Become Your Best

How To Be A Successful Peer Coach

By Dr. John L. Miller

Congratulations

You have been selected to be a “peer coach” by my coaching client. In your role, you will have the opportunity to help the client achieve higher levels of performance at work. It will take a little work and a small investment of time on your part, but the payoff to the client and the organization will be significant. Your payoff will also be worthwhile. Most peer coaches report, for example, that the relationship with those they have coached are significantly deeper, more authentic and richer.

You may have some questions about why you were selected as a peer coach and the nature of your role. The information below will, hopefully, answer these questions. If you still have questions, you can call me at (805) 492-3400 or email me at JohnLMillerPhD@msn.com.

What is a “peer coach?”

A peer coach is: (1) a person in the coaching client’s organization that (2) has an opportunity to observe the client’s attempt to demonstrate specific and positive behaviors and (3) is willing to offer honest and constructive feedback on the client’s progress in demonstrating these behaviors. Peer coaches may include the client’s boss, a colleague, or a direct report – or, often, all three.

Why was I selected as a peer coach?

You were selected by the client for one or more of the following reasons:

• You have the opportunity to observe the specific behaviors that the client is working to demonstrate
•  You are a stakeholder and have a vested interest in seeing the client demonstrate certain behaviors
•  You are willing to help the client by giving honest and constructive feedback on the client’s success in demonstrating these new and positive behavior.

Why is giving feedback important?

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, one stated that, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” Numerous studies have shown that people effectively change behavior only with the help of others. As such, getting honest and constructive feedback from others is critical to the change process. Without this feedback, the client must rely solely on his or her judgment about progress. Since we are all subject to our own biases, relying on one’s own judgment is very limiting and, often, inaccurate. Consider honest and constructive feedback as a gift from you to the client.

What can I expect?

The client will give you a description of one or more desirable behaviors that s/he is attempting to demonstrate. Your role is to observe the client as s/he attempts to demonstrate these behaviors in the work environment and then give the client honest and constructive feedback about his or her success in effectively acting out these behaviors. Initially, your client will want to meet with you (in person or by phone) and receive feedback every week or two. As time progresses these feedback sessions might be scheduled less frequently. The feedback sessions need not be long. What is important is that you have sufficient opportunity to give the client your constructive feedback. It is also important to note that the client has been instructed in how to receive your feedback. S/he should be open and willing to listen carefully to your helpful observations. Further, the client has been instructed not to argue with the feedback – whether they agree with it or not, it is your impressions of the client’s behavior. As such, your sessions should be friendly and open. However, please contact me immediately if you encounter resistance from the client.

How do I give honest and constructive feedback?

The kind of feedback the client desires is simply your observation about his or her behavior in terms of how successful s/he is at effectively demonstrating the desired behaviors. In coaching, we call these desired behaviors “target behaviors” since they represent the target for which the client is aiming. Here are some guidelines that will help you in giving honest and constructive feedback:

• Be sure you fully understand the target behaviors the client is trying to achieve. S/he will have worked out specific behavioral statements with me prior to your first peer coaching feedback session. Ask for clarification if you have questions about these behaviors or the situations in which they are to be demonstrated.
• When you give feedback, confine your statements to your objective observations about the client’s performance in regards to his or her ability to effectively demonstrate the target behaviors. Is s/he on track? Could s/he do something differently that might be helpful in perfecting the desired target behaviors? You will find it helpful to record your observations in a journal or notebook so you can recall specific instances.
• Along with feedback (explaining what you have observed) you may also offer “feedforward”. To use feedforward, you offer some suggestions on how the demonstrated behavior could be improved in the future to better achieve the target behavior. Feedback and feedforward supplement one another and are both frequently used feedback sessions.
• Do not ascribe motives as to why the client acted one way or another. You are not trying to psychoanalyze the client’s motivations. You should be focused on describing the effectiveness of the client in demonstrating the target behaviors; not the person, their motivations or their character.
• Be honest and forthright in your comments. While the intent of feedback is to be helpful, you need not be brutal or insensitive to how the client may feel when s/he receives the feedback. If you insult or belittle the client, for example, s/he will likely reject any further helpful feedback you may have to offer. However, “sugar coating” the failure of the client to effectively demonstrate his or her target behaviors is of little value. Remember, the client has selected you because s/he believes that you will offer meaningful and constructive feedback. Be direct and honest, but also be respectful of the client’s feelings and supportive of his or her desire to improve.
• The feedback session is primarily for the client to receive information about how successfully you perceive him or her acting out the target behaviors. The client is instructed not to justify or explain why s/he acted one way or another. The client’s role is to listen to your feedback, and clarify his or her understanding of your observations when necessary to ensure a clear communication.

How should I prepare for the sessions?

Here are some helpful guidelines that will make your peer coaching feedback sessions go more smoothly:

• Get organized. To begin the session the client will simply ask you how you think s/he is performing on the target behaviors. From that point onward, you will need to offer organized feedback and feedforward. It is often helpful to have prepared a description of the target behaviors and have your observations organized under each. Think of the major points you want to make in advance of the session and, as appropriate, have your feedforward suggestions ready to offer.
• Before the sessions, visualize how the feedback conversation might progress. Think about how the client may react and how you will deal with any adverse reactions or misinterpretations. The conversation may not progress exactly as you anticipate, but the planning will help you to prepare for many situations that may arise during the course of dialogue.
• The purpose of the feedback sessions, if course, is to be helpful in assisting the client to learn about how his or her attempts to act more constructively are being perceived by others within the organization. To aid in this learning process, it is valuable if you can identify some “reflective” questions that will focus the client and help him or her internalize your feedback. Some examples of these questions are, “Do you feel I have perceived your behavior accurately?” or “Where have my observations been inconsistent with your evaluation of your own behavior?”  Reflective questions encourage the client to think more deeply about the feedback they have received.

A last thought

Some peer coaches are uncomfortable in candidly sharing their impressions of the client’s behavior. As a peer coach, you are only sharing your honest observations – your perceptions – of how effectively you believe the client is in achieving his or her desired behavioral goal. It is not a matter of being right or wrong: it is a matter of perception. Remember, your honest feedback is a gift to the client and your effort is critical to his or her success.