How to be a better coach (and why it matters)

A team is only as good as its leader. If a manager is unable to coach their employees, those workers will never reach their full potential and become the high-performing team that they could be. With that in mind, it’s vital for managers at all levels of your organisation to continually try to hone their leadership and coaching skills so that you are always making the most of your efforts.

The following tips should help you improve your approach to effective coaching:

1) Give direction more consistently and effectively

Many leaders don’t like to give feedback regularly because they don’t want to feel as though they are micro-managing team members. On the other hand, some managers can be overly critical and harm employee morale. For that reason, it’s important to share consistent feedback with a clear intent, according to Inc. magazine. Having a conversation, rather than sending an email with a few sentences of vague criticism, can be helpful for employees and allow them to work more effectively toward a clear goal.

True leadership takes a dedicated approach to improving coaching skills.

2) Encourage feedback from everyone on the team

Likewise, your employees should feel comfortable giving and receiving constructive criticism, and you can certainly coach them to grow this skill. WorkLogic noted that this could be as straightforward as setting up a way to confidentially lodge suggestions or notes, but it could also be as simple as imparting the skills for giving better direct feedback, as discussed above.

In general, as long as you’re all communicating effectively, there’s no reason why feedback should be seen as a negative. That, in turn, fosters trust among your employees and helps them develop a better overall team relationship.

3) Support new ideas from team members

In many organisations, team members may be hesitant to come forward with new ideas for any number of reasons, but that hesitance can also lead to a lack of motivation when it comes to growth and change, according to Asure Software. You’ve likely heard the old saying that there’s no such thing as a bad idea, and that should be your organisational approach.

Not all ideas will work for you, of course, but you should encourage team members to speak up and make recommendations that can be reasonably explored. If even one such idea ends up being effective, it can mean major gains for your team.

4) Take a course in leadership skills

Finally, keep in mind that you can’t expect to naturally know everything there is to know about leadership, and getting some guidance and advice from experts will help you realise your full potential — and that of your entire team.

At ICML, we offer a range of coaching and leadership skills training programs, including Coaching for Performance. We can custom tailor each course to you or your organisation’s exact needs, from in-person to virtual, for teams small and large. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help you set your employees up for success.