• the rise of individualism and independence bringing out new confidence to show up as themselves at work. (Fjord Trends 2022)
• hybrid employment arrangements placing more emphasis on staff being able to work remotely and maintain productivity and service delivery
• continued challenges to organisations due to Omicron leading to staff shortages resulting in increased costs of hiring more or temporary staff
• Increased pressures on both existing and new staff in the present climate

Moving forward, employers need to relook at balancing the flexibility they offer to individuals with the needs of the team and the greater good of the organisation. (Fjord Trends 2022)

Obtaining the right information for remote hires

How can you increase your success rate and hire the right people the first time for roles in the current labour market? And what about remote work? How can you more easily identify those who will thrive and be productive in a work from home environment?

The traditional recruitment process leaves a lot up to chance. You’ll sift through a stack of resumes and cover letters trying to narrow down the people with the right experience and qualifications and get a sense of other relevant aspects. 

You’ll then perform a round of interviews to gauge which candidate sounds and acts right for the role.

You might ask yourself: 

• “does this person have the right skills to perform the job?.. 

• the right credentials?.. 

• enough experience?.. 

• will they fit in with the workplace culture?.. 

• can they bring anything to the table to benefit the business?” 

While some of these questions can easily be answered with a CV and interview, others are trickier. 

And let’s face it most employees, when asked if they would like to work from home, will answer ‘yes’. This is simply because they are only looking at the positive aspects of doing so. 

But this is the homeworking equivalent of asking someone ‘How are you?’. And accepting the answer ‘Fine.’ As confirmation that all is well.

Some key questions are difficult to answer through the traditional hiring process such as 

• “Will this person be engaged in their work and great in this role?” 

• “Is this person likely to be capable and productive in this remote work role?”

• In the long term will this person be able to handle hybrid working?

Engagement is critical for remote work

Great managers and business owners know that higher employee engagement levels in the workplace translate to higher productivity and better company performance. So especially in this current environment, how can hiring managers improve the likelihood of selecting highly engaged remote work top performers?

It all starts with thinking about how potential employees will “fit”, rather than experience and qualifications. Or even age and gender. Studies have shown that ‘fit’ is what counts if you want a high performer.

‘Fit’ refers to how well a person is suited to their job role, the environment, and the workplace culture. Whether or not a person ‘fits’ in a particular position depends on a few factors, for example:

• their attitude,

• personality, and

• enthusiasm for the work at hand. 

To find out which candidate is the right fit for the job and culture, hiring managers must check their biases at the door and use objective information to make their decision. Making this type of decision can be trickier than it sounds, but it is possible.

How does it work?

Hire someone who is objectively the right fit

Choosing the right person for a role can influence how long they stay in the job and how engaged they are with their role working remotely or onsite. 

According to Gallup, employee engagement is defined as “the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace”.

 According to studies they conducted, businesses are 21% more profitable with engaged employees; I am sure most CEO’s would take this profit increase as a Christmas present!

Use your top performers as a benchmark for new talent

When a top performer walks out the door, it often feels like you’re back at square one; scrambling to build your team from the ground up again. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Companies, teams and hiring managers can make the process of replacing top performers easier while improving their hiring process each time.

Not all candidates are suited to remote work

Buffer.com published an annual global survey on homeworking and discovered in 2020 (like in previous years) that the top 3 difficulties people experience with homeworking, worldwide, are not necessarily related to the pandemic and lockdown:

• collaboration and communication
• loneliness, and
• not being able to unplug.

This survey suggests that many individuals will either need help to overcome these problems or even that remote work is not a long-term viable option for some people.

To learn more about the Great People Inside assessments specifically designed for work from home employees and teams contact us 

The post Remote Work – What are seen effects of further shifts in this competitive market? appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Now may be an opportunity for your business to increase focus on this area with employees recognising the value of these skills.

These skills help overcome challenges in the workplace and build your team and business for several reasons:

• handling interpersonal conflicts
• leading employee training
• managing deadlines
• communicating and distributing information between employees working remotely and onsite
• building a solid company culture, and
• developing your employees’ maximum capability.

