Coaching Through Challenges

A ready-to-run 2-hour session for the hardest coaching moments: when performance slips, when people push back, when your best people need more, and when coaching is not the right tool.

Who it is for

• Small-business owners who know a conversation is overdue and keep putting it off.

• Managers and supervisors who need a calm, fair way to raise a performance problem.

• Crew, shift and team leads who deal with "That's not my job" and "I'm too busy" every week.

• HR and L&D professionals who want leaders to coach early, so fewer problems reach a formal process.

The problem it solves

Leaders usually know when performance has slipped. What they do not know is how to start without damaging the relationship, how to find the real cause, and what to do when the person pushes back. So they wait, and the conversation becomes a warning instead of help. This kit gives them a clear opening (why, and facts you could replay), a cause check (Clear, Able, Equipped, Willing), a way to respond to resistance (Acknowledge, Check, Steer), a focus for high performers (Stretch, Spread, Sustain) and a Right Tool Check for when coaching is not enough. One idea runs through it: the standard stays, and the path is theirs.

What is inside

Builds on D01 Coaching Basics and the KA coaching model, PULL: Pick the focus, Uncover what's happening, Let them find the options, Leave with a next step.

In-person kit

• Facilitator guide, 36 pages (Word): how to use the kit, session overview, challenging coaching in plain words, high performers and the Right Tool Check, keeping a simple record, facilitator FAQ, preparation checklist, timed segments with SAY / DO / ASK / WAIT cues, scenario scripts, answer keys, scenario cards at a glance, tricky moments, follow-through plan and ways to adapt the session.

• Slide deck, 26 slides (PowerPoint), with speaker notes that repeat the guide's cues.

Virtual kit

• Virtual facilitator guide, 30 pages (Word), with producer cue sheet, polls, chat prompts and breakout card texts.

• Producer run sheet, 3 pages (Word).

• Virtual slide deck, 29 slides (PowerPoint).

Workbook and handouts

• Participant workbook, 17 pages (Word and PDF), including a challenge coaching plan and a 60-day follow-through page for the whole series.

• One-page job aid: PULL when it is hard (1 page).

• Handout 1: Cause check, with a worked example and four cases (2 pages).

• Handout 2: Resistance and excuses, with practice lines (2 pages).

• Handout 3: High performer coaching planner, with a filled-in example (2 pages).

• Handout 4: Right Tool Check decision guide and practice (2 pages).

• Handout 5: Eight scenario cards set in a landscaping company, dental office, hardware store, call center, accounting office, hair salon, warehouse and restaurant (4 pages).

• Handout 6: Observer checklist (1 page).

• Handout 7: Coaching conversation record, with a worked example (2 pages).

• Handout 8: My challenge coaching plan, with a filled-in example (2 pages).

• Answer key for the facilitator (2 pages).

How to use it

1. Read the facilitator guide and check your organization's policies on performance, conduct and leave, so you can answer questions accurately.

2. Print the workbook and handouts, and cut the scenario cards.

3. Run the 2-hour session in person or online. Two of the practice cards are situations where coaching turns out not to be the right tool, so participants practice noticing.

4. Use the follow-through plan so each participant has the conversation they have been putting off within two weeks.

The kit teaches coaching skills. It is not legal advice, and it tells participants to follow their organization's policies and local law.

Formats and file types

• Word (.docx): facilitator guides, producer run sheet, participant workbook. Fully editable.

• PowerPoint (.pptx): in-person and virtual decks with speaker notes. Fully editable.

• PDF: participant workbook, job aid, handouts and answer key, ready to print.

• Fonts: Fraunces and Nunito Sans (free from Google Fonts). Licensed for use within your organization.

Frequently asked questions