COACHING: THE LEADER’S SECRET WEAPON

Recently, a client asked what he could do to ensure that his employees would be exceedingly capable of harnessing the opportunities that the next (inevitable) disruption will create. We discussed a few options, but one in particular grabbed his attention: coaching his employees.

Many companies have long utilized coaching as a means of unleashing employee potential. A meta-analysis suggests that coaching not only helps employees perform better, but also drives overall motivation and commitment.

In the sports world, of course, the value of coaching is well accepted. There are few professional athletes who do not receive personal coaching, regardless of their natural capabilities or experience.

Likewise, my client wants to have some of the most talented employees in his industry working with him. Having been an athlete in his youth, he quickly grasped the concept and could understand how personalized and continual coaching could give his employees a commanding edge over his competitors.

Further, since Millennials and GenZs love real-time feedback, coaching is an excellent way to satisfy this desire while ensuring that their skills remain razor-sharp.

COACHING HAS MANY BENEFITS

Coaching can improve an employee’s day-to-day work experience far beyond well-being and productivity. It creates a more dynamic and enjoyable work environment and culture, one filled with insights, future-focused conversations, check-ins, and metrics. All of this is aimed at elevating the employee’s performance by integrating coaching into the day-to-day work environment.

Specific, documented benefits of coaching employees include:

• Establishing and moving toward goals
• Becoming more self-reliant
• Gaining more job and life satisfaction
• Becoming more self-confident
• Contributing more effectively to the team and the organization
• Taking greater responsibility and accountability for actions and commitments
• Working more easily and productively with others (boss, direct reports, peers)
• Communicating more effectively 

MANAGERS NEED TRAINING ON HOW TO COACH

Coaching doesn’t just happen. To realize these benefits, managers need training (and coaching!) regarding best practices in this area.

For many managers, coaching is a major change of focus. Most were promoted based on their technical skills and are not comfortable talking daily with their employees, giving them feedback, and celebrating their accomplishments. The training can make these interactions move from awkward to delightful!

Fundamentally, managers need to authentically care about their employees. In order to be successful, they need to uncover what motivates and inspires each employee, ask questions to probe deeper to understand each individual’s core drives, and then create conditions that will allow the employees to be engaged, motivated, and eager to excel!

For our collective and daunting future, we need employees to bring their whole selves to work. After Covid, many people felt this was asking too much; perhaps a coach would dramatically increase the chances that they would be more willing to return to the office to become extraordinary at their work!

These are some of the key skills needed to be an effective coach:

CONNECT AND COMMUNICATE

Developing and maintaining engaging relationships is key to the success of employee coaching. Connecting with your employees in an authentic and genuine manner will drastically improve the chances of the employees being receptive to training and feedback, not to mention acting on it. The coach’s relationships need to be built on trust so that down the road they can provide coaching with candor and empathy.

OBSERVE

A good coach pays attention to their employees and observes their behavior and actions regularly. The best coaches are keenly aware of their employees’ day-to-day activities. They watch and pay attention to employee behaviors so they can identify what aspects of performance need to improve.

ASSESS

Coaches need to be clear about how their employees are currently performing and what new behaviors are desired. It is often helpful to use assessment instruments, such as 360- or 180-degree feedback tools, multi-rater behavioral assessments, or questionnaires and surveys to get a better understanding of the employee’s skill level. Involving the employee in the selection of assessments will increase the connection and bond between the employee and coach.

CLARIFY

Coaches need to discuss and review the gap between the employees’ performance expectations and their actual performance. This requires providing detailed examples of alternative behaviors that the employees can try in different situations.

EXPLAIN

Effective coaches give individuals a roadmap that pinpoints when they need to apply alternative behaviors. They must also explain why specific behaviors, results, or actions need to be changed, how they should be changed, and the ultimate positive desired result.

ASK QUESTIONS

Coaching inherently leads to rich and meaningful conversations. Some of these conversations may be difficult but are needed for the employee to deliver their best. Managers must encourage employees to ask questions, seek clarity, and provide insights. They must then agree on the desired result.

COACHING IS FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT TRUST

Above all, managers need to understand that coaches play a “human-centered role in creating the conditions for the employees’ success.”

Many of today’s employees crave real-time feedback and words of affirmation, both of which help to improve performance so they can excel.

A strong coaching relationship is needed to provide an opportunity for coaches to unpack and embrace the complex motivations and drivers of employee behavior. This becomes imperative when we face the unknown future of work.

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A former tax attorney at Arthur Andersen, Lynn Thomas brings the same rigor to her work now as an employee and client retention consultant. With more than 30 years’ experience, she uncovers why clients/employees come, stay, leave, refer, and cross-buy. Her unique, fully customized approach includes measurable and actionable steps toward cultivating a powerful, profitable, and relationship-centric company. Learn more about Lynn and Thomas Consulting, here.