The OALFA Technique

By Tatwa P. Timsina

“An effective approach to coaching is OALFA – Observe,
Ask, Listen, give Feedback and arrive at an Agreement.”

After working as a facilitator for several years, my role at ICA Nepal is changing to that of a coach.

A coach is defined as “someone who trains in a particular sport, gives people special teaching in order to prepare them”. Coaching provides specific guidance for improving performance. It is about building up people’s skill and confidence, often on a one to one basis, and helping them get to the level at which they are required to perform.

Coaching is an ongoing partnership. Through this process, people being coached deepen their learning, improve their performance and enhance their quality of life. The coach encourages them to go beyond their current levels of abilities.

A coach should demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills in building rapport, asking questions or gaining information, giving and receiving feedback, listening and persuading, and influencing and encouraging others. Coaching is also about having confidence in knowledge and abilities.

Coaching, originally associated with sports, is used in all sectors. A coach directs and encourages team members to be disciplined so as to contribute effectively to the team’s performance. That in turn helps improve individual and organizational performance. Coaching can help a person learn new behaviours and become more confident.

Coaching through OALFA

An effective approach to coaching is OALFA – Observe, Ask, Listen, give Feedback and arrive at an Agreement. Management Sciences for Health (MSH), a US-based organisation which designed this approach, uses it for improving individual and organizational performance.

ICA Nepal is also using this approach. Once a plan or commitment is made, those involved go back to their area to start implementation. After a certain period, say two months, a coach/facilitator visits them and applies the following steps:

Observe
The coach may collect data, should build rapport and observe the emotional state of the person being coached.

Ask

Asking is for inquiry rather than for making a request. Asking good questions is an art through which the coach can understand the point of view of the person being coached and help him or her correct errors and change his or her behaviour.

Listen
The coach should show signs of active listening and paraphrase the words of the person being coached to verify understanding.

Feedback

A good way to prepare for giving feedback is to look for what the person being coached is doing well, what he needs to do better and what he needs to stop doing. Starting the feedback with positive comments builds confidence.

Before giving feedback, the coach should summarise the information provided by the person being coached. When giving feedback, he or she should use words that are specific rather than general, focus on observable behaviour and use words that are descriptive rather than judgmental.

Agreement

The last step is to explore alternatives to change current behaviour and decide on a course of action. The coach should ask questions that require the person being coached to generate alternatives. The coach draws on all the OALFA skills to arrive at one or more alternative actions. Commitment for further meetings and implementation of suggestions will be agreed upon. The agreement should be written down with detailed instructions on the timing of follow-up conversations and the support you will offer along the way.

OALFA is a major component of the Leadership and Management course that MSH organizes. It can be linked to ICA’s approach of human capacity building.

Tatwa P. Timsina, facilitator of ICA Nepal, is associated with two USAID projects where the OALFA approach is used in coaching.