Coaching Your Team

A manager achieves day-to-day results, often relying heavily on him or herself to figure everything out. The manager who knows how to coach helps his staff develop the skills and talents to support the overall mission of not just that manager, but in the bigger picture, of the company.

Developing the skills of supervisors and managers to be effective coaches for their staff is critical to exceeding customer’s expectations, increasing employee morale and achieving the results you desire. Effective coaches help to increase productivity and profitability.

Coaching applies not only to management, but to front-line staff as well. Everyone has the ability to coach fellow co-workers every day. In fact, many times the coaching that takes place on that playing field can be every bit as effective as the coaching that takes place through management.

Take this test to see if you apply sound principles:

Effective coaches build high-performance teams by:

1. Emphasizing best practices
2. Creating relationships founded on trust
3. Stressing ways to increase knowledge

An effective coach is someone who:

1. Mentors others
2. Tells personal stories to teach a lesson
3. Works through the process to help a subordinate

The most important strategy of a good coach is to:

Meet regularly

1. Forge a strong partnership
2. Always take notes

As a good coach, I should watch myself when it comes to:

Carrying the coaching into their personal lives

1. Valuing differences
2. Getting too close to the person I am coaching

During the coaching process:

1. Change meeting places to inspire creativity
2. Monitor progress and follow up
3. Let the person work things out on his own

When coaching individuals on their performance:

1. Tell them the best way to achieve their objectives
2. Discover how they view themselves
3. Get them to reveal something about their childhood

One sign of a lack of trust is:

1. Lip service to, but neglect of, agreed-upon agendas
2. Not taking notes during discussions
3. Hesitation in answering questions

As a coach, I should:

1. Ensure that employees complete their assignments
2. Be accessible
3. Help other achieve their potential

Performance factors that can be coached can include:

1. Values and beliefs
2. Competencies
3. Experience and knowledge

High-performance teams have people that:

1. Are friends as well as associates
2. Usually agree on the outcomes
3. Are committed to a common purpose

ANSWERS:

Every correct answer is worth 10 points.

1b. A team will be dysfunctional without trust. Effective coaches find ways to build trust by taking risks, being genuine, and allowing the team members to make mistakes with minimal consequences.

2c. A good coach establishes processes that help employees gain greater competence and overcome barriers, which lead to improved individual performances.

3b. Coaching will fail without partnerships built on trust.

4b. Effective coaches remain open-minded against personal prejudices and value people’s differences. They’re also open to others’ opinions, seeking to understand them without trying to change them.

5b. As the saying goes, “You can’t expect what you don’t inspect.” Stay in touch and be available during the coaching process.

6b. Learn how others appraise their own skills and abilities. What skills do they believe they have? Do they show self-confidence using them? Figure out if they can change and if they think their development will make a difference.

7a. Partnerships that lack trust promote suspicious behaviors, accusations of hidden agendas, or even neglect for completing agreed-upon tasks. Territorial self-interest, defensiveness and the blaming of others are sure to follow.

8c. Use your leadership traits to instill organizational values in ways that create energy and help team members evolve from where they are to the height of their full potential.

9b. Your employee’s observable competencies can be coached. These include communication, innovation and leadership.

10.c. The definition of a high-performance team is a group of people who are committed to a common purpose and to an approach by which they hold themselves accountable. The people on such teams usually have complementary skills and function collaboratively.

SCORING:

80 - 100 You were meant to be a coach.

60 - 79 Be confident you can learn how to coach.

Below 60 Get some coaching yourself.

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