The Art and Science of Exemplary Coaching

You can’t be a great manager if you aren't a good coach. Unfortunately, coaching is a lost skill. If you walk the halls of the corporate world, you won’t hear or see much coaching for two reasons.

• Managers seem to be extremely busy.
• Managers are in too many meetings.

When I talk to managers about coaching, the #1 thing they tell me is I don’t have time or they look at me like I am an alien. One manager even said, “Today’s employees don’t need coaching.” Maybe that’s why this manager was failing! Way too many managers are seriously lacking in the willingness and capability to coach, so little coaching gets done. It often is not an expectation of what managers do today. It is one of the reasons for poorer employee engagement, customer service and productivity throughout the world.

Do you want to distinguish your results as a manager? Do you want to accelerate your success as a leader? Then pay attention and learn here; if not, just stay right where you are. Maybe for the rest of your career.

DOES COACHING WORK?

Coaching is a dynamic partnership in which the coach empowers the employee to clarify goals, create action plans, move past obstacles, and achieve crucial results. The coach supports the employee with a focus on possibilities, breakthroughs and accountability.

40% of Fortune 500 companies and up to 60% of US companies hire coaches to help their managers do a better job of leadership and coaching. Coaching makes a huge difference on the bottom-line. A study by the Personnel Management Association compared training alone to coaching and training found that training alone increased productivity by 22.4%. Training plus coaching increased productivity by 88%! Another found a return on investment of coaching to be 529%. The evidence shows that exemplary coaching produces excellent results. My own experience proves it works.

WHY DON"T MANAGERS COACH?

• They don't know what to do.
• They don't know how to do it.
• They don't want to do it.
• They can't do it.

Through thorough education and training, most managers can learn effective coaching techniques and processes. I have taught nearly 300,000 managers to do so. Yet, many managers still don’t believe in the value of coaching. These managers are unwilling to change or do the hard work necessary to be a more effective leader so they won't take the time. Other can't become coaches because they are too set in their ways or it doesn't fit their career value system. It's unfortunate.

The Art of Coaching

Coaching is an art because it involves a creative process. While certain steps are important in successful coaching, each person that a manager coaches is unique. A good coach facilitates the dynamics of the interpersonal relationships. This skill is not automatic for most folks but can certainly be learned.

There are two key values to possess if you want the art of coaching to work for you.

• Believe in the people you work with. Nearly all employees have untapped personal potential. In coaching engagements I have had with various organizations, employees have improved results in only a few months: 48%, 52%, 75%, 122% and 212%. Your role is to help them realize that they can achieve better if not superior performance. If you care about each employee as a person, you can help almost any team or employee improve results. Every employee can use coaching to perform better. Coaching is not just for poor performers. Some of the most outstanding successes I have seen have been top performers reaching new heights.
• Coaching requires a trusting partnership. Integrity is the key in all of your communication. Exemplary coaching comes from the heart. To coach effectively, you believe in your people. You may challenge and push employees, but you also care about and encourage them. Treat employees with respect, always realizing their livelihood and careers are the stakes of the game. Follow through on your commitments, admit mistakes, gain their input; build people up, don’t beat them up. This helps build trust.

The Science of Coaching

One definition of a science is "proficient skill, especially reflecting a precise application of facts or principles". With a trusting relationship you can apply these brief but quality coaching principles to begin to make a difference. First, view the picture below. What’s the first thing you notice?

Keep it positive. At first look you probably thought, “The second equation is wrong Rick.” You are right. This also points out what happens in most coaching that is done. Managers focus on the mistakes, the negative, what’s "wrong" or the problems, when assessing performance. This demoralizes people over time. While you may need to give negative feedback at times, it's how you phrase it that matters. Great coaches leverage the strengths! Also, give plenty of positive praise and recognition. One of the greatest sports coaches of all-time, John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins, was studied and found to be 99% positive. His teams won 10 NCAA titles in twelve seasons. Genuine praise powers progress.

Clarify expectations and goals. Our research at WCW Partners suggests that 80% of performance problems are because employees are unclear about what they are accountable for. Every coaching session begins here, ask, what are the goals we are striving for? You know what they are, but you want to hear your employees talk about them.

Remember to ASK. Make your coaching conversations a dialogue, not a monologue. The most common mistake managers make in coaching is that they do too much telling and not enough asking and listening. (A-ask questions, S-seek solutions together, K-keep your commitments.) Give feedback and guidance based on the employees' responses. Here are five critical questions:

• What are your goals or priorities?
• How are you doing?
• What’s working?
• What isn’t working?
• What will you do better or differently?

Create an action plan. Based on your questions and dialogue, create plans for continued progress and gains. Reconfirm them in writing. Usually a 1-2 page informal document is sufficient. True coaching is not an evaluative process but it is a developmental one.

Follow-up on your commitments. Many coaches have good intentions but they lack the follow-through. Exemplary coaching is a process that’s engaged in, week-in and week- out. One coaching session will seldom make a huge difference, but every good coaching session matters and generates constructive momentum. For more details on these points, see my leadership training video: 5 Superstar Coaching Steps. The power is in the integrity, consistency and the enthusiasm the manager puts into it.

What I have described is leadership engagement through the art and science of coaching. It electrifies employee engagement and generates their best performances. Maybe it’s too much work for the average manager. But those who want to excel will make the investment and enjoy the payoff.

Finally, remember these words by Pat Riley, President of the Miami Heat: "A coach must keep everyone on the team in touch with present-moment realities - knowing where they stand, knowing where they're falling short of their potential, and knowing it openly and fairly."

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Here are a few other posts by me.

• 10 Keys To Employee Engagement
• 13 Troubles of Terrible Teams
• Leadership is About People, Not Your Paycheck
• 6 Proven Ways to Deal with a Bad Boss
• How to Get Feedback When You Are the Leader
• Get the Job You Want with this Little Known Technique

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