Coaching And Developing Others

Coaching and developing others is one of the many responsibilities that fall upon your shoulders as a leader. It’s also an important part of growing a successful business. Effective leadership involves commitment to coach and develop employees at all levels – empowering them to make strong decisions whenever situations require it (Cohen & Tichy, 1997). This is the exact opposite of micromanagement, which is a waste of both time and energy. The more capable and confident the employees, the better a company’s chances of success. The more commitment leaders show to their employees by taking the time to coach and develop them, the more they’ll get back from their people in return. The concept is incredibly straightforward – what you get from your employees is directly related to the efforts that you put into them. It’s a simple positive correlation. Of course it’s easier said than done, but it’s well worth the effort. Taking the time to develop leaders at all levels strengthens a company tremendously.

Successful leaders have to not only be willing to coach and develop others, but be passionate about it as well. They must be able to inspire and lead by example – two crucial concepts that we’ve already discussed. Coaching and developing others is a multi-faceted and involving undertaking. It requires planning and balancing. A good coach must have the ability to listen and to make accurate assessments. Her knowledge and experience should offer guidance without interference or being overbearing. A coach must have the ability to help another person to stretch themselves beyond their perceived limits.

Where do you measure up? Do you have what it takes to effectively coach and develop your employees? How often do you take the time to do it? Take some initial assessments, formulate a plan, and develop your company’s leadership forces.


Cohen, E., & Tichy, N. (1997). How leaders develop leaders. Training & Development Journal, 51, p. 58-72.

Integrating Knowledge and Values

Setting an example is a big part of the leader/manager’s responsibilities. One of the most important aspects of creating a multicultural organization is the examination of individual beliefs and attitudes. Being able to relate effectively in diverse settings helps us to create better relationships with our internal customers (other employees) and external customers (company’s customers). How we relate to others greatly affects our ability to work as teams. As we learn to not only tolerate and accept others, but to actually appreciate them, the amount of (service) energy we put into our dealings with them increases. As our efforts increase, so do our chances of success. Others can see how much energy we’re putting into something. Their perceptions of our efforts, in turn, affect how they interact with us. The idea of service energy offers a straightforward way of looking at how our own attitudes and efforts affect our ability to create a multicultural organization, and to then fully utilize it to better our business.

Compatibility in Values

Whether seeking business partners or employees, compatibility in values is crucial in building solid foundations and making lasting partnerships. Stressful and rapidly changing environments require compatibility in values, philosophy, and goals. The still struggling economy continues to present many industries and businesses with a variety of challenges. It’s no surprise that a true partnership, build on a solid foundation and mutual trust provides a basis for a more enduring collaboration.

If part of your responsibilities as a leader/manager, involves hiring new employees and/or assigning teams, it’s crucial that you understand the importance of value compatibility in building solid foundations and lasting partnerships. It’s in this kind of partnerships that you will find more productive and loyal employees. Partnering with someone who has talent and can achieve results is only part of the equation. To truly maximize your chances of success, you must not only understand value compatibility, but also utilize the concept to your advantage.

Keep in mind that finding people who share in your values doesn’t mean hiring a bunch of ‘yes-men’ who agree with whatever you say. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. As long as the core values of those involved are compatible, having a team of people who bring different ideas, experiences, and ways of doing things gives you strength in diversity.

Imagine a group of people who share the same goal, but not the same core values. While certain ways of reaching those goals may be acceptable to some, that won’t be the case for all. For example, if the goal is to have a million dollars, some people may find it acceptable to rob a bank, while others won’t. Clearly core values of those two groups of people are very different and will play a very important role in how these groups can work together.

Once again, it’s one of the many responsibilities of a leader/manager to understand these concepts and utilize them in ways that will maximize potential for success. Pay attention, talk to your employees, examine their track records and look for clues about their values. Brush up on your interviewing skills to better understand the values of potential employees.

Matching Skills to Needs

A good manager knows that he should utilize the talent that’s available to him in the form of employees. A great leader will understand what’s in his toolbox of talent and use each talent to its full potential. Working with employees to align their interests and skills to the immediate and strategic business needs and challenges is an important part of a company’s success. We’ve all experienced the differences of working on things that interest us versus things that bore us to death. We’re more likely to do a better job when working on something we enjoy. It’s logical to assess an employee’s skills and interests and play up those things that will ensure their enthusiasm and commitment to a job well done. At the same time such assessment will show the company where and how they need to improve their workforce.