Leaders who adopt people management skills provide constructive feedback and mentor employees to grow and succeed in their positions. Goals will also be able to be established and achieved. And overall, the work environment will be influenced positively.

A leader who has an in-depth understanding of their employees can evaluate:

• the strength and weaknesses of their team
• the resources required, and
• set realistic deadlines.

This approach encourages the employees to strive for success and not set them up for failure.

In addition, leaders are able to build rapport, ask the team for constructive feedback, and take actionable steps to make positive changes in the work culture. As a result, this benefits everyone.

Below are four critical people management areas to help you understand your team and individuals at all levels. From onboarding, developing new skills, preparing them for other roles, to working on specialised projects.

1 Understand Human Behaviour And Acknowledging Diversity

It is crucial to understand one simple concept – we are all different. Each individual will react and behave differently in any given situation.

A leader needs to realise that family, environmental and cultural influences have shaped some beliefs and behaviours. Understanding and learning some of the behavioural types and conditioning will allow leaders and managers to treat their employees with respect. In return, the business will be rewarded with best work practices, a motivated team and promote a culture where ideas and opinions are valued.

2 The Individual’s Purpose

It is also imperative to understand how the individual team member sees their own purpose in their role and how they can contribute to the business. This approach can lead to improvements at both the individual employee and business levels. A continued effort in understanding their sense of purpose, whether they are in the office or working from home, ensures the individual and business goals stay aligned. 

3 Transparent Communication

When there is open and transparent communication, it creates an atmosphere of trust. In effect, by employing people management skills, this communication works both ways, i.e., you tell, and they listen, and you have to do the same – listen to your employees. 

This area is more critical than ever for businesses undergoing managing teams remotely. Video-based onboarding and mentoring and a remote communication strategy are essential for employee skill development and project delivery. 

4 We Own This Together

While leading with example is great, it also benefits when you entrust team members with specific tasks which best fit their skill sets. It shows that you are acknowledging their skillset and allowing them to demonstrate their capabilities. As a result, the team is closer and creates an environment of ownership and positive experiences. 

In a remote setting, delegate tasks through shared online platforms that allow for the employee’s autonomy while still maintaining a sense of community in the workplace.

Responsibility and accountability on both ends improve overall morale and reduces people management skills coming across as complicated, unnecessary at times, and time-consuming.

Ongoing people management for development and retention

Just because you have hired a superstar does not mean you don’t have to continue managing and developing them to maximise their potential and business outcomes.

Development should start from day one of an employee’s journey with their new company. The rapport the new employee develops with the company can have long-lasting effects on the business, including the employee retention rate. 

Trends have seen employees become more focused on developing their individual skills. Placing importance on their progress can help connect their goals to the more significant objectives of the business. Supporting these goals can be achieved remotely from the onboarding stage and continue through employment by hosting video workshops and online training seminars. 

Many reasons cause an employee to leave an organisation, such as:

• a lack of training
• development
• engagement
• progression opportunities.

Quantify top performance 

Many assessments compare candidate results against generic benchmarks or no benchmark at all. In other words, this leaves the user with either no reference point or, at best, a near enough is good enough benchmark.

Great People Inside believes assessing an individual’s job performance as accurately as possible requires benchmarks built specifically for each role. Assessments can apply to both positions operating onsite or remotely. By identifying the success DNA of your top performers, you can create job benchmarks based on what success looks like in your business. Further development of your existing team members can be implemented where appropriate, including a coaching option.

As the employer, benchmarking flows through to promoting and succession planning of your people to measure candidate profiles against the relevant top-performing role profile in your organisation.

Given these points, assessments that treat people as multi-faceted complex individuals we are, open a world of possibilities with both your new and existing people. You will find yourself in the stronger position of identifying your people’s true potential and providing opportunities for laser-focused development.

If you’d like to trial GPI’s assessments for consideration as part of your organisation’s people management strategy – click here.

The post How do people management skills improve your business success? appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Why does conflict occur in teams?

Some of the main reasons conflict occurs in teams include a lack of effective communication, competition, personality differences and underperformance.

