Coaching asks that you manage and work with employees on an individual and very intimate basis. It stands to reason, then, that your coaching style will be quite distinct from the style of another coach working in an entirely different setting, with a totally different gaggle of personalities. Coaches are people, too. You are a unique fish in a pond who will interpret the many tools and techniques of coaching in a way that complements your personality.

Coaching formulas are pliable and open to a great deal of interpretation as to how they should be applied. Coaching is always a work in progress. We have addressed the problem of perceptions versus reality and how you must recognize the discrepancies that exist between one and the other with regard to your employees' talents and performance possibilities. But before you can make any of these critical judgments about your staff, you have to make absolutely certain that you're on solid ground yourself.

That is, you have to know how your coaching style is playing in Peoria, as it were — among your people. You must know how your employees perceive your leadership and how they are reacting to it. You must know if you are truly getting the most out of their performances, while simultaneously fashioning a satisfying and healthy work environment conducive to maximum productivity.