Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence

Citation

Morgan, S. (2003), "Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence", Library Management, Vol. 24 No. 1/2, pp. 93-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120310454647

Coaching means different things to different people. Generally, one tends to think of sports or entertainment people using the services of coaches but I suspect, as a tool coaching is more widespread than we think. After all, there is an element of coaching in many interpersonal activities such as mentoring, counselling, supervising etc, which are widely practised in the library and information world, as well as in other professions. For the purposes of this short and readable book the term “coaching” refers to helping to create a humane organisation by facilitating change for the better. I’m sure few would argue with the desirability of striving to achieve that aim. Whether coaching can “transform the work environment and, ultimately, the services you are providing your customers”, as the publishers claim in the press release, is rather more debatable. The effectiveness of a library service is much too dependent on a diverse range of criteria and not on one, albeit important, technique for the word “transform” to sound over ambitious here. Nevertheless, in demonstrating to the reader the benefits of applying coaching skills to particular library scenarios, the author has been successful.

Each of the seven chapters has a consistent structure: a prelude which sets the scene; the what, why and how; a detailed scenario to illustrate the “how”. The first chapter provides an overview of the whole process – whether coaching individuals or teams. The emphasis is very much on cultivating positive attitudes through coaching which can range from basic to complex and from short term to long term. The author introduces the reader to three practical tools. The first consists of the use of quadrants to assess coaching level. The second describes the three stages of coaching i.e. initial, content and wrap‐up. The third, and perhaps the most useful, is a coaching process framework (incorporating observation, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment). These latter techniques are used quite extensively in the end‐of‐chapter scenarios, helping to illustrate their application. Chapter 2 moves us on to the basic skills, abilities and personal characteristics required of the effective coach. The following four chapters deal with the coaching of particular people – individuals (Chapter 3), teams (Chapter 4), leaders (Chapter 5) and managers (Chapter 6). In the coaching of individuals the emphasis is on sustaining or improving performance, as well as confronting poor performance. There is also an interesting section covering coaching staff into another position or out of the organisation altogether! In the coaching of teams building skills and resource allocation are highlighted. Managers and leaders need coaching in turning vision into reality, game plans, their influence on others, feedback systems and handling competition and stress. The final chapter focuses in some detail on the organisation as a whole including overcoming performance barriers, adopting appropriate coaching strategies and seeking out pathways to excellence.

The selected resources at the end are indeed very selective; one might almost say, a bit thin – four book titles, one journal article and four Web site addresses. Although helpfully annotated, a wider selection would have been welcome.

Overall, this is a stimulating read and demonstrates the huge potential of coaching techniques in creating a positive working environment. To redress the balance, perhaps a little more could have been said about the costs of coaching, particularly in relation to staff time. Much of the work is carried out on a one‐to‐one basis and therefore very expensive. I would definitely be convinced by the efficacy of the coaching principle but would need some persuading that in practical day‐to‐day terms it was viable on an organisational basis.