Managers are out...
Telling
employees what to do doesn’t work like it used to. Here’s another approach
that can yield better results.
By Patrick J. Donadio, MBA, CSP, MCC
Last year, one of my
clients, a Fortune 500 company, asked me to help it turn 10 of their mangers
into coaches. Why? Because a manager tells people what to do and how to do it,
while a coach asks questions and helps employees learn how to problem-solve
their way to success. My client understood that in today’s work environment,
managing by control is not practical and does not lead to the continuous
improvement of superior performance. The key to superior performance is coaching
your people.
Managing is still
appropriate for certain issues such as dealing with discipline issues, adhering
to polices/procedures or instructing on simple task. As a business coach, however, I see the impact coaching has
on people’s performance.
The transition from manager to coach is a mindset shift. Take, for instance, one
of my client’s sales managers turning coach, Judy. She was having a difficult
time dealing with John, an internal salesperson, who was very aggressive and
defensive.
In her coaching
sessions with him, John would end up taking charge. A few weeks ago in one of
Judy’s coaching sessions with me, I explored this situation by asking her some
questions. Questions, after all, are a coach’s best friend.
"What
does John remind you of?" I asked.
"A
grizzly bear," Judy responded.
"What
would you do if you were trying to deal with a grizzly bear?" I questioned.
"Give him
food and run in the other direction," she said.
After a few more
minutes of questioning, Judy uncovered her plan. Whenever John would start to
take control of the session -- whenever the bear attacked -- she would respond
by acknowledging or thanking him for his input -- throwing him food --and asking
questions. These tools helped her redirect the conversation back to the meeting
agenda -- run in the other direction -- and the specific outcomes they wanted to
achieve.
I just spoke with Judy this week. Guess what? She just had her best session ever
with John. By thinking of the grizzly bear metaphor, she was able to keep John
on track and get the meeting done in record time.
Now what if I had managed Judy instead by telling her what to do? Would she have
been able to have had such a quick result? I doubt it. Judy told me she needed
to the metaphor she uncovered through our coaching session. Not only did it help
her stay focused, it actually made her session with John more fun. Compare that
to her prior meetings where she was feeling anxious and uncomfortable with
John’s controlling nature.
That’s the beauty of coaching. It can make a good employee better or help
someone develop skills to increase his or her performance -- all on his or her
own.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Patrick
Donadio - “Helping people achieve success in business and their person
life.”
ã Copyright. Patrick J.
Donadio, MBA.
Donadio, based in Columbus, Ohio, is a national business coach and
Certified Speaking Professional specializing in business communications and leadership development.
Donadio works with High Level Executives and Business Owners who
want to go to the next level professionally and organizations that want to grow
their people. He can be reached at 614-488-9164 or pdonadio@netzero.net.
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