The Benefits of Coaching Your Staff

The landscape of the American workplace has changed significantly over the last few years and the organizations that are thriving are the ones embracing these changes. With the growth of technology and the advent of a new generation of workers, successful offices are adjusting to the needs of their staffs as well as their clients. Organizational charts continue to flatten as the authoritative boss with the shiny gold nameplate fades into the past. May he rest peacefully there.

One of the greatest changes has involved the introduction and subsequent explosion of coaching. Executives across the country and the world have been taking advantage of the many benefits coaching provides and they have become better leaders because of it. The greatest of these leaders are beginning to share the wealth by using coaching skills with their team members. Here’s how and why you should too.

Employees are begging for it

As Millennials comprise greater and greater percentages of the workplace, they are forcing leaders to rethink business as usual. At 80 million strong, Millennials, or Generation Y, compromise 1/3 of today’s workforce. By 2020, that number is predicted to be almost half. Millennials have been clear that they want to work for organizations whose values match their own, who provide opportunities for growth and who offer coaching. According to a recent ICF study, Millennials rated coaching and developing others as the most valuable skill for managers. Organizations who continue to dismiss these needs are already lagging. Those who are responding are retaining the talent dismissive organizations accuse of being fickle and disloyal. You can lead a horse to research…

But it’s not just Millennials who want coaching. Perhaps they are more vocal about it, but research shows that employees across generations both desire and benefit from coaching. Staff who engage in more frequent and effective communication with their managers score higher on nearly every positive workplace scale there is including engagement, performance and retention.

It’s not much extra work on your part

Using coaching skills does not necessarily take any more time than the current skills you are using, provided you are meeting with your staff on a regular or at least somewhat regular basis. In fact, professional coaching sessions generally last for 30 minutes and rarely go more than an hour. The power is not in the length but the depth. Thankfully time and busyness are not obstacles.

In fact, effective coaching makes your job easier for a number of reasons. For starters, when effective, it improves your employee’s satisfaction, performance and retention- timesavers all. Secondly, coaching puts a great deal of responsibility on your employees to work through their own challenges and take ownership of their own development and performance. By asking the right questions, providing space for your staff to talk through their issues and actively listening, your staff does the demanding work. You are not relied upon to fix every problem or provide input on every question. Instead, increased ownership and confidence on your employees’ part will empower them to make their own tough decisions and work through their own questions.    

It works

Coaching is not simply a process that makes people feel better (though it most certainly does that). Coaching challenges people, requires them to take responsibility for themselves and necessitates accountability. It is personal, meaningful work that achieves results because it involves the whole person as the authority in his or her own life and work. As people become more involved in their own development and growth, their buy in and commitment naturally increase. Individually, 70% of people who have received coaching have improved their work performance. Organizationally, studies show that there is a 46% profit increase for organizations using a coach. Further, research shows that while training provides a 22% increase in staff productivity, this increase jumps to 88% when the same training is combined with coaching.

How to do it

Professional coaches go through hours of training, mentoring and coaching others in order to be certified. No one is expecting you to be a professional coach. Implementing just a few of the skills that professional coaches use will improve your performance as a manager and your team’s performance as a result. Here are some of the basics:

1. Ask questions– At its core, coaching others is not about telling people what to do. Instead it is about helping people use their skills, gifts and values to figure out what to do. As a manager, there will of course be situations where telling rather than asking is necessary, but you may be surprised how much you can accomplish by tapping into the wisdom and creativity of your team members simply by asking the right questions. Some examples include:

 What do you think went wrong?

What could you have done differently?

What have you tried in the past that has worked?

What haven’t we thought of yet?

When do you feel like you’ve done your best work?

What skills are you not using that you’d like to use?

Where do you want to grow?

What do you wish I would ask you?

How am I preventing you from reaching your goals?

The list is endless. The important thing is to ask questions that are open-ended rather than those that require yes/no or other one-word answers. It is also important to avoid leading questions and to ask questions with an authentic and sincere interest in your staff’s response.  

