Coachable

I often get called to provide supportive services to companies that have fallen into a rut, be it hitting their goals, or company morale. What I find interesting is many times it is management that has become complacent. Having worked along side some multi million top producers, to the mom and pop business, there is one common denominator. The managers that don't coach, rarely reap reward. And why don't they coach? They don't coach because they themselves aren't coachable. 

"The manager that stops learning, often stops leading." 

Every successful business I have worked with knew the value of coaching. And in many cases, it didn't involve business coaching at all. Many times these owners, managers or other key staff members understood that balance between personal and business life often made the difference. Many are the conversations that I have had with a managers for example, just redirecting their attention back to their home life. For those who are driven, they often neglect the very things that they are working so hard to provide for. But this is bigger than balance. The manager that stops learning, often stops leading. 

Call it coaching, counseling, consulting or mentoring, we all need a little accountability and support. For me, I have always found the best outcomes come from an informal process. A conversation over a cup of coffee. A quick email in the morning laying out goals and objectives. A quick call to discuss gratitude. These informal contacts feel more authentic, act as a reward system and are often looked forward to. But when we lay out a firm agenda focusing on quotas for example, the process often becomes ridged. And while strategic planning can be very useful to a company that is looking to increase results, so can some informal coaching that takes away pressure, rather than add to it.

"Employees feel valued, productivity picks up,"

One of the better results that I got using this strategy was with a up and coming small business. Working with both management and staff, in just a few months, they were able to increase sales by 70k. Many are surprised that in as little as 20 minutes a week, per employee, just how much internal pressure is relieved. Employees feel valued, productivity picks up, and morale is upbeat between staff. By allowing the staff a safe place to discuss anything they want without fear of reprisal, personal and professional stressors are relived significantly. That said, when management stopped their coaching process, staff begun to disengage as well. Why? Because they were modeling the managements behavior. 

There is something to be said from leading by example. When coaching was seen as a perk, it was fully utilized. When it was seen as punishment, only moderate results were seen. If you're a team leader and you're not coachable, your team will probably not be either. However if you are. You more than likely will see results and positivity will become infectious within the workplace.