What should managers do when conflict does arise?

The best thing for managers to do when conflict arises is to address it head on. If conflict goes unresolved in a team environment it can fester and cause big and costly problems for companies. At the very least it can cause a communication breakdown in your team and at worst it can negatively impact on company results and increase staff turnover.

When conflict arises, managers and leaders have an opportunity to strengthen communication and trust within the team. To be effective, leaders must calmly and objectively address the issue with a direct conversation. Coming to a resolution will involve setting clear intentions, being considerate of both sides and encouraging input.

In some cases conflict can’t (and shouldn’t) be avoided in the workplace, but there are many ways to reduce the likelihood of it occurring. Here’s what you can do.

Hire the right people

Choosing the right people for your team can help to minimise conflict. By hiring people based on not only their experience and qualifications, but their personality type and working style, you can ensure they’ll fit in with your workplace culture and work effectively with other employees. JobFit is a great tool for selecting the right candidates. JobFit uses objective data to identify the attributes that will make a candidate most successful in the role, like personality, behavioural traits and occupational interests. By selecting candidates based on these attributes, you can handpick personality types that are likely to meld with your existing team members and workplace culture.

Seek out tension

One big mistake that poor managers make when conflict arises is to ignore it. Conflict can be uncomfortable to address, so many managers put blinders up when there is tension in their team. While it might seem easier to just ignore it, conflict that goes unresolved will not disappear. Unresolved conflict can reduce productivity, damage morale and cause disengagement within your team. To minimise the likelihood of conflict occurring, managers can look for tension points and address them before they become a problem.

Have regular one-on-ones

Having regular one-on-one meetings with each member of your team provides a forum for giving and receiving feedback, building trust within your team and making sure communication lines are strong and effective. One-on-ones also give you an opportunity to identify tension and problem areas.

Foster communication

One of the main causes of conflict in the workplace is ineffective communication. When team members don’t feel comfortable communicating with every member of the team, tension is given an opportunity to brew and cause problems. To foster communication, managers can regularly discuss individual and team wellbeing, have an open door policy, and most importantly they can adopt a coaching mindset. A coaching mindset is all about facilitating an environment in which individuals can grow, develop and solve their own workplace problems independently.

Undergo team coaching

A team coach works with teams to strengthen lines of communication and streamline collaboration so that individuals can work more effectively together. A coach provides non-judgemental support, ensuring the welfare of the team and can give teams the tools needed to address tension when it occurs. Team coaching can also help individuals gain a coaching mindset so that they can communicate more effectively and support their teammates to do the same.
To find out how your team could benefit from team coaching, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.

The post How to reduce conflict in teams appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Some of these more challenging issues can creep their way into your team’s workflow – damaging productivity and team success. These issues can sometimes act like a virus, going undetected until it’s too late and you experience your team performance crumble before your eyes.

A team coach gives teams the tools to identify and work through these issues before they become a bigger problem.

So what are the early signs that your team needs team coaching?

Your team isn’t hitting targets

A team is greater than the sum of its parts. While it’s a bit of a cliché, this statement couldn’t be truer when it comes to high performing teams. While individual talent is one of the key ingredients for driving company results, it doesn’t necessarily translate to the team hitting important workplace targets.

Team success relies entirely on effective collaboration. Take sport for example. An outstanding soccer player would not be able to succeed without the help from their team. A team coach can help teams overcome difficulties so that they can collaborate more effectively, work more productively and reach their targets.

There’s a communication breakdown in your team

It happens in all workplaces. People have different communication styles, some of which don’t blend easily together. This doesn’t mean certain members of your team are doomed to work in confinement. This simply will not work.

For a team to work at optimum performance, there needs to be clear and distinct lines of communication between every member of the team. Think of these lines of communication like electricity lines in a power grid. If lines are missing between members of your team, certain people will be left in the dark. Lack of effective communication can lead to misunderstandings and frustration among your team members. It can inhibit productivity, hamper morale and damage your overall team performance.

Team coaching helps teams communicate directly and efficiently so that teammates can work better together and improve team results.

