Creating a culture of team feedback is essential for successful coaching and development. It's important to push employees to their attainable limits and encourage them to learn from others. Asking people what they want from the coaching process is key to good communication. Rather than simply creating a development plan based on their strengths, it's important to include them in the conversation by asking them what they are excited about, what they would like to learn, and where they want to go in the future.
To be a great coach, you have to know your team well. Make a concerted effort to get to know each of your employees on a deeper level. Learn about each person's strengths and weaknesses; what they excel at and what challenges them; what motivates them and what they find discouraging. Along with formal personality tests, consider having each member of your team perform periodic self-evaluations and use the results to ensure that you're using each employee as effectively as possible. Instead of relying solely on traditional training methods, research suggests that training leaders on how to be coaches can pay dividends, but only if you start by defining “training” and leaving ample space for self-reflection and feedback.
The good news is that managers can improve their training skills in a short time (15 hours), but first they have to invest in learning how to train. Coaching and developing people is an essential part of any successful organization. It's important to create a culture of team feedback, push employees to their attainable limits, encourage them to learn from others, and ask people what they want from the coaching process. To be an effective coach, it's important to know your team well and use formal personality tests and self-evaluations. Additionally, research suggests that training leaders on how to be coaches can pay dividends if you start by defining “training” and leaving ample space for self-reflection and feedback.
