This lesson describes TCI’s coaching model and its 9-step process, along with how it has been operationalized and lessons learned from its first four years of use.

Introduction to TCI’s Coaching Model

TCI’s approach to coaching adds an innovation that is unique to TCI: a locally owned and implemented model of coaching with a systematic yet flexible process to bring about long-term, sustainable transformation. TCI hubs—based in East Africa, Francophone West Africa, India, Nigeria and Philippines—embed coaching systems within local structures to facilitate and produce the rapid, cost-efficient expansion of accessible, quality urban family planning and adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) information and services, led and sustained by stakeholders in TCI geographies.

TCI uses a blended learning approach to meet the needs of city managers, implementers and other community members in partner geographies. Coaching is highly tailored and takes into account several factors including the:

• Needs of the individual coachee(s) and/or teams being coached
• Coachees’ existing knowledge, skills, and confidence in identifying, adapting, and applying solutions
• Specific complexities of the challenge, task(s), or problems at hand

At times, TCI’s coaching support may include different learning and development methods, such as teaching, training and mentorship in addition to coaching. The specific support provided is tailored to the coachees’ existing knowledge, capacity and needs, which evolve over time.

TCI’s “Lead, Assist, Observe” Coaching Model

Coaching typically starts out at high intensity, but city managers and implementers expect this to gradually taper off as implementation progresses and city teams gain confidence—what we refer to as the “Lead, Assist, Observe” Coaching Model. TCI has found that demonstration of the feasibility, acceptability and impact of the proven high-impact interventions has strengthened local governments’ commitments, often resulting in additional financial expenditure and further scale up and institutionalization of the proven interventions and graduation from TCI’s direct support.

Experienced TCI cities transition from receiving coaching support to providing support to newer cities, allowing TCI to support a growing number of geographies. In addition, city implementers, as well as coaches, receive support from TCI University (TCI-U). This web-based platform serves as an open “university without walls,” providing a continuous learning environment for an unlimited number of city teams as demand for the model increases over time. TCI-U ensures consistency in implementation of proven interventions across diverse geographies through its library of curated toolkits, with ready-to-use but easy-to-adapt templates, guidelines, job aids and training materials and its online community of practice.

TCI’s coaching approach is founded on the conceit that individuals and teams are capable of generating their own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, experience-based and discovery-based approaches and frameworks. TCI’s coaching approach centers on helping others expand their view: to shift from seeing only problems that need to be ‘solved,’ to recognizing that opportunity is often disguised as obstacles.

9-Step Process

TCI introduced a nine-step process to structure coaching interactions to ensure consistent, high quality implementation. The process is organized into four main sections for an effective coaching conversation: Agenda (steps 1-4), Awareness (step 5), Action (step 6) and Accountability (steps 7-9).

However, there may be cases when a particular coachee is farther along in the process and may not need to go through each of the nine steps. Coaches must be carefully attuned to the needs of coachees and make adjustments to the process as they see fit. It is collaborative and not didactic. It can be structured but also spontaneous as TCI hub staff and trained coaches develop strong relationships with their coachees. As a result, coaching remains more of an art than a science.

How is TCI Coaching Operationalized?

TCI’s coaching approach has been adapted by its four hubs to ensure that it is right-sized for the contexts in which they work. However, the coaching interactions typically fall into two types: Planned and On-Demand. The type of coaching is determined by who catalyzes it and why.