The forgotten skill set of good leaders – Coaching

If I were to ask you what the number one leadership skill is to achieve success, what would your answer be? According to a study which asked 332,860 bosses, peers, and subordinates what skills have the greatest impact on a leader’s success, their top answer was to inspire and motivate others – in other words to coach effectively.

According to a 2010 Executive Coaching Survey however, nearly half of managers spend less than 10 percent of their time coaching others. So why is this? When employees are transitioned into management roles, often it’s their technical ability that gets them there rather than effective leadership skills. Leadership skills often need to be learnt on the job and many managers aren’t given the coaching they need to become great coaches themselves.

When managers lack coaching skills, it can be detrimental to the development and engagement of the people they manage. Managers who lack coaching skills often fall into the habit of instructing their team what to do. By directing individuals on what to do rather than giving them the tools and guidance to solve problems on their own, managers hinder the development of their team, hurt productivity and inhibit overall company success.

So, how can managers put coaching skills into practice within the workplace?

It all has to do with communicating effectively.

Build relationships of trust

One of the most important coaching skills for managers to maintain is the ability to build a relationship of trust among individuals. This can be achieved by fostering lines of communication between you and your reports. A great coach will organise regular one on one meetings with their reports to gain insights into their strengths, weaknesses, challenges and successes. This is a great way to help facilitate a relationship of trust and to help the employee develop, overcome challenges and reach their potential.

Ask the right questions

How do you see yourself growing in this role? What options do you have to overcome this challenge? What do you think you should do?

Each of these questions encourage an individual to think about and seek solutions to their own workplace problems. By helping an employee find solutions on their own, rather than telling them what to do, the individual will be better equipped to solve problems in the future, helping your team and company to reach success.

Listen intently

After asking the right questions, a coach will listen intently to what their reports have to say. Listening isn’t just about hearing what they have to say. It’s about taking onboard the challenges, questions and queries that employees have and thinking of ways to help them reach their goals. It’s about being patient and determined to facilitate long term results among their team and organisation. A great coach will let employees express both their workplace and personal struggles without passing any judgement.

Provide regular feedback

Managers who lack coaching skills will often wait until there is a problem in the workplace to give feedback. This can hurt employee confidence and engagement. A great coach will provide feedback on a regular basis. They will congratulate successes and strengths as well as identify problem areas. When identifying problem areas, a leader with coaching skills will concentrate on the problem area alone, rather than questioning the individual’s character. They will make their reports accountable for their own success and failures in order to improve engagement. They will also provide encouragement to employees with the aim of empowering them to reach their goals independently.

Let it spread

In order to become a great a coach, one can benefit greatly from being coached effectively.

A great coach will pass important leadership skills onto the person they are coaching, thus strengthening coaching techniques within the entire organisation. The idea of coaching is for it to spread throughout an organisation so that every employee has a coaching mindset. They will then be equipped to encourage the development of other employees so that together, teams can reach important business goals.

For more information on how to leverage the power of coaching, check out our article on the power of coaching for your team.

To find out more about how to incorporate a coaching mindset into your workplace, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.