2. Suspend judgment– If you want your staff to be open and honest, it is up to you to create an environment that allows such openness and honesty. If you ask your staff a question regarding your performance as a manager and you react defensively to the answer, rest assured they will never be honest again. If you really want honesty, learn how to hear it. Really hear it. And thank your staff for having the courage to share it. This requires a level of humility and confidence that few managers have. If you’re not there yet, keep working at it. You cannot become your best managerial self until you get there.

If the discussion is not about you but instead on your staff’s performance, it may be appropriate to be more directive depending on the circumstances. However, a substantial number of performance issues can be improved through coaching provided staff are treated respectfully and are given the opportunity to fix their mistakes. At its most effective, this process can encourage the right kind of mistakes that lead to growth.

3. Show that you are listening– This is done in so many ways. Nod. Maintain eye contact. PUT THE PHONE DOWN. Summarize what has been discussed and check for mutual understanding. Next time you talk, check in on what was discussed previously. Don’t interrupt. Ask follow-up questions. Keep the attention on your staff member. Listen more than you talk.

4. Honor confidentiality– It should go without saying that you shouldn’t talk about employees to other employees or disclose what they have shared in private, but I have seen it happen far too many times. Determine what expectations you both have when it comes to the confidentiality of what you discuss and never, ever, ever break that agreement. The one time you do will be the last time your staff will feel comfortable being honest with you. If you’d like to share something that has been discussed, ask for permission. If you need to share something that has been discussed, let the employee know. This one is crucial to all the others as no effective coaching can be done without trust and honesty.

5. Model- Regardless of what you say, your staff will always look at how you act. To stay in your good graces, they will follow your lead, so lead accordingly. If you want your staff to be honest, be honest. If you want your staff to receive and implement feedback, receive and implement feedback. If you want your staff to take ownership of their mistakes, take ownership of your mistakes. Show through your actions what you expect and value and your staff will do the same.

6. Honor and respect the time– Set a regular time to meet with your staff and honor that time as much as you possibly can. Do not treat it as tentative on your calendar and schedule other meetings during that time. If you absolutely must change the time, take the initiative to reschedule. When you are meeting, hold your calls and focus entirely on what is happening. If you treat the time together as valuable so will your staff. If you treat it as dispensable, so will your staff.

7. Encourage and praise– Staff need to know that you notice their good work and that you appreciate it. There are ample ways to do this, but often the most sought after is a simple thank you. A coach has several roles and one of the most important is the role of advocate and encourager. Work can be a challenging and stressful place, and we should take any opportunity we can to support and encourage our staff. Be their biggest champion. Advocate for them with the rest of the organization. Brag about them to the rest of the organization. Show them that you have their back. It is amazing how brightly people can shine if we simply let them. 

8. Set goals– Coaching is action-oriented and focuses on setting and achieving goals. Coaches help hold their clients accountable to the goals they have set for themselves and support them by providing the resources they need. Sound familiar? As a manager there may be some goals you require of your staff, but as a leader you should provide space for staff to create and work toward their own goals. This is the essence of coaching.

9. Consider an external coach– External coaches provide a level of objectivity and comfort to staff that a manager simply cannot provide. If your budget allows, consider hiring an external coach for yourself and for your staff. Even when you start working with one, continue to use coaching skills with your team. This helps create a coaching culture throughout your organization that encourage growth and accountability. It also shows staff that you are invested in them which results in all kinds of positive outcomes.

Coaching is becoming more and more prominent in the workplace and, when implemented effectively, is transforming it. As a leader, it is up to you to create a coaching culture that invests in and encourages staff to become their best professional selves. Whether you enlist the services of a professional coach or not, you can use coaching skills to support your staff’s growth and development. At the same time, invest in your own growth and development by receiving coaching support from your own supervisor, from an external coach or, ideally, both. To learn more, click here.