Coach: noun, often attributive \ˈkōch\ ~ a person who teaches and trains the members of a sports team and makes decisions about how the team plays during games.
One coach who’s on the sidelines all year round is any manager or supervisor in your company. Why? Because in a business environment, coaching is an ongoing process designed to help an employee gain greater proficiency and/or conquer obstacles to improving performance.
The first play in a “winning” coach’s handbook is ensuring he/she creates an environment where all employees feel supported in their decisions and are treated with fairness. It may sound quite simple; yet fostering a climate where the “team” feels motivated to do their very best is anything but easy. It takes strategy, training, and practice. Zapp, the Lightening of Empowerment by William C. Byham, PhD, with Jeff Cox, is an accessible guide for helping managers encourage responsibility, acknowledgment, and creativity for employees to feel they “own” their jobs. In addition to the strategies designed to condition your team players outlined in Zapp, try these tips for developing a culture that will help you outscore the competition.
- Develop strong communication skills
- Maintain and enhance self-esteem
- Listen and respond with empathy
- Ask for help and encourage involvement
- Offer help without taking responsibility
- Allow mistakes to happen
- Encourage employees to bring solutions NOT problems
- Recognize good decision making
- Focus on an employee’s behavior for true objectivity
As we continue to explore the topic of Coaching Employees, the next email will focus on having policies in place that give you a foundation for accountability. As you build your coaches playbook, remember this quote from John Wooden, “Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.”
What is a small gesture you do to show your team you value them? Share your response below by Sept. 19 and be entered into a drawing to win a copy of True Blue Leadership: Top 10 Tricks from the Chief Motivational Hound by Mr. Blue and Tracey C. Jones.