There is a feedback gap

Constructive feedback is one of the most important tools that individuals and teams can use to work through challenges and improve results. While this is true, a really common workplace issue is the absence of regular feedback among teams – both positive and constructive. Feedback is best given frequently and to every member of a team in order for it to be effective. A coach will work with teams to streamline the way feedback is given (and received) so that individuals can work more constructively together and achieve team objectives.

Morale is low

Low morale can occur for many different reasons. Whether it’s personality differences within your team, an absence of transparency or a lack of forward progression, low morale can result in a major dip in productivity levels. It also often results in higher turnover rates which can cause companies to incur huge unwanted costs.

A team coach can help every team member feel ownership over their own success and the success of the team. This feeling of accountability helps to give team members a drive to succeed. It does wonders for team morale and can improve workplace results. A team coach will also give your team the tools to communicate more efficiently, build trust and improve engagement.

There’s tension in your team

Negative tension between members of your team can be extremely harmful for a number of reasons. It can draw focus away from important workplace tasks, hamper morale and damage employee engagement. Even worse, it can result in your best talent heading out the door.

While conflict isn’t inherently bad, when it isn’t addressed or resolved, it can interfere with a team’s workflow and inhibit success. Team coaching helps with conflict resolution and more importantly helps the team understand why a fear of conflict within the team can be detrimental to top performance. A coach will give members of your team the tools to identify conflict and address it head-on so that tension doesn’t brew and become a bigger problem than it needs to be. A coach will help each person in the team optimise their own communication skills and formulate strong lines of communication so that tension can be aired and overcome.

Our team coaching programs generally consist of a 6-12 month process that develops a team’s capacity to deliver measurable business outcomes and a self-sufficient approach to steer its ongoing development. In our experience, team coaching works best with newly forming teams, or when the membership of a team changes significantly, or when an existing team wants to ramp up their performance or reinvent itself to meet new business challenges.

To find out how your team could benefit from team coaching, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.

The post The top 5 signs that your team needs team coaching appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Think about the last significant purchase you made. It’s likely that you obtained some objective data to help with your decision making, but what objective data have you available when making recruitment selection decisions?

Recruitment process

So, your business is going well and you’ve decided it’s time to hire a new employee or two. You define the role, quantify the qualifications and experience the person needs to have, place your job advertisement all over the internet, or depending on your business, brief your HR Manager or engage a recruitment company.

The “fun” has only just begun. Research shows we get it right about 25% of the time! By “get it right” we mean hiring a top performer, not just a good or adequate performer. Think about that, a process that delivers the right outcome only 25% of the time – I doubt you would tolerate this in any other part of your business.

Yes, hiring new people is far more than checking a resume, ‘liking’ a candidate at interview, and trusting the rest to luck.

But don’t be too hard on yourself, given that studies show around 50% of candidates embellish their resumes and a staggering 81% tell lies during an interview, it’s no wonder you struggle to get it right.

There’s a science behind the selection of new employees which can revolutionise your process and the way you identify and develop top performers.

The importance of “Fit”

Having followed 360,000 people through their careers during a period of 20 years, a major study published by Harvard Business Review demonstrated that a key ingredient in selecting and retaining people is ensuring that they are matched to their jobs in terms of their abilities, interests, and personalities. The study discovered that educational qualifications, experience, age, gender or race are not statistical predictors of top performance in a job. That’s a bit scary, because that’s what we see on resumes and also what most employers use when selecting new people.

The study demonstrated though, that when you put people in jobs where the demands of the job matched their own abilities, where the stimulation offered by the job matched their particular interests, and where the cultural demands of the position matched their personalities, staff turnover decreased dramatically, and productivity increased drastically.

What exactly is “Fit?”

“Fit” is the degree of compatibility between an individual’s strengths, needs, and wants in a particular job and work environment. When interests align, the employee and the organisation experience a good job fit. Establishing job fit helps to identify and place individuals in positions where they are likely to be successful. Job fit determines if a person CAN do a job, HOW they will do a job, and if they will ENJOY doing the job.

Why should you establish fit?

