Why you should view your Psychologist as a Coach

‘A relationship with a psychologist coach is unlike any other personal or professional relationship’, said Smith. ‘Professional coaching is shown to have a powerful, positive impact on self-confidence, wellness, and work performance. This not only benefits the one being coached but has a flow on affect to the employees in a manager’s charge which in turn, improves organisational effectiveness. Team members benefit from the mentoring, leadership development, and coaching culture the manager brings back into the organisation. 

In their book, The science of building blocks for business coaching, (Schutte & Steyn 2015), Coaching is defined as the coach’s participation in the development and learning process of the person in focus. 

Smith when on to say, ‘Besides professional coaching, when seen as coaches, psychologists can guide individuals through their own personal development journey. This will cause the individual to become more self-aware, improving their emotional intelligence and their ability to communicate, inside and outside the workplace’.  

This mode of coaching differs from traditional mentoring which has been seen as hierarchical in nature, whereas coaching is a process in which the coach facilitates learning in the coached. This establishes a basis to which employees can learn about themselves, not focusing reactively on dysfunctional issues but rather as a way to circumvent potential problems (Grant 2001). 

Smith mentions that ‘when coaching is implemented on a Financial Planning Practice level, the benefits are truly profound. When your employees are happy, feel supported and competent, and have a sense of belonging, there are human benefits and bottom-line benefits as well. Productivity and performance go up, as the coaching is not only benefitting the strategic goals of the organisation but the individual themselves has a greater sense of commitment to the organisation, increasing employee performance. When they find meaning in their work and feel a sense of purpose, belonging, satisfaction, and intent-to-stay all improve’.  

‘It starts with self and team evaluation which provide baseline information about the leaders and staff. It provides invaluable details about personality, leadership styles, interpersonal communication style, strengths, and stage of development. This is used to build all of the team to greater levels of success’. 

‘The assessments can also be used to recruit your next team member. The team evaluation will help guide what type of personality you should employ next. Will it be to fill a gap or to expand on the strengths; and how will they best integrate with your current team?’ 

It is evident that this proactive approach can circumvent a lot of the problems and dysfunction that can so easily arise in the workplace.  

Recruit 2 Advice includes professional profiling in our standard service, ‘I’ve always considered this additional information we receive very valuable. It both re-enforces our positive views on candidates and is highly advantageous for the hiring manager to assess future behaviours and team fit’ Dugald Braithwaite, Principal R2A.