Change is important within every company. By changing certain things, certain processes improve. Not only business-related matters change, the employees within your company also change. You can use coaching to help your employees change successfully. As a manager, you know your employees very well. You see up close what their strengths and weaknesses are and that is why you want to coach your employees yourself. Do you want to know how you can use coaching successfully within your company? This blog lists 5 tips.
Successful and 1. Schedule a moment
When you start coaching, it is important that you always schedule a moment. Discuss with your employee how much time the conversation will take and discuss this with each other. If you notice during the planning process that there is much more to discuss, make a follow-up appointment immediately. By working with follow-up appointments, you can discuss certain topics more specifically.
2. Ask open questions
Making assumptions happens quite quickly and usually happens before you even realize it. When coaching, it is important that you give the other person space and... no assumptions do. Ask as many open questions as possible during the conversation and avoid using leading questions.
3. Put yourself in the other person's shoes
Another point of attention in coaching is that you put yourself in the other person's shoes. Everyone is different and likes a different way of coaching. One person prefers a direct approach and with another person you first have to gain trust. Is the employee introverted? Respect that and adjust your coaching style accordingly. If you approach the coaching conversation with an introvert in an extroverted manner, they will open up less quickly. The same applies to an extrovert person, adapt your coaching style to this person.
4. Let someone come to their own insights
Coaching is about holding up a mirror and this allows someone to gain certain insights. You do this by asking open questions. By asking the right (open) questions, the other person starts thinking and ultimately arrives at certain insights. Someone can only change certain behavior if he or she is aware of this behavior.
5. Provide concrete action points
After each coaching conversation, you draw up concrete action points together. What steps need to be taken? And when should these actions be completed? Make concrete agreements about this. By making agreements about this, you both have the same goals in mind. And by making concrete action points, the other person is more likely to change and make progress.
Want to know more about coaching?
In this blog we have given you 5 tips for successfully using coaching within your company. Would you like to know more about coaching within your company? Read more about coaching or check out one of our others services.
Let people grow
The core of good leadership is getting the best out of your people. That starts with understanding what drives each team member and where his or her talents lie. Not everyone is motivated by the same things. One employee wants autonomy, another seeks recognition, and yet another thrives on new challenges.
As a manager, it is your task to recognize those individual drivers and align your approach accordingly. A personal development conversation is a good tool for this. Not the formal performance review, but an open dialogue about ambitions, needs, and possibilities. Teams in which employees feel seen and heard perform demonstrably better.
At Kenneth Smit, we help professionals become stronger in their field. Discover our Coaching Leadership training and take the next step in your development.