Well there is no doubt that before any coaching can be done you need to understand your own emotional intelligence,you must evaluate each of your employees personality type and know what motivates them as individuals.
Dave,
Definitely. And I have found that the true key to successful coaching is helping my employees evaluate themselves & tap into their own self-awareness regarding what motivates them. This way through coaching they are discovering & I am not telling.
Ryan
I'm reading through these threads, and I must say I'm very impressed with everything. I'm learning a lot about management just from reading the discussions alone.
I agree I love to help people and I like them to return the help only because I am new at this.This is very important to me.
It is a partnership between two people
Mary,
I appreciate your desire to help people. I think you will find the more that you practice effective coaching, the more you will develop others as coaches & often they are ready & able to return that help to you. Coaching really can be a great give-give type of situation where everyone benefits.
Ryan
Coaching is the skill and practice of inspiring, reviving, and facilitating the presentation, knowledge, and growth of the team. The goal is to direct ideas, advise excellence, and authorize the one being coached .
Neha Kuhar
Great points. I especially liked the terminology you use of "authorizing" the one being coached. As I interpret that it's the act of the coach giving power & leadership to the coachee. I like that phrase.
Ryan
Coaching is very effective because you are practicing and perfecting skills much more than on theory.
Building collaborative relationships with team members, helping others adjust to and thrive in changing environments, and create greater accountability is also what makes coaching very effective. Coaches will normally check that the specific learning can be successfully re-applied by the coachee, to deal with other issues in the future.
So true Megan. I like your point about helping others adjust to & thrive in changing environments. I too see the value of coaching for this & strongly feel this is the greatest need of today. I think we focus too much on one particular change rather than helping people become more adaptable to all of life's changes. In our rapidly changing world, we have to develop this ability in ourselves & others.
Great thought.
Ryan
This statement can be viewed in two ways. What is a Leader and what is a Coach. The situation will dictate if a Leader or a Coach is needed. A Football Coach on the sidelines can direct his players on the field on what to do. The Leader on the field at that percise moment excecutes the play and depending on an array of activities an outcome is achieved. As a manager we must have balance; Lead when needed and coach when needed.
All leaders and managers need to be coaches. Effective coaching is a skill that requires an understanding of human motivation and behavior as well as lots of practice. Your role as a coach is to help your direct peers to look within themselves to understand how to get the job done. You are to help that person learn by finding their potential to maximize effectiveness.
Arthur,
I apologize for the delayed response. So it seems that you are saying that a Leader and a Coach are two different functions?
Megan,
You are so very right. This is a great definition/summary of coaching & I completely agree that all leaders & managers should be coaches. Thank you.
Ryan
Coaching to me is motivating and developing your team to bring out the best in their strengths and help build their weaknesses. But you first have to have the trust to be successful as a Leader. It takes a lot of work and time.
Agreed. Coaching does take time, especially when you are initially building the trust with the team. And the benefits it reaps in the long run are well worth the time & effort.
Ryan
Build rapport, uncover how a person is motivated and motivate them to achieve company objectives and goals for their reasons, not yours.
Motivate the individual to achieve the company/team goals by showing them how to achieve team goals for their own benefit.
I've found a challenge in trying to develop a strong relationship with the team member without getting too close to them personally, so as to compromise my authority and impact. I am learning where to draw those lines.
Is there a strict definition of where to draw the line socially with a direct report in order to maintain a healthy working relationship?
