Analysis of Links between Communication Skills, Motivational Orientations, and Awareness of Coaching

The proposed research deals with the analysis of links between the assessment of communication skills, motivation, and awareness of coaching. The main objective of the research was to detect which skills are typical for the addressed sample of 140 managers (aged between 24 and 62 years), at what level are their communication skills, which tools of motivation they use in their work, and what is their knowledge of coaching. The utilized methodology was a combination of two questionnaires – questionnaire of development of Communication Skills (CS) and questionnaire of Awareness of Coaching (AC). On the basis of the acquired results, several proposals for improvement of particular managerial skills were provided.

motivate staff) and conceptual ones (ability to manage, integrate, and mutually harmonize the interests and activities that take place in the company).
The standard equipment of successful managers also includes communication skills. According to Slávik (2002), the most important ones are active listening, questioning technique, nonverbal communication, and empathy. Actively listening managers are more successful and have more profit from interpersonal communication as they can process more information at the same time (Khelerová, 2006). They should be able to ask appropriate questions that will serve as an impetus for an answer. Open questions spark the communication and closed ones accelerate it (Vybíral, 2005).
Motivation is usually a set of internal motives in the mind of the individual, which means that it has a multidimensional character. If people fail to create enough motives to work, they begin to take on coercive forms which may adversely affect their personality (Sojka, 2007). A team of motivated workers is the key to success. Performance of demotivated individuals gradually decreases; they become less creative and therefore cease to be beneficial to society (Pilařová, 2008).

Coaching as a Method of Managerial Abilities and Skills Development
In order for managers to become more efficient and to improve and deepen their skills and abilities they need to constantly develop and educate themselves (Hroník, 2007). Development is the process of improving the original state and thus contributes to improving personal potential (Prokopenko & Kubr, 1996). The process of development of managers should be anticipatory, so that managers can contribute to achievement of the objectives, be responsive and focused on solving or preventing performance problems.
Managers are taught to manage by doing so under the guidance of a good manager. Some managers are better at developing people than others. One of the objectives of the development of managers is for managers to realize that the development of their subordinates is an integral part of their job duties (Armstrong, 2007).
Coaching is one of the methods of development of skills and abilities of managers. It is a targeted strengthening of the development potential of the individual and enables to maximize his or her performance. It works according to the principle of increasing the internal commitment and self-improvement of this individual (Stack, 2005). The essence of coaching is thinking, which needs to be fundamentally changed. When managers are successful, then they can change their behavior and only then the leadership of others (Lelková & Lorincová, 2017).

Research Hypotheses
On the basis of the main aim of the study, two research hypotheses were formulated: H 1 : There are statistically significant correlations between development of communication skills among managers and awareness of coaching.
H 2 : There are statistically significant correlations between motivational orientations of managers and awareness of coaching.

Method
The aim of the research is estimated using the sample of 140 managers aged between 24 and 62 years (mean age: 38.53 years) to determine whether there are links between communication skills, motivational orientations, and awareness of coaching taking advantage of two original questionnaires: CS (Questionnaire of development of communication skills) and AC (Questionnaire of awareness of coaching). Based on HO-PO-MO (VA-AT-MO -the questionnaire of value orientations, attitudes to values and motivation to perform) by Vonkomer (1991), this research used one of its parts for analyses -MO (the questionnaire of motivational orientation).

Results
Hypothesis 1 was verified by means of the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results of the correlation analysis are presented in Table 1. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between CS (questionnaire of development of communication skills) and AC (questionnaire of awareness of coaching). Managers who are empathetic and those who know how to properly ask questions, actively listen and provide feedback think that coaching expands the mosaic of their managerial skills and to a lesser extent affects their privacy. On the other hand, they also believe that coaching increases the efficiency of their managerial work and contributes to their further personal development.
Another positive correlation appeared between the education of communication skills provided by the employer and improvement of the efficiency of managerial work in the field of coaching. Those respondents who had the opportunity to be educated in communication skills and thus improve them think that knowledge in this area will assist them in their work efficiency. In this context, most managers reported that competences of a coach are necessary in managerial work.
Another statistically significant correlation indicates that organization of seminars for managers in the area of coaching has a positive impact on better understanding of their behavior and needs to be educated in communication skills. Part of the research was to find a statistically significant correlation between the benefits of training programs and development of the skills of a coach. Managers indicated that training programs help to develop coaching skills for their managerial work. Based on this analysis it can be concluded that Hypothesis 1 was supported.
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3335742 Hypothesis 2 was also verified by means of the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results of the correlation analysis of the questionnaires MO (motivational orientation) and AC (awareness of coaching) are presented in Table 2. Statistically significant correlations were recorded between the factors of coaching on the one hand and the work regime freedom, remuneration for work, and unnecessary competitiveness among co-workers on the other. Managers, who prefer the efficiency and benefits in personal development, favor the free work regime, and competitiveness between them and the other co-workers is not important to them as much as the good work remuneration. Most of the managers in this study reported that remuneration for the work performed positively affects the development of managerial skills, efficiency of managerial work, and contribution to personal development. Remuneration, career development, and the effectiveness in human relations are closely related to the need for organization of seminars on coaching. Managers can utilize the knowledge and information acquired from the training in coaching for their further advancement. This information and knowledge at the same time improve the efficiency of their management of human relations.
A negative statistically significant correlation was recorded between coaching as a basic managerial competence and freedom of the work regime, from which it can be deduced that those managers who consider coaching as an essential management competence feel a certain bond to their workplace. From the findings on the links between work remuneration, possibility of further advancement in employment and knowledge in the area of coaching, it is clear that the aforementioned management training is beneficial for managers. Based on the analyses it may be concluded that Hypothesis 2 was also supported.

Discussion and conclusion
The research objective was to determine whether there are statistically significant correlations between communication skills, motivational orientations, and awareness of coaching. By means of the analyses it was found that there exist positive correlations between the knowledge in the field of coaching and the development of communication skills. Managers, who had the opportunity to develop and improve their communication skills, contended that the acquired knowledge helps them to increase the efficiency of their managerial work. In the case of managers, who have a well-developed empathy and know how to provide feedback, an increase in the efficiency of managerial work in the field of coaching was recorded. Existence of a link between the knowledge in the field of coaching and motivational orientations was also found among managers. Experiencing competitiveness towards their colleagues is not as important to them as a well-assessed remuneration for their work which has a positive impact on the efficiency of managerial work.
The research revealed a statistically significant correlation between the managers with a well-developed empathy and their desire for further development. Based on the research results, the authors propose to expand and diversify the offer of training courses for employees and managers of every organization. For those managers, who reported that training in coaching expands the mosaic of their managerial skills, has a positive impact on the efficiency of their managerial work and at the same time these findings contribute to their personal development, it would be appropriate to allow trainings in the area of coaching as a work benefit.
Communication skills are fundamental for any manager and can be regarded as a basic managerial skill (Lorincová & Lelková, 2016;Rajnoha, Štefko, Merková, & Dobrovič, 2016) because the acquisition of relevant information belongs to daily practice of managers (Baumgartner & Frankovský, 2004;Frankovský, 2001). The research revealed that the addressed sample of managers has a relatively good set of verbal communication skills. In this context it is appropriate to extend the range of training courses aimed at the training of soft skills that are motivating, which also stimulates their performance.
Finally, it should be noted that the contemporary market offers many training courses for managers working at various levels of corporate governance to develop their managerial skills. It is only necessary to choose the right ones.