Peer coaching enhances teamwork, skill development, and leadership in a collaborative workplace. Implementing best practices drives employee engagement and growth.
By Brad Nakase, Attorney
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One of the best ways to learn and grow is through peer coaching. Our focus here will be on this style of coaching as it relates to the business world. We’ll go over what it is, why it’s useful, and some examples of good practices.
When two or more coworkers engage in peer coaching, they do so in a safe and confidential environment where they can discuss and improve upon existing practices, learn from one another, teach each other new things, solve workplace problems, and undertake classroom research (Robbins, 1992).
From this definition, we can extract a number of important points:
1) in peer coaching, two or more coworkers reflect on present practices—it’s quite similar to providing feedback—and work together to improve them
2) Developing one’s abilities is the focus of the second section;
Thirdly, there is an element of growth and learning in the process of exchanging ideas and instructing one another
3) The final section emphasizes workplace problem-solving, which brings to light the significance of soft skills, especially collaboration, in addressing (potential) workplace issues.
All things considered, this is a rather comprehensive description of peer coaching. Below, we’ll go over a few of the many ways in which coaching can improve productivity on the job.
Peer coaching has the potential to be an effective method of personal growth and development. Being or having a peer coach can also improve team moral and productivity. Here are five of the most often cited advantages of coaching for business professionals.
Having just your manager to turn to for guidance and criticism means you’ll only ever hear one side of the argument. But most of us deal with a wide variety of coworkers, so not everyone gets to know us well. The reality is that every job involves a wide range of activities, each of which calls for a unique set of abilities.
Therefore, individuals are able to acquire a more comprehensive, 360-degree perspective of their performance when we allow peer coaching. The results will be more accurate in showing them their strengths and places where they can improve.
Aside from providing a more holistic view of performance, peer coaching opens employees’ eyes to a wider variety of abilities needed on the job. They also have a peer they can “easily” chat to, ask questions of when they arise, and observe while they work, so they can pick up new skills quickly and effortlessly.
For instance, by combining the efforts of a public relations professional with a content writer, both parties can gain a deeper understanding of the other’s profession and potentially pick up some new tricks along the way.
Learning new abilities is not only made easier with a peer coach, but it can also happen much more quickly. You might be asking why. This is due to the fact that peers are often in the best position to provide timely, precise criticism and advice.
Every great leader possesses a unique set of abilities. Some examples of these abilities include being able to understand and empathize with others, to listen attentively and provide constructive criticism, to communicate clearly and promptly, and to promote learning and development.
Individuals can have the chance to develop numerous leadership abilities through peer coaching. You could even say that being a peer coach is a natural approach to hone these skills, since the role requires active listening, empathy, constructive criticism, instruction, clear and concise communication, and much more.
Let us talk about soft skills for a second. Soft skills, which include the ability to communicate effectively with others, are becoming more important in leadership roles, and most of the leadership qualities we highlighted fall into this category.
Employees can greatly benefit from practicing their soft skills through peer coaching, as these are foundational to building strong relationships with coworkers.
Here, one thing triggers another. When individuals coach one another and witness the positive impact on each other’s progress or achievement, it boosts their own self-esteem as well. At the same time, they’ll gain self-awareness, which will boost their participation and foster a feeling of community.
While exact percentages vary, over 20% of job-seekers are looking for a position that will allow them to further their careers. Because of this, a strong peer coaching program (especially if present employees are singing its praises online—which is fantastic for your Employer Brand) can be an effective tool in attracting top talent.
When it comes to staff, the same holds true. Twice a year, Facebook polls its workers on a variety of topics. In one poll, the company boiled the responses down to three universally important factors: community, cause, and career. Focusing on the career aspect, employees express a desire for guidance, coaching, and mentoring. Collaborative coaching amongst peers is one approach to addressing this demand. An extra benefit is that it might help your employees feel more connected to one another.
So, you’re ready to begin. To kick things off, here are some recommended practices.
Take baby steps and establish ground rules.
Stewart D. Friedman lays down the groundwork for a peer coaching network in his HBR article “How to get your team to coach each other.” Having offered opportunities for peer-to-peer coaching in his Wharton classes and in a variety of organizations for decades, Friedman has substantial experience in the field of peer coaching.
Starting small is Friedman’s first piece of advice. His suggestion? Have everyone work in trios or have each person choose two others to create a “peer team” with.
Establishing some guidelines is the next step. One pragmatic consideration is how the trios will coordinate their efforts upon meeting. On a more individual level, these guidelines should take into account people’s interests, anxieties, expectations, and desires. The most fundamental principle is that everyone should respect the privacy and choices of others and should decide for themselves what information to share or not. By the way, this is completely consistent with what we meant when we defined “peer coaching” at the start of this piece.
Show them how to provide and take criticism.
Naturally, the ability to provide and receive feedback is a crucial component of peer coaching. Your goal, after all, should be to help your peers grow by providing them with helpful criticism. Careful observation, attentive listening, and clear expression all contribute to constructive criticism.
Giving individuals a crash course in providing and accepting feedback might be a good first step before launching a peer coaching effort. To ensure that everyone gets off to a good start, it’s best to establish a few ground rules for providing feedback rather than a complex program; after all, the goal of peer coaching is to help individuals get better at giving and receiving feedback.
Establish objectives
Include individualized objectives in your peer-to-peer coaching program; this is standard practice for all forms of professional development. In life, what are the most common goals? What are their desired areas of improvement? To what extent are they interested in learning this subject?
People need to give themselves time to think about these issues before they can answer them. They need to consider their objectives from the standpoint of both the instructor and the student. Goals can be more likely to be realistic and attainable if they adhere to the SMART model, which stands for objectives that are specific, measurable, assignable, relevant, and timely.
When everyone on the team has settled on their objectives, it’s important to put them out there for everyone to see. In addition to letting prospective coaches know what their peers are interested in learning, this holds individuals responsible for achieving their objectives.
Identify the relevant web resources
Having the proper equipment is important in any situation, but it is particularly important during the rise of work-from-home. Tools for online communication and collaboration are especially useful, but a feedback tool is also useful.
Your individual requirements and available funds will likely dictate the instruments you select. Trello is a popular free program for managing projects. Assigning tasks, setting due dates, and attaching files are all possible with this tool.
For a peer group to function well, its members must have access to reliable means of instantaneous communication. After in-person meetings, video chatting is the next greatest thing because of how personal it is. Using a chat system like Slack or Microsoft Teams is a terrific way to address issues or thoughts that may arise outside of scheduled coaching sessions.
Make sure everyone is on the same page and thinking positively.
Obtaining support from upper management is crucial for any company-wide endeavor. For the simple reason that they have the potential to be both enthusiastic supporters of and effective participants in your company’s peer coaching program. Managers, department heads, and other executives in an organization are great prospects for peer coaching because of their superior (specialized) knowledge and expertise.
Mentality is another key component of an effective peer coaching program. To put this another way, it is necessary for every single member of the company to have the mindset of being eager to learn and teach. They need to view peer-to-peer tutoring as a chance to grow and improve. We say this person has a growth mentality (rather than a fixed mindset) when it comes to their attitude toward development and growth. This is already something you can look for in job applicants.
Peer coaching is an excellent method for employees to learn from one another. Furthermore, both receiving and providing coaching from a peer can have a significant positive impact on employee engagement and team spirit.
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