Put Me In Coach - Part I

“Oh, put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today” -John Fogerty

All athletes and most people in the business world believe they are ready for the prime time. They want to ‘get in the game’ and show their stuff. Competitive zeal is admirable. Most leaders thirst for a team of go-getters who are anxious to achieve. Let’s step back for a moment, however, and reflect on the leader as a coach. The coaching world contains a different flavor of leadership. Coaching calls for the following interesting mix of qualities:

  1.  The ability to select the right players
  2.  Motivation and retention of team members
  3.  Tools and techniques to help team members grow as professionals
  4. The grit to frequently share feedback and continually challenge people to achieve

We begin our journey of examining the leader as a coach, by delving into the topic of choosing the right players.

#1 Select the Right Players

A foundational skill a coach should possess is the ability to recruit and land the right players for his or her team. You can be the best coach in the world at teaching technical skills, but if your team is populated with mediocre talent, odds are good that mediocre results will follow. As such, I recommend the following steps for attracting and selecting the best band of prime time players:

  1. Be a scout. In other words, constantly be on the lookout for talent. Think about it this way, every week you meet someone who impresses you with their level service, subject knowledge, and/or incredible professionalism. Ponder if these people could fit into your business. Most will not, but a few may have potential. Regardless, the scouting activity in and of itself will help put you in a healthy mindset regarding the pursuit of talent.
  2. Communicate with colleagues. A coach should frequently remind colleagues that they are hunting for talented people. Whether the colleagues are part of your organization does not matter. What does matter is that you clearly and frequently communicate your interest in discovering good talent.
  3. Interview mania. Let’s be honest, interviewing is a pain in the neck. Many leaders consider interviewing a waste of time. As a result their interviews tend to be infrequent, too short, and of shoddy quality. The ability to conduct an excellent interview, however, is paramount to selecting the right people for your team. As such, I strongly recommend becoming a student of interviewing. Seek to utilize interview templates and guides that assist with the flow and consistency of your interaction with candidates. The results will be better hiring decisions and a reduction in employee turnover.

#2 Motivation & Retention

Most everyone enjoys positive attention. By providing meaningful coaching, leaders supply important attention to team members that provide a bevy of benefits.

  1. Bonding. Effective coaching provides a bond between a leader and a team member. Studies have shown that team members who feel a positive connection to a leader and/or their organization are better motivated to achieve standout results.
  2. Healthy culture. Coaching sends a message that your organization values communication. This leads to the creation and/or reinforcement of communication and coaching as part of the organization’s corporate culture.
  3. Powerful learning. Coaching provides a reliable platform for team members to improve skills and learn new techniques. In addition, because coaching topics are tied directly to daily ‘experiential’ activities and delivered in a one-on-one setting, the impact of the coaching process far exceeds results achieved by reading books or viewing instructional video.
  4. Performance identifier. Good coaches have their fingers on the pulse of each team member’s performance. This provides a huge leadership advantage to professionals who embrace coaching. The process of coaching makes it abundantly clear who is performing and progressing and who is floundering. As a result, a retention wall can built around your best performers, while early, corrective action can be taken with poor performers. Ultimately, results are increased and your company’s payroll investment is maximized.
  5. Retention. The stimulation of positive coaching and professional growth typically results in team members choosing to remain with an organization longer than if coaching were absent. Thus, coaching is an effective retention tool.