According to a recent Gallup report, 85% of employees are not engaged or actively disengaged at work because of mismanagement. This costs companies $7 trillion in lost productivity. Gallup goes on to say that today’s workforces want and need purpose, opportunities to develop, ongoing conversations (not annual reviews), a coach rather than a boss, and a supervisor who leverages their strengths rather than obsesses over their weaknesses. Additionally, Gallup states today’s workforces want their jobs to be a part of their identity because they see work and life as interconnected.
Thus, what Gallup is really saying is that today, coaching team members is mandatory if you want them to be engaged and productive. However, there is a problem. Most leaders, managers, and supervisors do not know how to coach people effectively. Indeed, they merely learned how to be a boss, to give orders, and to delegate. Unfortunately, that just will not go very far anymore. In fact, that approach leads to poor productivity, increased shrinkage, higher turnover, and lower profits.
According to the Institute of Coaching (a Harvard Medical School affiliate), however, coaching leads employees to:
- Establish and take action towards achieving goals
- Become more self-reliant
- Contribute more effectively to the team and the organization
- Take greater responsibility and accountability for action and commitments
- Work more easily and productively with others (supervisors, direct reports, and peers)
- Communicate more effectively
They further state coaching benefits companies by:
- Increasing employee and staff engagement
- Improving individual performance
- Helping identify and develop high potential employees
- Helping identify both organizational and individual strengths and development opportunities
- Helping to motivate and empower individuals to excel
- Demonstrating organizational commitment to human resource development
When comparing coaching to traditional managing, the reasons coaching is so effective are many and obvious.
Let’s take a look at just a few:
- Managing is about controlling a culture. Coaching is about creating a collaborative culture.
- With managing, ideas flow downward. With coaching, ideas flow in all directions, without judgment.
- With managing you have all the answers. With coaching you ask all the right questions.
- Managing is about driving what should be. Coaching is about being open to what could be.
As you can see, coaching is not only about how you interact with others, but more importantly, it is about how you see yourself in relation to others. It’s a whole new perspective. And with this shift in approach and perspective, the outdated presuppositions of being in charge are gone. In their place are a greater array of options, of potential, and of opportunities for you, your team, and your company.
The obvious question then is how do those in charge learn how to coach. While there are many options like articles, books, and online training programs, the truth is they may not do much for you. With limited interaction, those options will only lead to limited results. Instead, the most effective approach is to go through training that immerses you in the coaching process to train. Thus, your training will focus on your values, take advantage of your strengths, and be customized to support your goals. By partnering with your training in this way, you will not just learn new skills, you will be adopting a coaching perspective.
This is the only way to become an effective coach because mastering the ability to coach is not just about asking a list of questions or understanding the art of persuasion. No, effective coaching is about connecting with team members in a meaningful way. It’s about truly understanding and supporting those around you. And it’s about working together for the good of all those involved, not just for the benefit of the organization. When done right, coaching is the most effective way to tap the collective creativity, passion, and brain power of all team members.
Therefore, the next obvious question is where does one find this type of immersive coach training. Well again, there may be many options, but only one real choice. WorkJoy.
At WorkJoy, we use a comprehensive, immersive coaching approach to help you take advantage of your strengths, learn new skills, and broaden your perspective to see and capture the greater potential of yourself, your team, and your organization. Click here to find out how WorkJoy can help your organization improve its results.
John M. Fischette, MBA is a business consultant, executive and leadership coach, trainer, and business psychology expert. He uses proven science-based strategies in neuroscience and business psychology to train, teach, and support individuals, groups, and organizations so that they can grow their business, improve productivity, increase sales and profitability, and create positive work environments. His strategies go way beyond basic methods in soft skill and industrial and organizational psychology. Common areas of focus include creating engaging work environments, leadership and management training, and increasing performance and profits.
