You can’t be a good manager if you aren’t a good coach. If you aren’t a good coach, you will fail at helping employees achieve their goals. Coaching is one of the most important jobs a manager has. Employees depend on you for guidance, support, and development.
First, to be a better coach requires having a coachable employee. If the employee isn’t coachable, you waste your effort and time. It creates a trickle-down effect because that time could go to an employee who genuinely wants to be coached and improve. Once you validate the employee is coachable, focus on these five areas to be a better coach and help employees achieve their goals.
1) Be a Coach Who Demonstrates Trustworthiness
As a coach, you need to have a certain level of trust with the employee. The kind of trust that allows them to have conversations with you they wouldn’t have with others. In particular, they have to share their hopes and fears. The kind of vulnerability needed to do that requires trustworthiness. To be a better coach and help employees achieve their goals, you have to establish a high-level of trustworthiness. To build trust, start by trusting them. Share relevant information promptly. Be consistent in your words, actions, and expectations. Give praise when praise is due. Building trust is one way to be a better coach.
2) Care Deeply for Them as a Person
A large part of developing trust is for the employee to know you care for them. Caring means that what you say and what you do is in their best interest. It is crucial in the coaching process because they have to be open and receptive to your feedback. That can’t happen if they don’t feel that you are coming from a place of love. To be a better coach and help employees achieve their goals requires that you care deeply for them as a person. When things get tough for them, show up in a big way to offer support. Take an interest in their personal life. Be real and transparent. Above all, make time for them.
3) Identify What They Want to Do
To figure out what the employee wants to do with their career, challenge their assumptions. What trajectory do they think their career will take? Is that the best path to meet their goal? Careers typically don’t follow a clear path because there are fits and starts. Failing to recognize them as typical can cause demotivation, lower confidence, and lead to delaying career goals. The most common example would be taking a step backward to reach a long-term destination. As a result, helping to identify what they want to do and the different paths to get there will help you be a better coach that helps employees achieve their goals.
4) A Great Coach Helps Them Prepare
Many career-defining moments will make or break an employee’s career goals. Be a better coach by helping them prepare for those moments so they can shine. Role-play, conduct dry runs of presentations, helping prepare the presentation. Even more so, helping them anticipate questions. Assisting with preparation is the best way to help improve their confidence.
5) A Great Coach Leverages the Power of Observation
Listening, identifying patterns, assessing strengths and weaknesses. Not just listening to the words, but the body language and side conversations. Observation is a powerful tool because it allows you to see the employee in action. It gives you real-world examples of how they can improve. Leveraging the power of observation in your coaching helps you coach them on the impact they have on others. Be a better coach and help employees achieve their career goals by using observation to generate coaching opportunities.
Being a good manager requires that you be a good coach. You can’t be a good coach if you aren’t coaching the whole person. Focus on these five coaching soft-skills to be a coach that helps employees achieve their career goals.
Last updated on June 3rd, 2020 at 03:47 am
