How does one develop a coaching style of management?
To generalize, people in management often have good business skills; historically people skills and communication skills were in the background. Now people and communication skills are ranked as a top deficiency in the workplace. In coaching, people skills and communication skills are recognized as key to effectiveness.
Throughout the country, seminars on “How to Deal with Difficult People” are the most popular. The essential message in these programs is to recognize differences in people, understand strengths and weaknesses, and know that people are not difficult, they are just different. For a coaching management style, learn about how different people think, decide, and act; work with them based on who they are and their preferences.
Communication that works is about respecting others and yourself. Considering that 70% of people in our country tend to “give in” and the other 30% tend to promote just their own ideas, it begins with valuing all ideas: our own and those of others. As in coaching, an easy way to make this happen is to ask short, simple, open-ended questions. For those who hesitate to share ideas, this creates the opportunity to talk. For those sharing ideas, this opens the possibilities to a wider range for discussion.
In the process, focus forward. Rather than talking about what happened, who did it, or who said it, ask: Where are we now?
Where do we want to be? How do we get there? How do we prevent this problem in the future? Coaches focus on the future.
What stories can you share that highlight the value of these concepts?
