The Coaching Management Style
New to management? Been at it for a while? Either way, it's challenging. With people free and willing to walk whenever they want, and with company loyalty getting scarce, managers have a tough job.
Employees want more control over what they do. They want more input in decision making. They want to learn and grow according to their chosen career path. They want a collaborative, team-oriented dynamic, rather than a "big-giant head/lowly peon" dynamic (okay, I'm exaggerating with that last one, but you get my point).
How do you go about fulfilling your employees' needs and still have productive, goal-oriented, cohesive teams? One way to do this is byworking with your employees as partners, rather than as the boss. Be a coach, not just a manager.
Coaching Means . . .Whether you do this already or not, there are some important things to know about the coaching management style. According to Mark McGuinness, author of Creative Management for Creative Teams, it means:
- Collaborating instead of controlling
- Delegating more responsibility
- Talking less and listening more
- Giving fewer orders and asking more questions
- Giving specific feedback instead of making judgments
This doesn't mean you give up all your authority; after all, you still have a job to do. You have corporate and departmental goals to reach, and important decisions to make. You have challenges that need solutions. However, you also need to engage your employees and help with their professional development, or they could be gone.
So how do you adopt or improve your coaching management style? Check back next month and we'll talk about it.
Did you know there are better times than others, even better days than others, to have key conversations? According to research conducted by McGill University, the best day to have an important conversation is Thursday. Days to avoid are Wednesday, when people are more quarrelsome, and the weekends, when they are less agreeable. Anything that can help you get the outcome you want is worth trying, isn't it?
