Lead Me. Coach Me.

Business leaders today have a lot of responsibilities. Not only are you expected to make decisions, deliver results, and manage people, you also have a responsibility to develop those people. The decision and results responsibilities along with human nature drives us to be fixers. When questions, issues and problems come across our plates we are quick to give the answer or fix the problem. However, the development responsibilities require that we stop fixing and do something else. Coach them.

Today's employees (regardless of generation) want coaching. It's one of the greatest tools that a leader has at their disposal for engaging and developing the people that look to them for guidance. Coaching can have significant impact on performance, morale, retention and goes a long way in creating new leaders for the future. Despite all these benefits leaders are not coaching as often as they should. According to a 2016 report from Blessing White, out of 1,800 employees and managers surveyed, only 1/2 received any type of coaching. But why? The main reason managers give, is they don't have enough time to coach. Many leaders feel like coaching is an added behavior they have to do in addition to their daily responsibilities. But it doesn't have to be that way.

As leaders/managers you are already having conversations with your people on a daily basis. What if you could use that time differently, to coach and actually (get some time back for yourself) by just tweaking one little thing? I bet you would do it, wouldn't you? If you would, you want to be a coach. So here's how you do it. Ready? The next time someone comes to you with a question or a problem that they need to solve, instead of giving the answer, ask a question. That's it! "Surely it can't be that simple" you say. But it is. Coaching starts with being curious. Start broad and work your way down to the details. "Tell me more" is a great place to start. You could use a Who/What/Why/When/How question, like "How would you go about solving this." Then probe for details.

• What else?
• What could you do differently?
• What's the impact?

Together you will brainstorm some solutions. Once they employee identifies the solution they are going to move forward with it's important to make sure they take action. Don't leave the conversation without establishing what it is they are going to do and when they are going to do it. This is most important. It provides an element of accountability. By asking great questions leaders can provide an environment for people to find their own solutions and develop themselves to their full potential. By doing so, the person being coached actually becomes more self-sufficient, creative and a better problem solver. 

​Finally, to make this a part of your daily routine, you have to create a coaching habit. What I mean by that is you have to identify the behavior you want to create (asking questions instead of giving answers) and put a plan in place to practice and implement that behavior. Michael Bungay Stanier has a great book about this called The Coaching Habit. In it, he lays out a plan for you to create a habit of coaching that can be done simply and on a regular basis without adding time to your already busy schedule. I encourage you to check it out. 
 
By: Andy King