Coaching Toolkit for Child Welfare

10 The Coaching Toolkit for Child Welfare Practice

Dimensions of Coaching

Coaching varies along several dimensions (Gallacher, 1997). The
following questions are important in identifying relationships prior
to coaching as they drive individualized coaching strategies:

 Will coaching occur between an expert and a novice?

 Will coaching occur between peers in a reciprocal relationship?

 Will coaching occur between individuals or among members of a
team of learners?

 Will coaching focus on the improvement and integration of pre-
identified specific skills or on a process by which the coach and
learner together identify the goals, objectives, and outcomes of
the coaching process?

The most obvious characteristic

of formal business coaching is that it is

being used explicitly – during the session

both parties are clear that they are

engaged in ‘coaching’ and are

committed to this process as

well as the outcome.

~ McGuinness, 2008