Why Coaching is Crucial

I guess for me coaching is one of those things we do all the time, then when we label it we perhaps cause more of a challenge for ourselves. A bit like ‘motivating your team’ or ‘running a good meeting’, ‘being a great coach’ is part of our natural nature when we want to do a good job. We are all good motivators, meeting organisers and coaches when we are passionate about getting something done and if we are not brilliant at these types of things we naturally observe others or ask for tips and hints. The basis of our success and ability to learn how to do things is the desire to do a really good job.

I am fortunate enough to work with a lot of engineers and trades people and being a techy myself I am delighted at the pride in the job of those paid for their practical skills. They naturally coach each other because they are keen to learn, improve and get a great reputation in their trade. Asking the ‘old hand’ how to do something instantly kicks off a coaching session and because it is not called a coaching session it works naturally and usually quite effectively.

Coaching techniques and targets can be a bit restricting. It’s a bit like instructing managers to ‘go and have motivational conversations with your staff’. As soon as we label it, it gets awkward. Reward people for great effort and motivational conversations happen naturally. I have used the word ‘naturally’ quite a lot in this short article, and that’s the point. Coaching is most effective when it is natural. And natural means that it just arises in a conversation where one party is keen to know how to get something done and another party is willing to assist with ideas, experience or even just listening and letting the person have space to think it through.

So what can the manager do to encourage coaching? Simply ask staff to spend time together, one on one, discussing the business and what needs to be done. Rely on people’s natural ability to want to help each other out. It is not without accident that despite a gazillion HR initiatives in a company I know, the SLT said “do you know, the most effective time we had together is when you made us go outside on a short walk and talk to each other one on one”.

Consider getting people together regularly one on one to ask how they can support each other. Coaching might just fall naturally out of that.

Mark Miller – Director Goodfoot