Coaching Performance - How Are You Doing?

Step 4
of
Managing Performance

Coach Performance

The man who believes he can do anything is probably right,
and so is the man who believes he can't.

Coach the People You Care About - a free download (check the box for Two Free EBooks)


Many of us never expected to be teachers when we took over as a team leader, but that’s just what we became!

Our team members look to us for guidance, answers and solutions – but the smartest teachers know that the learning comes from fostering self-discovery. That means NOT TELLING everything we need people to learn, but having a conversation that includes questions and developing solutions – it’s the most effective way to coach in the work environment.

As a coach you’re really holding up a mirror to people to help them see that many answers to their issues reside within themselves. Effective coaching techniques minimize the telling of how something should be done and maximize the questioning -- helping someone see that he / she can do something.

Asking open-ended, thought provoking questions to stimulate awareness moves the "coachee" from receiving data and information from the coach to development of knowledge, which escalates to understanding and finally becomes wisdom about a situation or problem.

What one discovers through an effective questioning process leaves a greater impression and is longer-lasting than what the coach "tells" from his/her own base of knowledge.

So many great resources are available on coaching – it’s one of the critical competencies any team leader can master – I’ll offer several resources below for you to access.


Now take a look at your own practices based on the statements below – determine whether you’re

• Satisfied with your own performance or
• Not Satisfied with the effort you’re making here

Also decide the Importance of each practice to your success and to your team members’ success.

• I coach others in the development of their skills.


• I take advantage of “coaching moments”.


• I require learning and development.


• I know when to supervise and coach people and when to leave them on their own.


• I stimulate others to make changes and improvements.


• I provide time for people development needs.


• I provide challenging assignments to facilitate individual development.


• I review developmental plans regularly.


• I listen effectively - I really hear what is said.
  
  

Coaching is a critical skill for managers to build effective and motivated employees. If you have questions identified as Not Satisfied, there might be one or a combination of skills that could be improved. The technique that managers use in coaching can be effective or ineffective in influencing performance improvement.

Many managers tell the employee what to do rather than to engage the employee in problem solving to gain their ownership and commitment to agree upon solutions for changed behavior or improved performance – find a better way:

Here are resources that can improve your ability to Coach Performance

Developing and Coaching Others (online or classroom course)

Coaching - An Online Course

Coaching Job Skills (online or classroom course)

Personal Listening Profile - When the coach really hears what people are saying in response to those questions, the coach can stimulate learning and reaching greater depths of understanding. Our most-used, least-taught communication skill - listening - is an attribute people genuinely appreciate. Improve your own listening skills - really hearing what people are saying - by recognizing how you hear. Assess your own approach to listening with the Personal Listening Profile.

Time Mastery Profile - Help people identify and understand their time-management strengths and growth areas.
• Understand the roots of undesirable habits
• Recognize the most important liabilities in work habits
• Understand how your time is currently spent and misspent
• Develop a new perspective for organizing thoughts about time management

Coaching may highlight interpersonal differences within the organization. Those differences and difficulties may stem from deeper issues than a mere conflict in personality style. The diverse workforce requires that every employee be a contributor to a productive work environment - learn how to achieve that effect...

We recommend the:

Everything DiSC Management Profile - to maximize your effectiveness with team members

Everything DiSC Management - focuses on five vital areas

1. Your DiSC Management Style


2. Directing and Delegating


3. Motivation


4. Developing Others


5. Working with Your Manager
   
   Participants learn how to read the styles of the people they manage. The result is managers who adapt their styles to manage with better results - they become productive coaches.

Remember...it's about the effectiveness of relationships you create.