Did you know that employees who are well matched to their jobs are 2.5 times more productive on the job? Studies show that proper job fit improves engagement and job satisfaction, resulting in increased productivity, while negative factors such as job related stress, tension, workplace conflict, and costly employee turnover diminish it. There are numerous studies over the past five to ten years that demonstrate the significant impact increased productivity, reduced employee turnover and early failure have on your bottom line. CHA-CHING! It makes sense to establish fit.

How to establish fit

Do you wish you could consistently replicate high performers? It’s easy to recognise top performers when you see them in action or review their numbers. The challenge is understanding what makes these people successful, and ensuring future candidates share these success factors.

A key component in establishing job fit is to know exactly what the role or position in question demands. The first step we recommend is to create a comprehensive and detailed job description.

Then, using a validated assessment, identify the characteristics of employees who have demonstrated success in that particular position. You can then use this data as a basis for developing a performance model (benchmark) which can be used when evaluating potential applicants to help predict their future success. Our Job fit solutions combine tested and reliable data derived from employee assessments with customised data to create a benchmark, which will match candidates to the job and specific company. In essence, our validated assessments and people analytic tools help you extract the ‘success DNA’ of your most productive staff.

How does job fit help?

Job fit assessments help you make better hiring decisions by helping you understand the core characteristics of your top performers. There is no greater tragedy in business than hiring competent employees into jobs in which they are destined to fail. When this happens, their potential is wasted and its costs you between half and two thirds of their salary!

Our hiring solutions measure the essential behaviour characteristics you need to make the most intelligent hiring and selection decisions. Our assessment tool kits help business owners, professional recruiters and hiring managers predict job suitability, and accurately assist in matching people with the work they will do in their new jobs.

Today, many organisations use job fit assessments throughout the interview process to learn more about job candidates. There are many kinds of employee assessments available, but the most successful hiring assessments use job fit as a tool to increase consistency and success in the hiring process. By including job fit as a key factor in their employee selection and redeployment process, our clients hiring procedure is significantly more effective, and results in an increase of up to 300% in identifying future top performers.

So, whether you are business owner or leader, a HR manager or a professional recruiter, we have a hiring solution tool kit to meet your needs. Of course, you can also stick with that process that works 25% of the time! Contact us to get started finding the right fit.

The post There is a shortage of great talent out there appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Why do people avoid conflict?

Just as conflict is a part of human nature, the human construct of social niceties has brought with it the desire for us to avoid conflict all together. Our natural tendencies and how we are hardwired can influence how we believe conflict should be addressed. Managers who are naturally highly accommodating may want to be the ‘good guy’, but in doing so can often avoid important and constructive conversations that have the potential to ignite conflict. Equally, highly assertive managers may tend to take a very direct approach (the “four by two” approach) which can start the whole conversation off on the wrong foot. Which approach is right? Consider this.

Conflict happens. It’s a normal part of everyday life whether we like it or not. Although we might think that conflict interferes with our business objectives, the way we deal with it can have an even bigger impact on the overall success of your company.

Conflict that is swept under the rug will not just go away. Unresolved conflict can fester into a wound that is hard to heal, so it’s best to confront conflict before it turns into a bigger problem. If conflict goes unresolved, you could see employees’ engagement and productivity levels plummet and your best talent walk out the door. Taking an overly direct approach may see the employee defending their position rather than listening, and feeling hard done by, which is also likely to cause a reduction in engagement and productivity.

How does conflict interfere with communication?

When managers fear conflict, they can breakdown the communication lines that run within your organisation. If managers fail to communicate effectively with their subordinates and teams, employees might feel less likely to approach their leaders if and when something goes wrong. And if a manager is scared to give constructive feedback to an employee or team, it can negatively impact the growth and development of that individual or team.

So, how can leaders face their fear and address conflict head on?

Gain a coach’s mindset

Coaching skills equip individuals with the ability to communicate effectively, giving them the confidence to approach difficult conversations with ease. A coach will set regular one-on-one meetings with their coachee to see how they’re going with their work and find out what their challenges are, so that they can reach their goals independently. They will also provide regular feedback, both positive and constructive, so that individuals can better understand their strengths and areas requiring improvement. Regular and effective communication means that these leaders often know about issues before problems arise. Conflict is therefore less likely to occur and if it does, they’re well equipped to deal with it.

