Coaching is not limited only to one-to-one sessions employed by managers. Peer coaching is believed to be one of the most effective forms of learning in the workplace. Just about everyone is familiar with this method. Every time a colleague sat down with you to show you how something works, a peer coaching took place. A lot of things we learn at work are through this process. In short, everyone can be a coach and can be coached. 

You can learn a great deal about coaching when you are coached yourself. Ask yourself, how effective was the coaching? What went well? What went wrong? Was it a good approach? Would you coach this way? Can you get inspired by the method and use it when you must coach next time? Of course, you can also learn when you perform a coaching session for your colleague and through an iterative process improve your skills.

Peer coaching is the truest team builder of all. Most team-building efforts use non-work-related activities such as ropes courses, outdoor games, bowling, or various social events. These methods create personal bonds however there are, by their very nature, outside the context of workplace. Peer coaching allows team members to interact in different ways and to collaborate in a more intentional and work-related way. As a result, it is complementary to other team-building activities and in fact one might argue that it is also the most effective. Peer coaching aids the acknowledgment of all team members for their varied strengths and skills. Everyone’s input will be needed, and the coaching will be appreciated by all sides, irrespective of rank and hierarchy.