Traditionally, managers have relied on having all the answers. In complex environments, with rarely only one answer, managers need a coaching approach that focuses on asking the right questions to build capacity in their staff to develop the solutions.

A key distinction between coaching and managing is that coaching empowers employees instead of directing them. A manager who focuses on “managing” may help staff to respond to a particular problem or attend to a specific task but the manager to focuses on coaching will help the employee to develop their potential to deal with issues in the future as well. Directing others is necessary for emergencies when an immediate response is critical. In most other situations, having a coaching mindset will help a manager to maximize an employee’s skill to achieve organizational goals.

Based on client feedback, the benefits of our Progress Coaching Model are clear. It provides skills to help under-performers improve and help good performers develop for new opportunities or succession planning. It helps employees to become more engaged and pro-active rather than overly reliant upon their managers. Coaching training also helped them to build relationships with employees, which is particularly challenging in hybrid workplaces.

Finding the time to coach and holding back from giving advice are the two most common coaching challenges that we hear from managers. The misperception is that coaching must be a formal and time-consuming process (i.e. a series of 60-minute meetings). We believe that coaching is not an event; it is a daily practice for managers.

Organizations can support managers by developing a coaching culture where employees don’t see coaching as a reprimand; instead, they see coaching as an opportunity for personal growth and development. An organization can also support its managers to coach rather than manage by ensuring their managers are training as coaches. Managers need to adopt a coaching mindset and they need specific skills, such as asking powerful coaching questions, to be able to coach effectively.

We teach managers how to have a coaching mindset and identify coaching opportunities in daily interactions. For example, when an employee begins a question with, ‘How do I’ or seeks advice, it is a potential coaching opportunity. Instead of taking the bait and giving your managerial advice, ask, “What are your initial thoughts?”. This type of question can start a coaching conversation.

Managers can also incorporate coaching into their employee check-in meetings or 1-on-1s. Regularly scheduled times allow for more in-depth coaching and ensure coaching occurs in hybrid working environments with limited spontaneous interactions.

To learn conflict resolution skills that you can use at work and in your personal life, please visit our Alternative Dispute Resolution Workshop page to learn more about upcoming in-person and instructor-led online sessions.

To improve your negotiation skills and get the results you want while negotiating, please visit our Become a Powerful Negotiator Workshop page to learn more about upcoming in-person and instructor-led online sessions.

To gain skills to handle difficult conversations and difficult people with confidence, please visit our Dealing With Difficult People Workshop page to learn more about upcoming in-person and instructor-led online sessions.