Managing Video-Based Coaching

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Virtual Meeting Etiquettes for Everyone

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a global change in meetings and events, moving many of us from in-person gatherings to a more virtual implementation.

With the technology that we currently have, virtual meetings now allow us to connect with colleagues on a deeper and more human level.

**However, just turning on your camera during a virtual meeting isn't enough. ** There are several things to practice and avoid to keep your virtual meetings smooth and professional which are going to be covered in this lesson. Ready? Hit the button below to begin.

During the Meeting

Watch your non-verbal behaviours. Always check if your video is on during a professional virtual meeting. Look at the camera and stay focused.

Stay focused. Give your best attention instead of multitasking while you are on the call. Treat the video call like a face-to-face meeting and try to avoid moving around while you are on the call.

Don’t interrupt other speakers. Wait for a pause before talking. As this is what we normally do while talking in person, it's important to do the same during virtual meetings.

Show your face. During the meeting, show your face from time to time. People feel more connected when they see each other, and other people on the call may want to see that you are in fact listening.

Remember to treat virtual meetings like a face-to-face meeting. You may not have to drive or walk to those meetings but you still need to be professional while you are on the call. Keep in mind that if you wouldn't do something in a face-to-face meeting, it's something that you shouldn't do as well in a virtual one. Don't forget to smile. With all of these virtual meetings taking over our everyday lives, smiling can definitely help make them more pleasant for everyone.

Virtual Coaching Best Practices for Leaders

Due to the pandemic, many industries provided their employees the chance to work remotely from their homes.

Because of this, many leaders had to adapt and manage teams that spanned across different locations and time zones.

It also meant that at some point, leaders and managers had to coach their team members virtually - which could be a challenge to some.

Avoid Dictating the Medium Everyone has their own preference for phone or video, or your organization may rely on one more than the other. For coaching conversations, however, it goes differently. It's important that both parties choose what medium is suitable for the situation, instead of it being dictated by you as the leader. Phone and video works fine for coaching. One isn't better than the other, but both are actually different. As a leader, it is vital to get a sense of which medium works best for each relationship and this may vary from call to call. While video meetings can provide helpful visual context, they can also be distracting especially if there's a poor internet connection. You can try experimenting with both phone and video to see what works best with different team members.

Location _______ . Complete the sentence above

**Manage the Time **

In most virtual meetings, discussions may go right up until the end of the allotted time when we rapidly conclude to move on to the next meeting.

In another way, a coaching session is different -- as a coach, it's a part of your job to track the time during the conversation.

On your next coaching session with a team member, try using a timer to minimize distractions, this also helps you stop at a point you agreed on in advance.

What makes coaching sessions more valuable than the usual meetings as they tend to be more wide-ranging. This also makes it hard to tell where these sessions will end up.

This means that you can leave some time between the end of the coaching session and the next one, allowing you and the person you're coaching to reflect on the conversation.

Becoming a Better Coach for your Organization

"What makes a good coach?" This is a question leaders often ask themselves when looking to improve their coaching skills, as well as their careers in the process.

You may find it useful to look at some of the key differences between managing and coaching to understand why coaching is the most vital skill that leaders must master to ensure career success.

When properly executed, coaching sessions provide greater and organic motivation. This helps inspire the person you are coaching with a self-directed willingness to try new things and look for new discoveries.

Coaching vs. Managing The difference between the two really comes from focus. When being directive, you tell your employees what needs to be done, how you like it to be done, and when it needs to be done. The challenge in using a directive approach is that employees learn to always ask the expert, which in this case is the manager. This can often lead managers to frustration and ask themselves why is it them who has all the answers or question the efficiency of being asked for guidance for everyone's tasks, all the time. Micromanagement then becomes the feedback loop because employees can't manage to do something without their manager's approval.

What "L" should leaders do more during coaching sessions?

Reject a Premise to Get a Promise

Everyone has a premise that reflects how we see the world. That premise or perspective is the reason we move forward or stay stuck.

An effective coach practices self-leadership to acknowledge that we all have limiting beliefs. When those beliefs are seen and understood objectively by the people we coach, a new viewpoint emerges.

Try Not to Judge After completing this course, try to practice listening to your employees without judgment no matter what they say. Other leaders may find it hard but the impulse to correct and fix things is a strong one in effective managers. However, coaches realize what managers don't: There's no such thing as constructive criticism -- the only thing it constructs is defensiveness. Giving the people that you coach the sense of safety that they can say and explore anything without fear of retribution, criticism, and correction is essential to new ideas. Processing ideas without judgment helps you, as well as the people you coach view things from a different perspective. In order to change the behavior and inspire efficiency, try to focus on where your employee's motivation comes from by viewing things from their perspective. This will let you coach yourself and your team towards greater results.