EVERY CATALYST

How To Coach

In Catalytic the coach’s role is to be a part of the equation in the development and growth of new leaders as they pursue reaching their school, but not central to it.

The best way to get off on the right foot as a coach is to make sure that you have established the relationship with the Key Volunteer you will be coaching. The extra time to make sure that this is clear and agreed upon at the beginning will go a long way in the coaching relationship.

Praying and Planning

Each new KV will experience a lot of change in their life as they take on this new role. Much of what they need in the beginning is prayer and encouragement. Commit to praying fervently for each KV you are coaching as a principle.

Beyond that, spend some time thinking through the bare essentials that this KV needs to multiply on their campus quickly over the next 8 weeks. What do they need to be doing and learning? In this you will likely start to see that there are short term essentials that they need to start doing quickly, and long term character and leadership skills that will come with time. Start with the short term in your planning.

After coming up with a plan for their short term expansion and development, sit down with the KV and ask them to do the same before ever showing them your suggested plan. Have a long conversation where you ask good questions about what they need to accomplish what they hope to see on their campus. Try to avoid every showing them your list–that list is for you to gather your thoughts, not show your KV the plan you have for their life.

The reason for this potentially longer process in coaching is to help them learn to self evaluate what they need. The KV may not always know exactly what they need, but by giving them space to think about it, you are doing the very thing necessary for them to develop in a healthy way over the long haul, especially if you aren’t around to coach them anymore. Even so, if they are not at all sure of what they need, consider asking a question instead of telling them. For example:

Coach: “Do you want other people on your campus to know Jesus like you do?”
KV: “Yes, of course.”
Coach: “Who on your campus do you think can tell others about Jesus?”
KV: “I don’t know.”
Coach: “Can you?”
KV: “Oh no, I don’t know how to do that!”
Coach: “Could I teach you how?”
KV: “Yes!”

Let conversations like this happen naturally and allow the KV time to truly process and think about what God is asking of them. In the example above, if the KV would have said no, let that be ok for now. By becoming a Key Volunteer they have said that they are willing to follow God and do what he has asked them to on their campus. It’s important that they discover for themselves that God is asking them to go and make disciples. It’s your job as a coach not to tell them all of this, but to provide the environment for them to learn, discover, and take steps of faith. This will require a great deal of thinking on your part as a coach, and I should say, a great deal of patience at times as well.

Eventually coaching will be what you spend most of your time on as you pursue Catalytic over the next few years, and is therefore a very critical part of the Catalytic process. For much more info, check out the coaching section at www.everycatalyst.com.