You’ve hired the best staff possible. You have every confidence in them and, soon after they start, they are exceeding your expectations. Yet if you don’t spend time coaching employees, in a few years they will be…gone.
Gone can mean lured away by another firm or not living up to their potential. All staff members need to constantly refine and grow their craft. Working in the trenches helps, but there is knowledge, wisdom and insight that can come only from you, the leader. This requires senior managers to share their most precious resource: time.
Leaders and managers of the company must recognize the need to mentor and coach employees–those talented up-and-comers as well as key staff. The investment will produce better client work, growth in capabilities and assumed responsibilities, and continued enthusiasm for the job. That means your firm will not become a kick-off point in a professional’s career path, but a destination.
Investment in coaching employees does not need to be in large doses. Managers should always be alert for opportunities to guide others. This may come after an error or a miscalculation, or it may be providing insight into decision-making. However, continuous, well-timed guidance will speed the growth process and cut down on errors born of inexperience or lack of understanding.
When you’re coaching employees, how the message is delivered is as important as the message itself. Browbeating or saying, “This is what I would have done,” will likely be unproductive and have the employee focusing on themselves and how they are feeling, not the value of the lesson. That’s not to say a war story isn’t useful. The key, however, is to demonstrate how the problem was solved or a tough decision reached.
As you spend time with staff, query them on what they understand, how they felt about interactions with clients and colleagues, what lessons they learned and what they would do differently next time, faced with a similar situation. Coaching employees creates a stronger and more profitable firm built on sharing knowledge, offering wisdom and advice, directing and redirecting their thinking, and taking the time to find out what they have learned, understand and believe.
Final Thought: Not everyone learns at the same rate or has the same interest level in learning. Through the process of inquiry you’ll quickly learn with whom to spend your time. It’s a win for you either way.
© 2014 Incedo Group, LLC
