What is a management coach?
An executive coach is a qualified professional that works with individuals (usually executives, but often high potential employees) to help them gain self-awareness, clarify goals, achieve their development objectives, unlock their potential, and act as a sounding board. They are not consultants or therapists (although many have consulting or therapist backgrounds) and usually refrain from giving advice or solving their client’s problems. Instead, they ask questions to help an executive clarify and solve their own problems.
What Executive Coaches Do?
Executive coaches provide a confidential and supportive sounding board for their clients. They ask questions, challenge assumptions, help provide clarity, provide resources, and yes, sometimes, with permission, provide advice. They often administer and help interpret 360-degree and behavioral assessments, conduct confidential interviews to help a client gain self-awareness, and establish development goals.
What defines a good coach?
A good coach knows the strengths and weaknesses of his or her employees. Much like the coach of a sports team, he or she knows how to tap into the individual strengths of employees to get the most out of them and to get the greatest amount of productivity from the team, collectively and individually. To understand oneself, one’s coaching style, and how it is perceived and received by employees, is a critical first step to becoming a valuable and effective coach. Self-awareness is a journey unto itself, so we’ll be writing more about that in the coming weeks. Being unspecific about problem areas, or failing to bring them up with the appropriate parties, suggests a reluctance to affect positive change and a lack of leadership. Coaching sessions should be scheduled in advance, and the coach should have a solid agenda for each session that lays out the mission for the day. Without structure, the coaching session can devolve into a casual conversation with no real substance or direction. Some coaches are fans of “tough love,” while others are more lenient, but what all good coaches have in common is respect for their mentees. Contempt and resentment have no place in an effective coaching relationship, and only breed further conflict. Both the coach and the employee must have a sense that this meeting has a distinct purpose, and must agree on what that purpose is, for the session to proceed smoothly.
What makes an effective coach?
Effective coaching is about achieving goals. The coach helps the employee set meaningful ones and identify specific behaviors or steps for meeting them. Your role models demonstrate effective coaching both formally and informally, and they help motivate others to use and improve their own coaching capabilities. All managers need some guidance on the whys and hows of coaching, but most organizations can't afford to train them on a large scale, so the least you can do is make an effort to create a culture of coaching. The key is to create a pool of manager-coaches who can be role models, supporters and sustainers of a coaching mindset. When you select the right people and invest in their development and position them as coaching advocates, you plant the seeds for expanding coaching well beyond the individual manager-direct report relationship. Your role models demonstrate effective coaching both formally and informally, and they help motivate others to use and improve their own coaching capabilities. Always link the purpose and results of coaching to the business. Managers have to know the business case for coaching and developing others if they're to value it and use it effectively. Where is the business headed? What leadership skills are needed to get us there? How should coaches work with direct reports to provide the feedback, information and experiences they need to build those needed skills? Set strategic coaching goals, tactics and measures for the organization as well as including coaching as an individual metric. Finally, give it time. It's not surprising that managers feel they don't have enough time for coaching. Even if you make learning and coaching explicit priorities, time is tight for everyone. But as your coaching processes and goals become more consistent and more highly valued, in-house coaching will take root. Your managers will have a new way to develop and motivate their direct reports. Individuals and groups will strive to build new skills and achieve goals. And your business will be on track to a more efficient, comprehensive system of developing people.
Why should managers coach their employees?
When organizations coach employees, benefits to the company include: Overcome costly and time-consuming performance problems. Improve retention; employees are more loyal and motivated when their bosses take time to help them improve their skills. Coaching, as a prerequisite, needs rapport between the coach and the team member, and at the heart of rapport lies trust. The coaching relationship is such that it solidifies that trust by reinforcing the connection between the two individuals, which happens at several stages. When a manager listens to the team member without any judgment, the team member’s self-esteem increases as they feels valued, respected, and empowered. Empowered employees require less supervision because they have more ownership and accountability toward their jobs. When a manager uses coaching conversations rather than instruction or commands, they win the hearts and minds of the team members and build stronger relationships with them. he biggest benefit for a manager who acts as a coach is perhaps gaining a deep sense of fulfillment and accomplishment knowing in they have played a vital role in the growth of an individual. To cite an example, Grace McCarthy mentions in her World Economic Forum article, “Coaching also transformed some underachievers into star performers. For example, one employee who was described as ‘very lacking in self-confidence developed enough confidence to apply for a promotion and became a highly effective manager.” Most often the reasons cited on why managers should spend time on coaching their team members are one-sided. It appears to managers that they need to contribute their time and effort for employees and the organization but don’t have much to expect in return. When approached strategically, however, managers may reap tremendous benefits from coaching their team. Any organization starting a coaching initiative where managers are expected to coach employees must ensure that these benefits are equally emphasized in addition to highlighting the benefits for the employees and the organization.
Why do managers need coaching skills?
Effective management is critical to the success of any business. Employee engagement begins with a positive company culture and good managers. Good managers need to inspire. Listening, empowering and coaching are management skills central to improving the performance of entire teams. Quite simply, a good manager gets the best out of the workforce they are managing. They make organizations successful because they attract the best people. They create an environment where employees thrive and are prepared to 'go the extra mile'. Good managers build relationships and grow talent.