Be objective yet considerate

When conflict does arise, a great leader will consider each party’s concerns, while remaining focused on the overall objectives of the company. When dealing with conflict in the workplace, it’s important to put yourself in the shoes of each individual involved with the conflict while formulating an outcome that will best serve the company. Remember, if one or more parties isn’t happy with the outcome, it could impact negatively on their wellbeing, engagement and productivity.

Be open

A coaching leader is open, trustworthy and approachable. Maintaining open lines of communication amongst individuals and teams is the best way to prevent conflict from arising and to address it effectively when it does. Giving regular feedback is a great place to start. It’s important to foster an environment in which people feel confident to approach their managers and fellow workers when there is a problem or when they would like advice.

Seek out conflict

Poor managers often have their blinkers on when there is a problem within their team or wider organisation. In order to address conflict, you’ll need to know when it is occurring. Seeking out conflict is not as investigatory as it may seem. You simply need to communicate effectively and follow the progress of individuals and teams so that you know if they have any concerns and if any problems are emerging.

Leverage conflict for growth and development

Where there is conflict, there is the opportunity to learn and grow. Addressing and resolving conflict is a huge learning curve for leaders and employees alike. It requires leaders to problem solve in a high pressure situation and manage relationships in an objective yet empathetic manner which addresses each individual’s needs and desires.

To find out more about how to manage conflict effectively in your workplace, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.

The post How fear of conflict affects workplace communication appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

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.

The post The forgotten skill set of good leaders – Coaching appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

It’s easy for employees to develop blind spots in the workplace. Even a company’s best employees can fall prey to this. Here’s where an external coach can help. A coach can support the development of individuals, teams and groups and boost their ability to deliver outstanding results. By providing an external objective perspective, a coach can help raise awareness of limiting assumptions, hold a mirror up so they can see the role they play, and hold them to account. In essence, a great coach is an individuals or teams unreasonable friend!

When is coaching best utilised?

When there is a communication breakdown within teams

Communication can break down for a number of reasons. Often managers will tell their teams what to do instead of asking the right questions to help them reach resolutions independently. This is a sure-fire way to hurt employee accountability, engagement and productivity. Feedback is another area of difficulty for many managers. When managers fail to give feedback on a frequent basis, or if they give feedback in a manner that is negative or discouraging, they can harm the confidence levels of employees and as a result hinder individual performance.

An executive coach can help leaders facilitate better communication within teams. A coach will show leaders how to ask the right questions to make individuals more engaged and more productive. By gaining effective communication skills, managers can build relationships of trust between employees, they can help employees develop stronger problem-solving skills, and help them to feel more accountable for their work.

When there are performance issues

When performance issues arise in the workplace, many managers are at a loss as how to properly address the issue without affecting the employee’s confidence or damaging the relationship. There is a risk that the process will breakdown the trust in the relationship and make employees feel less engaged, less productive and less secure in their job. A coach is able to provide an outsider’s perspective and take some of the emotion out of the process. They will support the employee to find solutions to specific problems so that they can independently reach their own goals. A coach can be used to work directly with the employee when issues arise and they are also an invaluable resource in the complexity that dynamic groups and teams operate in today.

When you feel an employee is ready for a promotion

When you’re preparing an employee for a leadership role, it’s important that they develop the skills necessary to truly lead their team. A coach can support individuals to gain insight and understanding about leadership, management and how to identify and develop their authentic self.

A study conducted at Wharton found that external hires get paid 18% more than internal recruits yet  are 61% more likely to be fired. Companies don’t always recognise that they have an untapped pool of talent which they can develop for promotion. By developing internal talent, you are often more likely to access the best person for the job. Coaching can be used to develop an individual who you think is ready for a promotion and can help to ensure the individual has the skills needed to take on the new role.

