My work takes me throughout the UK and, on my travels, I meet some great managers and some who are not so great! Most people want to be a great manager and to be a great manager, you need to know how to coach your team. Sadly, many of the not-so-great managers I meet, say they coach their teams, yet, when I begin to engage in a conversation about how to coach their teams, they either say ‘I don’t have the time for this, I just need to tell them what to do’ and ‘I let them know I’m here if they need me.’ They are missing a trick here.

An open-door policy with the ‘Ask me anything’ or ‘You know where I am if you need me’ follow up can be great BUT people may not know what to ask. Why should they? Isn’t it up to the manager to impart their knowledge and coach the person so they can feel confident and empowered?  To show them how the job is done and ask for understanding?

I want to know about the team and what makes them tick, what drives them, what personally motivates them to want to achieve.  Knowing what personally motivates a person helps in the coaching process. One of the key elements to becoming a successful coach is to listen without judging or making assumptions.

When I ask my clients how well they know their team, some know them inside out, they are on the same wavelength so it makes it easier to build a relationship. Understanding how the employee thinks and the language they use helps managers to know how to motivate and develop that person. This is something I go through when I coach the managers. I help them to know what to look out for in terms of the behaviour displayed and the language their people use and how they can use this to manage and coach them more effectively.  We talk about being able to listen to understand, and questioning in a way that begins to build trust.  If more managers coached their staff, the team would feel more empowered, challenged and valued – and would therefore be more productive and committed to their work.

I can teach your managers to coach their teams, so your people will be happier, more fulfilled and more productive. Get in touch to find out more.