Increase Your Confidence As A Coach

Most managers know that they have a responsibility to teach the individuals in their teams to be better at their jobs.  Some enlightened organisations actually make being able to develop people in their teams a criteria for promotion.

However, most managers I speak to do not enjoy (and some actively dislike) what should be the most important and enjoyable part of their roles.

The consequence is that organisations spend thousands every year bringing in external trainers to deliver basic training that would be many times more effective if it was addressed by an internal person, ideally the manager.

Why do managers feel this way?  Most tell me they feel that they are not very good at it;  often rationalising that a “different voice” will make a bigger impact.

This is a fallacy because whilst managers may not create the same learning environment, be able to facilitate the same level of discussion or be able to run inspirational exercises that help attendees on how to execute the learning in the real world, they can provide what virtually no one from outside the organisation can……. CONTEXT.

Context is the glue that gives anything being taught a meaning,  and it is meaning that brings an understanding of purpose which, in turn, leads to a change in behaviour.

So what one word can leaders use to transform their confidence to deliver and the effectiveness of their delivery.

“WHY”

Why is the word that provides context Why is the word that connects purpose to the “What” you need to do and the “How” you do it, which most managers’ training favours Why helps learners understand how what they do serves their customers Why helps your team understand what the end goal is Why allows learners to find their own way to the goal you set (some call this creativity or innovation) Why gives understanding of what your customers want from your service and makes them want to buy, rather than having to be ‘sold’

In short, understanding “the Why” gives individuals a way to make behaviour self-sustaining, want to improve the process and focuses the solution on the customer’s needs rather than the sale.

So next time you need to deliver some coaching, run a team meeting or run a training session start your the planning with “3 WHYs”

Why does this help the individual? Why does it help the customer with a need or problem they have? Why does it help the organisation with their goal?

The downside of this approach………………… you may have to work out what you are going to do with all the time you will suddenly have free,  as your team becomes a self-motivated, self-improving, high-performing team that not only grows sales but builds outstanding customer loyalty.