If you want high-performing employees you have to mentor, coach, guide, and advise. Athletic organizations have coaches whose role is to help their players be the best they can be. Olympic athletes have coaches. Musicians, artists and everyone who wants to be at the top of their game have someone to help them get there.
Tom Landry said, “A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.” Your job as a leader is to coach your employees to be all they can be. Thus mentoring and coaching are leadership competencies you want to develop.
Coaching and Mentoring Require Finesse
The goal of mentoring or coaching is to help someone learn a skill, to shift their perspective, to guide them in a specific direction and at times to have them take corrective action. The tricky part is how to do this with finesse so you get the results you want. John Wooden said, “A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” As a leader you need to learn how to give correction without causing resentment.
This is not always easy. When the employee makes a big mistake that costs time or money it can be difficult to keep your emotions in check. If you have already discussed a topic before and have not noticed any change, how can you deliver the message again without frustration coming through in your voice?
Whether the conversations are remedial or developmental in nature, it still requires finesse to have these conversations. Most people don’t enjoy being told what they are doing incorrectly or even what they need to get to the next level. It’s uncomfortable.
This means you have to speak to people in such a way that they hear your message as you intend it and know that it comes from a place of caring and support for them. The more they know you care, the easier the message goes down.
Mentoring and coaching as leadership competencies is more than simply helping someone gain a new skill. It’s willingness to have the difficult conversations, to care enough to push them when they need to be pushed and hug the when they need to be hugged. And you have to model for them what actions, behaviors and ways of thinking you want from them. You can’t ask them to be willing to listen to you sharing what they need to do differently to reach the next level without you being willing to listen to what they need from you to get there. Modeling is part of mentoring and coaching.
How Often Do You Coach Or Mentor?
It’s not necessary to have daily or event weekly mentoring sessions with your employees. Nor is it appropriate to have one annually at their performance review.
Watch for opportunities and coach in the moment. If they handled a meeting exceptionally well, as soon as possible afterwards let them know specifically what you think they handled well. When they misstep dealing with a client tell them right then how you would want it handled differently. There are plenty of openings for you to coach or mentor in the moment if you pay attention.
You should schedule time at least quarterly to discuss performance with your employees. Structure these meetings so that you can have specific scenarios to discuss, and your message is clear about where you see they are brilliant and where you see they still need to work on a skill, behavior or attitude.
Remember, helping someone improve their performance doesn’t have to be just about a skill. They may need to change a behavior, an attitude, or a belief or perception they have. These can interfere with them reaching their full potential.
If you want your employees to be high performing, you need to invest in them. Yes, sending them to training can be helpful. But where they will benefit the most is from the one-on-one conversations you have with them. Sometimes you have to be the guide, other times the advisor, and still other times the counselor. To help get them to their full potential may require a mix of love and tough love and there is no one size fits all way of working with people.
The key is consistency. Mentor, coach, guide, and advise often. Work with them at every opportunity so they can be all they can be, and you’ll have the best team around.
Does your company have solid performers you want to take to the next level? Contact Linda today for a complimentary thirty-minute call to discuss how coaching can help you achieve results.
