Most Managers Lack This Essential Leadership Skill, But It’s Not Too Late to Learn It

Your workplace must have a coaching program, right? The International Coach Federation, in collaboration with Human Capital Institute, reports that organizations with an established coaching culture bring in more in revenue compared to their competitors.

Coaching Works

With this conclusion being drawn from the findings of a joint survey, there is ample proof that coaching really does pay off. However, there’s a significant portion of managers who admit to not being the best of coaches. If this is the case for the team leader, how, then, do you expect the team to perform?

Some managers admit that they’re not good at coaching

Shawn Doyle, an entrepreneur, and Business Insider writer recalls the time when he once worked as a salesperson. He was relatively young at the time and complained that the sales manager at his particular establishment never worked with those under him.

He expected everyone to automatically know what was expected of them and deliver results – all this, without any guidance — not even for a newly hired Shawn Doyle who hadn’t found his feet yet. All this time, the young man wondered how that man made it to his managerial position.

Quoting Bob Nardelli, the former CEO at Home Depo, Doyle says that unless people are coached, they never get to exploit their full potential. Come to think of it, this is completely true, especially in a competitive work environment where employees were expected to keep up with the ever-changing trends in technology and consumer preferences?

Supervisors and managers are regarded as the out and out coaches since they are the team leaders at the workplace. All the same, they also have an authority figure to whom they report above them, so you wouldn’t be wrong in assuming that they also need coaching.

Supervisors and managers need to be coached to be better coaches

Theirs, however, is a little bit different. They are being coached to be better at coaching. You get it, right? This responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the organization’s top executives, and here’s how they can go about it.

For starters, these executives need to hold supervisors and managers accountable. From the get-go, they should make it clear that they need them to be leaders and not just authoritative figures in the workspace ordering around their employees or shouting at them. Probably the most important skill of a great coach is realizing the untapped potential in those under them as the organization’s greatest asset, and utilizing it to reach the company’s goal.

To make sure that they actually heed to the directive, they should be asked to submit monthly reports on the same, and include an annual summary in their teams’ performance reviews.

Professional Training

And while holding them accountable is all well and good, top executives also have to equip these leaders with the necessary skillset. As such, supervisors, managers, and all other leaders in the company should have professional training on how to coach their respective teams.

Leaders should have professional coaching training

Whenever you’re asked by your boss to their office, you always think you’re in trouble, right? This is because, for the longest time ever, the only interaction between employees and their bosses has been disciplinary.

However, this is a mindset that needs to change, and the process should start from top to bottom. With team leaders understanding the need to freely interact with those who follow them, the atmosphere at work will be much better, and soon enough, an increase in productivity will be evident.

Also, reward those coaches who do a good job. This will serve as the motivation to even do better.