Succession planning

All organisations lose key leaders. Whether it is planned or unplanned, losing your key leaders can be very disruptive to your company’s performance and your company budget. This is why it’s important to develop employees at every level within your organisation and have a succession plan in place.

Often referred to as ‘bench strength’, the employees in line for leadership roles within an organisation can benefit greatly from coaching. Preparing employees to fill key leadership roles within your organisation is important for safeguarding your organisation for when you lose high performing employees.

At Directions Unlimited, we understand the importance of identifying areas of improvement within the workplace before problems arise.

To find out more about one to one coaching, team coaching, or group coaching, contact us for an obligation free discussion.

The post To coach or not to coach? How to know when it’s time for coaching in the workplace. appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

By coaching your team you can improve their performance, build their skills and drive engagement. Skills like communication and strategic thinking are crucial for business success and can boost employee engagement. When individuals are given the time by their leaders to communicate openly and productively, they are more likely to be loyal, engaged and self motivated. Gaining communicative skills through coaching can help managers to develop the skills needed to help other individuals reach success.

Some numbers from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) on the benefits of coaching reveal that a vast majority of companies (86%) say they at least made their investment back. (Source ICF). Coaching generates learning and clarity for forward action with a commitment to measurable outcomes. It builds the self-confidence of employees to face challenges, critical to meeting organisational demands. Coaching also maximises potential and therefore unlocks latent sources of productivity in your team.

So, what is coaching?

Coaching is a process that enables the individual to develop and achieve their full potential. It’s about helping someone evolve and advance in their business, role, or life. Coaches collaborate with individuals and push them beyond their comfort zone through unlocking their barriers and facilitating awareness and accountability.

For more information on how coaching can help you check out our article on this topic.

Why is coaching such a powerful business tool?

Once only reserved for leaders, coaching is now commonly implemented with success among managers and teams alike, and everyone reaps the benefits.

Coaching is a valuable, cost effective and motivating tool a business can utilise in order to achieve success. It helps you, as a leader or manager, to reach your highest potential so that you can drive success among other individuals within your organisation.

Here are some of the benefits of coaching for your team:

Improve individual and team performance

When managers adopt a coaching mindset, they can help their team to improve collaboration, problem solve more effectively and strategise to reach business goals more efficiently.

Reduce turnover and help you to retain high performing staff

Coaching is a vital organisational tool for developing talent and also for reducing staff turnover rates. Improving the staff retention rate within your organisation means that you can dedicate less time to training new staff, and more time to achieving your important business goals. A study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management found that it can cost the equivalent of six to nine months of an employee’s salary in order to recruit and train a replacement. When you consider an employee with a salary of $100,000, this means it would cost over $50,000 to replace them! Coaching gives individuals the opportunity to discuss how they can grow within the organisation and also how they can help their company to grow.

Boost team morale

A team in which individuals feel comfortable to communicate openly is one that can thrive. By employing  a coaching approach you can communicate collaboratively and productively within your team and organisation. Rather than telling your team what to do, you’ll be equipped to be a more intent listener and coach to your team, where you can pull on your strong communicative skills and ask them open ended questions to reach a resolution. For those that may wish to read further on how leaders can work more effectively with their team, there is an excellent book by Nancy Kline called Time to Think – listening to ignite the human mind.

Foster company growth and success

Coaching can help your team to meet important business goals. Fostering an environment in which employees reach their highest potential can make a company’s growth-potential limitless. Through coaching your team, they gain first hand access to skills that can propel them forward and lead to success.

For more information on how to develop a coaching mindset check out our article on the three coaching skills you need to be a great manager.

Directions Unlimited’s Director, David Leahy, graduated from the prestigious Institute of Executive Coaching in Sydney, and has coached executives internationally in South America, USA, Europe, Asia and Australia – helping many individuals and companies attain their goals.

If you would like an obligation free discussion, contact us today and see how your team can leverage the power of coaching for success!

The post The power of coaching for your team appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Often when we look at highly successful people, we don’t stop to consider what might have gone on behind the scenes to help them get to where they are. Or in fact, who helped them.

