coaching takes place over the phone as a pre-scheduled appointment or a spontaneous call or email that will be answered during pre-set coaching gym hours.
Sage Portfolio group has recently rolled out “Coaching Gym Plus”, a program that concretely involves management in the coaching gym process. Organizations enrolled in this program participate in an initial “focus of coaching” telephone call that provides the coach, the client and his or her manager with a voice at the formative stage of the program. Working together, they establish the goals for coaching, the lines of accountability, the roles of each participant and the frequency of managerial involvement. This process ensures that all parties fully understand the expectations and outcomes of the coaching gym, and the degree to which each individual will be involved at different times.
In summary, Sage Portfolio Group’s coaching gym is a cost-effective option to improve the accountability of employees in both an immediate and long-term way. The relationship with the coach models constructive accountability, and through Coaching Gym Plus, can directly include the input of a supervisor or manager. The coach, client and manager form a powerful team capable of pumping some serious metaphorical iron–which may mean moving the client beyond that formative murderball moment by establishing some more fulfilling wins.
To learn more about Sage Portfolio Group’s coaching gym, visit our website here. To discuss integrating our coaching gym into your organization’s development program, call 1-800-592-2303.
