3 Tips for Better Employee Coaching

If you’re a good leader, you’re probably a good problem solver.

But are you a good coach?

Coaching means you’re no longer out front. You are the wind at the back of your colleagues.

Strong headwinds are necessary to lift a kite or an airplane into the air. But too much push-back by a boss or too many blustery boasts by a supervisor taking credit for work others accomplished kills morale, stifles innovation and poisons organizational culture.

Consider three tips to become a better coach.

1. Set aside your ego. Coaching means forgetting your agenda, listening to what’s being said, and paying attention to what’s not being said. It’s not about solving problems. It’s about asking another question to lead people to reach their own conclusions.

Watch this two minute video from Frank Maguire, one of the cofounders of FedEx.

2. Set aside time. Carving out 60 to 90 minutes of protected quality one-on-one time each month with your direct reports is vital for getting to know the human being you call a colleague. These sessions will enhance your relationship with your colleague as you build trust.

3. Set commitments. Once decisions are made, write them down. Doing so embeds them in our subconscious while providing a scorecard to measure progress. Here’s a free framework you can use as a guideline for coaching conversations.

Being a bit more of a coach and a little less of a boss will enable your colleagues to run like the wind.