An athlete wouldn’t dream of training without the support and development of a sports coach. Their training is crucial to ensure they are at peak performance. The same can be said about the executives and managers in a business. How can they perform at their best, with the most impact, without a coach?

What is executive coaching?

We like the IECL definition which is that executive coaching is the process of working with executives and managers in a solution-focused, collaborative relationship to help maximise their potential. It can take form in a variety of ways, but the overall goal is to help you be the best version of yourself as a leader, manager, executive, and person.

Coaching is not about mentoring, counselling, managing, leading, or giving advice. It is aimed at unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance by helping them to learn through doing rather than just telling them what to do. It’s about helping someone develop and advance in their business, role, or life.

Put simply, an executive coach can give you the tools and support you need in order to reach your potential and beyond. An executive coach can get you focussed on the things you usually push aside. This could be due to limiting beliefs, stories you tell yourself, or that ‘inner village’ chattering away in your head telling you why something isn’t possible. In effect, a coach helps you to get out of your own way!

Is coaching the same as mentoring?

No. While the terms ‘coaching’ and ‘mentoring’ are often used interchangeably, there are subtle differences.

Mentoring provides an avenue in which the mentee is given access to the mentor’s wisdom, ‘tricks of the trade’ and short-cuts to success – helping to shape their values and beliefs in a positive way. Mentors give advice and guidance.

Executive coaching, on the other hand, is less prescriptive. Coaches provide a balance of security – in that they are available to be leant on, and challenge – the coach provides a safe, non judgemental, supportive and confidential environment where they challenge the coachee to move beyond their comfort zone, think about things differently while also holding them accountable for achieving their own outcomes.

In executive coaching it’s the ability to explore ideas, issues, obstacles or opportunities with the help of a skilled coach in this environment that leads the ‘aha moment’ or what Dr Hilary Armstrong refers to as ‘exuberant learning’. Executive coaching is a partnership – think of it like a Pilot and Co-Pilot – which helps people achieve clarity of direction. It increases the choices available to them, and offers rapid development.

What are the benefits of executive coaching?

Some of the benefits you could see from executive coaching are:

Unbiased support

Often a person is so deep in the day to day happenings of business, that they can’t see the forest for the trees, and any internal support (unless an internal coach is employed in the organisation) they seek is often laden with ill-advice and a lack of knowledge.

When you engage an external executive coach, as they are not working in your business, they naturally approach the engagement with an unbiased non judgemental perspective which can be very helpful in supporting the coachee to explore alternate approaches and different ways of thinking about things.

Strategic direction

It’s pretty hard to succeed in business without a plan, and a good plan includes a strategic direction. Without one, it’s as though you’re hopping in the car for a drive and you have no idea where you’re headed!

An executive coach helps you to identify what’s getting in your way, supports you to identify your objectives and to clarify the direction you want to take. From there, they support you to map out different strategies and set clear goals. Setting goals is a crucial part to personal and business advancement, yet is often not done effectively. An executive coach can help change that.

Accountability

In addition to supporting you on your journey, an executive coach will be there to hold you accountable, ensuring you complete the tasks needed to reach your goals. Knowing that you need to report back to your coach and not wanting to disappoint them is sometimes all the push a person needs to stay on track to success.

Success

With the right coach you can identify what’s getting in your way. This may result in freeing up more of your time to work on the bigger picture items which will directly contribute to your success. By working with a coach you get to understand how you are ‘being’ in your role in the business (even as the business owner), develop further as a leader and identify what actions need to be implemented to succeed.

At Directions Unlimited, we strive to approach coaching as a dialogue, not as a dictation. Our first step is always to ensure the ‘chemistry’ exists between coach and coachee and we then partner with you and support you to identify and achieve your goals.  

Direction’s Unlimited Director, David Leahy, graduated from the prestigious Institute of Executive Coaching in Sydney, and has coached executives internationally in South America, USA, Europe, Asia and Australia – helping many individuals and companies attain their goals.

If you would like an obligation free discussion, contact us today and see how our tailored coaching approach can help you excel.

The post How can coaching benefit me? appeared first on Directions Unlimited.