February 13, 2012 at 10:37 AM

MYTH 1: Nobody can really define coaching.

Coaching is a well-defined process, with start and end points. What’s different - and what throws some managers off - is that the heart of the process is a person’s potential. So success isn’t easy to quantify.

MYTH 2: Coaching is managing with a happy face.

Making sure someone achieves set performance levels is managing. Helping them handle problems for themselves is coaching.

MYTH 3: Coaching is just another name for mentoring.

A coach is more dispassionate than a mentor. If someone fails to live up to a commitment, a mentor might say, "You’re disappointing me." Coaches say: "This is what you said you wanted, and you’re not doing it."

MYTH 4: Being a coach means being a cheerleader.

A coach doesn’t just praise an individual’s efforts. A coach helps people understand what they need to change in order to attain their professional goals.

MYTH 5: Coaching takes a lot of time.

Coaching relationships can last anywhere from 3 months to 2 years, depending on what the coachee is trying to accomplish. But during that period it should take at most 30–45 minutes a week. That’s the time you spend checking on what someone has done since you last spoke and figuring out what steps they should take next.

MYTH 6: Coaching is a kind of psychotherapy.

Coaches, like all business people, need to have a grasp of psychology, such as what motivates people. But coaching focuses on what to do now, not on what went wrong in the dim past.

MYTH 7: One recipe can handle all coaching situations.

There is no "one size fits all" approach to coaching. Just as individuals and their goals are different, so is what each person needs to learn to achieve them.

MYTH 8: Some people just can’t be coached.

If an individual is truly unreceptive to your coaching, there may be other problems in your relationship or in your coaching style. Try the person with a different coach before writing him or her off as un-coachable.

MYTH 9: If you successfully coach people, they may leave.

While some employees who achieve new goals will leave, far more will feel greater loyalty to an organisation that is interested in their professional development.

MYTH 10: Coaching doesn’t add to the bottom line.

Coaching can have a positive impact on performance, but it is not a short-term process. Coaching prospects should be people you think can be even greater assets to the organisation than they already are.