MHA FPX 5042 Assessment 3 Coaching Session

Student Name

Capella University

MHA-FPX 5042 Team Development and Personal Leadership in Health Care Settings

Prof. Name:

Date

Coaching Session

Firstly, for context, I am an accomplished musician, and my son Noah is thirteen years old and has been playing piano since he was six. Given that Noah is my son, he and I have great rapport since I have been a part of his musical journey from the beginning. While Noah has been playing the piano and taking lessons, he has limited to no knowledge of music theory and how to improvise chords or write original music. Recently, I have begun to teach Noah a bit about musical theory and how to improvise musical chords to “fill in the gaps” when playing chords. Noah and I have a common understanding of each other since we both are musicians and aim to improve our musical ability and knowledge. The following interview outlines our conversation regarding Noah’s desire to increase his understanding of musical theory and enhance his ability to improvise chords while playing the piano.

The Interview

Goal Questions

Me: How are you doing with your music, Noah?

Noah: Things are going relatively well. My piano playing has been slightly improving since our last session together.

Me: Can you tell me what has improved since our last session?

Noah: Before our last session, I would play the chords of songs, but they would be “stiff” chords, and I would not play extra notes to fill in the song better.

Me: So, what’s your number one goal for this session?

Noah: To make my music sound better, to play the chords better, and to fill in the gaps better when playing songs in my style.

Me: You mentioned playing music better in your “own” style. Can you elaborate on that?

Noah: I see myself as I get older playing on the “big stage” and creating and writing my music.

Reality Questions

Me: What do you think is the biggest hindrance to your progression in your music?

Noah: My biggest hindrance is juggling school, homework, chores, and being distracted with my free time.

Me: What are some ways that you can make your music progression more of a priority?

Noah: Make sure I play for at least 30 minutes daily.

Me: How could you better prioritize music in your everyday schedule?

Noah: Before I do anything else, I could carve out 30 minutes and dedicate that time to practicing my music.

Me: Can you reach your musical goals with your current schedule?

Noah: Yes, if I make it a priority in my schedule daily.

Me: What would you need to change to make this happen?

Noah: (Long pause, and unsure of how to answer)

Me: So, you think about your daily routine when you come home from school; for example, is there anything in your routine that you could sacrifice or prolong to further prioritize your music practice?

Noah: Putting my practice before anything else would be the best way for me to prioritize my music.

Me: So, do you think that you can prioritize your music daily and practice for at least 30 minutes?

Noah: Yeah, I can prioritize my music each day by making a schedule and following it.

Me: What needs to change in your current reality to reach your goals better?

Noah: Putting my music higher on my priority list daily.

Options Questions

Me: What are some of the most significant changes you want to see in your music?

Noah: I want to understand how to combine cords to write songs.

Me: So, music theory?

Noah: Yeah, and the circle of fifths

Me: What are some ways that you can further your knowledge in music theory right now?

Noah: I can look it up on YouTube or ask you for help.

Me: If you had a complete understanding of music theory now, what would you do with that knowledge?

Noah: I would use that knowledge to write my own music.

Me: What would happen if you didn’t achieve this goal?

Noah: I would not progress and would likely be no better than I am now.

Will Questions

Me: What is the most helpful takeaway from this session?

Noah: Prioritizing music will help me to reach my goals and keep me on track.

Me: How soon do you want to understand musical theory?

Noah: I want to gain a basic understanding in 3 months.

Me: Do you feel like this goal is achievable?

Noah: Yes, as long as I practice daily and stay consistent.

Me: On a scale of 1 to 10, how motivated are you to reach your goal in the next three months?

Noah: I would say my motivation is probably an 8.

Me: What might get you off track, and how would you correct yourself?

Noah: The only thing that could get me off track is not wanting to practice daily and not being consistent. Nobody can stop me except me.

Me: What actions do you need to take to reach your goal?

Noah: I can make a schedule and start following it.

Me: How soon do you plan on writing your schedule and starting on it?

Noah: I can write a schedule starting next week and go from there.

Me: Can I ask why you don’t want to start sooner?

Noah: I don’t know; I just figured I could start fresh next week.

Me: I would encourage you to start sooner rather than later to avoid procrastinating and getting distracted.

Noah: OK, yeah, you’re right.

Me: How do you feel about reaching your goal now, and what are some obstacles?

Noah: Learning musical theory is difficult, especially in three months. So, now I need to write a schedule and ensure that I practice daily for 30 minutes to stay on track. I need to avoid distractions and stay focused on my goals to succeed.

Applying the GROW Model

I followed the GROW technique to guide my son in this coaching session. I asked targeted questions from the GROW dialogue to evoke answers about his goals, daily choices, priorities, and ways to improve his behavior to reach his goal. Due to Noah being my son, we already have a strong bond and relationship, which allowed our conversation to be personable, honest, and forthcoming—being comfortable with one another allowed for a genuine discussion and accountability. Asking some open-ended questions allowed my son to think openly, while closed-ended questions narrowed down his answer, alluding to accountability and honest feedback (Herd, 2015).

Applying the GROW model during the interview was simple as I looked up targeted questions for each category in the GROW model. As the interviewer, I tailored each question to ensure proper context and applicability to the dialogue. Some unexpected challenges during this session included the need to elaborate on some questions for my son, given his age and limited understanding of some words I used to ask. I showed interest in my coachee by explaining my questions for his knowledge, enabling him to answer better. I enjoyed this coaching session as it demonstrated the humanity component of my son and me and our similarities and differences. We are both highly motivated in many respects and while he gets distracted by different things than I do, we both often get distracted by the tasks we are facing daily. I truly enjoyed the time with my son, asking questions about his goals and ways we can work together to progress towards improving and reaching his goals.

Coaching Experience Analysis

Being a coach has been a natural part of my life; raising my family and coaching other family members through life situations has been a regular occurrence since my early twenties. Since adopting my oldest nephew four years ago, I have had many coaching sessions and have been able to guide him through his adolescence and into becoming an adult. Through the process of coaching, I have learned a lot about myself. For example, genuinely listening to people still requires effort. I tend to think about what I will say next while the other person is talking, and by doing this, I often don’t truly hear what they are saying. Even during the session with my son Noah, I caught myself thinking while he was talking, and I missed the answer to my question and had to ask again. One of the biggest challenges in this coaching session is keeping the dialogue on track without being redundant in my questions.

Taking a genuine interest in this session required me to stop thinking about my next question while Noah spoke. Understanding the obstacles Noah faces each day is essential to properly coaching him in overcoming those obstacles. For example, ensuring that Noah takes the time to write out his weekly schedule and ensure it is realistic is an example of taking an interest and understanding his point of view. Lastly, providing a follow-up session outside of this assignment is something that I will commit to facilitate growth and progression for my son to reach his goal of learning musical theory. While researching coaching techniques, I realized that engagement requires taking a personal interest in the individual, with authenticity being a crucial component of genuine dialogue. One cannot be superficial, ask personable questions, and expect an authentic answer or elaboration. Setting the stage authentically is essential to a successful coaching relationship for short- and long-term scenarios (Fleddermann et al., 2023).

References

Fleddermann, K., Jacobson, N., Horst, J., Madden, L. M., Haram, E., & Molfenter, T. (2023). Opening the “black box” of organizational coaching for implementation. BMC Health Services Research, 23, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08948-6