With these 10 tips you can help your coachees develop their new competencies

There are always coachees who want to develop new competencies. One wants to improve his or her communication skills and the other is applying for a new job or wants to grow in a certain position. Developing competencies is essential here.

The 10 tips we mention below provide you with tools to help your coachees develop their personal competencies and successfully achieve their goals.

Tip 1: Map the current competencies

Before you can develop new skills, you need to know where your coachee stands now. What competencies do they already have? Why do they want to develop a certain competency? What are their personal qualities, talents and character traits?

A thorough evaluation helps to determine where the focus should be. Use self-assessments, conversations with an employer and feedback from managerial colleagues.

Start with a self-evaluation. This helps coachees to become aware of their competencies and strengths and weaknesses. Combine this with conversations with managers and colleagues to get a complete picture.

Tip 2: Set clear goals

Clear goals and a clear vision are crucial for the development process. What does your coachee want to achieve? What competencies do they want to develop? Is it one competence or a few competences?

For example, use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic, Time-bound) or the GROW model (Goals, Reality, Options, Will). This makes progress measurable and keeps motivation high.

Determine together which competencies are important and set priorities. Make sure the goals are specific and measurable. For example, instead of “improving communication skills,” you can make the goal more specific: “deliver three successful presentations within six months.”

Tip 3: Provide a clear coaching process

Now that you have determined the goals together with your coachee, it is smart to properly map out the entire process. This can easily be done with coaching software (such as Trackler ;))

This allows you to keep track of the entire coaching process from A to Z. Your coachees also have access to the process and can update and monitor their progress themselves. Nice and useful for you as a coach, but also for all your coachees. There are also tools that help you formulate goals and monitor progress, which ensures a structured approach and clear results.

Tip 4: Divide the route into small parts

Developing competencies takes time and patience. Work with your coachees in small steps and create realistic expectations. Small, gradual improvements are often more sustainable than large, sudden changes. By dividing the process into manageable steps, the development remains clear and feasible.

Coaching software can help plan and implement these small steps through structured learning plans and progress monitoring.

For example, if a coachee wants to improve his or her leadership skills, a first step may be to lead a colleague in training. The next step may be to lead a small team project, followed by a larger responsibility such as heading a department.

Tip 5: Put your coachee to work immediately

You don't just develop competencies by learning theory. Gaining more experience in practice is just as important. Encourage your coachees to take on new challenges in their current job. This can vary from leading a project to collaborating with a working group, taking on a new task or even multiple tasks.

Practical experience helps to develop and refine skills and attributes in a realistic setting. This can vary from giving a presentation to leading a small project.

Motivate coachees to seize these new opportunities and give them the space to learn from their mistakes.

Tip 6: Plan fixed moments for feedback

Communication is key. And regular feedback is essential for the development of competencies. This applies to both positive and constructive feedback. Feedback provides insight into strengths and weaknesses and offers concrete tools for improvement.

Encourage your coachees to regularly ask for feedback from colleagues and managers. This way they know better which points or qualities they still need to develop. This also contributes to their adaptability.

Schedule regular feedback sessions and ensure these sessions are constructive. Feedback should target specific behaviors and skills, and help coachees understand what they are doing well and where they can improve.

Do you use coaching software? Then coachees can easily and continuously collect and map feedback.

Tip 7: Focus on self-reflection

We already indicated this in tip 1. Above all, let the coachee take a critical look at himself. Self-reflection is a powerful tool in the development process. Encourage your coachees to regularly reflect on their own performance and behavior. What went well? What can be done better? This helps to become aware of personal qualities and development points. This forms the basis for further growth.

To encourage your coachees in this, it is smart to have them keep a journal. They can regularly write down their thoughts and experiences here. This helps them recognize patterns and become aware of their progress. Keeping a journal can sometimes be a challenge, so try to encourage your coachees regularly and remind them to really keep it up.

It is also useful to use coaching software for this. It offers various tools and techniques for self-reflection, allowing coachees to systematically track their performance and growth.

Tip 8: Encourage your coachees to network

Networking plays an important role in developing competencies. By connecting with professionals within and outside their field, your coachees can gain new insights and skills. It offers the opportunity to learn from others and gain new perspectives.

Make sure your coachees get started with this themselves and motivate them to take a number of networking actions themselves. For example, visiting a networking event, a meeting with a professional or a smaller step. Consider sending a message on Linkedin to someone who is advanced in a certain competency or position. Encourage them to have a conversation with them.

This not only helps build a strong network, but also offers opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Tip 9: Encourage self-development

Continuing to develop competencies and skills must be an ongoing process. Create a habit that encourages continuous learning.

This can be done through additional coaching in certain competencies, taking a course or online training, but also by reading books and professional literature or attending workshops and seminars.

Make learning and competency development an integral part of their daily routine.

Tip 10: Continue to motivate positively

Motivation and commitment are crucial factors for successful competency development. Help your coachees to stay motivated and involve them in their own development process. Continue to communicate with them in a positive way and demonstrate what they are doing well.

Celebrate the successes of your coachees, no matter how small. An enthusiastic attitude and a sense of commitment can make the difference between failure and success.

Finally: Get to know your coachee well and draw up a plan together

Developing competencies and skills is an ongoing process that requires patience, dedication, the right approach and sometimes some creativity. It takes time to learn a new skill.

By helping your coachees with a well-thought-out strategy and providing them with the right tools, you can support them in achieving their personal and professional goals.

Competency development is not only important for their current work, but also for their future career opportunities. By using the above tips and useful coaching software tools, you can help your coachees to strengthen their skills and qualities and acquire new competencies. This ultimately leads to better functioning and more enjoyment in their own work and life.