A coach can assess an employee’s skills and interests by utilizing effective communications – mainly listening. Additionally, encouraging the coachee to develop a career plan, while reviewing their own skills and interests, is a good way of aligning the company’s needs and challenges with their best resources – the employees.

Embrace Technology

For the most part, the promise of technology making our lives easier is true. In reality, there may be times when technology seems like a leash or an anchor tethering us to our work even when we’re away, and most of us have felt a fleeting bout of resentment brought on by our own dependence on today’s technological wonders. If you’re one of the many who would practically require a surgeon to be separated from your cell phone, you understand this all too well. However, using the right technology in the right way can help us to increase productivity and accuracy, make processes more efficient, and transform our world in ways that would be otherwise impossible.

The trick is to find the right balance. Technology changes so quickly that resolving to have the latest and greatest at all times is unrealistic, costly, and even counter-productive. At the same time, avoiding new technology for the fear of something new replacing it within a short period of time would be equally detrimental. While the old adage discourages us from trying to fix that which is not broken, systematic pursuit of growth and improvement is an absolute must. It would be irresponsible to avoid that which is new simply because the old ways seem to work.

As a leader/manager it’s up to you to seek out ways to improve the company’s current processes. Utilize the talents and resources available to you to assess and evaluate those processes, and make your decisions accordingly. There are many factors to consider – the size of a company, number of employees, ROI etc. If what makes your company special or unique are hand-crafted products, then introducing technology for mass production will make little sense. If, however, outdated processes are left as they are simply because of the resistance to change, you may be overdue in your evaluation. Seek out and embrace new technology – especially if it will cut your costs, improve productivity, give you an edge over your competitors, and/or generally make life easier.

Employees Are An Asset

Your employees are an asset to both you as a leader/manager and to the company as a whole. You already know that in order to get the most out of our assets, we need to take care of them. The same idea applies here – we must give the right kind of care and consideration to our employees in order to get their best in return. Hiring people is expensive. You (and the company) spend considerable time and energy to find and hire every single one of your employees. Furthermore, you hire people for a reason – you need a person to do certain work and you believe that this is the right person for the job. After you spend all this time and energy looking and hiring, it’s crucial that you take care of this asset. Failing to do so would be like buying something expensive then forgetting about it and leaving it to fall into disrepair. That would simply make no sense.

There’s nothing worse, nothing more toxic and wasteful than a company where the employee is seen as the enemy. If you feel the need to micromanage and believe that your employees can’t be trusted and must be watched every minute of the day, there’s something very wrong. You’ve either managed to hire the most sorry bunch of misfits this side of the Mason-Dixon Line, and need serious help with recruiting the right people, or you’re a paranoid micromanager and should get some help. Either way, if this is the kind of environment in which you work (and maybe even promote), then you have some serious work ahead of you.

Take a look at your employees and assess their talents and performance. Why were they hired? Are they doing the job? Are they living up to their potential? What are you doing to consistently get their best? It’s your responsibility as a leader/manager to evaluate and act accordingly, so that you (and the company) can reap the benefits of your employees’ gifts and talents, and nurture and develop their potential.

If you do work for a company where employees are not seen as assets, and feel overwhelmed by the idea of taking on the corporate culture, do your part by taking care of the assets in your department. Take care of the employees that you manage and reap the benefits that will come your way. Read through some of the previous posts to get ideas on how to coach and develop your employees, how to keep them happy, and how to get their best time and time again.

Taking Time To Recharge

Summer is in full swing. Traditionally, this is the time when people everywhere take time to get away, relax, and be with their families. Given how undermanned and thinly stretched some companies have become as a result of the economic chaos, the idea of employees taking time off may be a daunting one. This blog already addressed the importance of you taking time off to recharge. The same applies to all of your employees. Just as being able to get away and clear your head makes you a better and more effective leader/manager, having time off from work makes for happier, healthier, and more relaxed employees, and improves employee performance as a result.

Your responsibility as the leader/manager is to ensure that everyone gets some time away from their job. It’s up to you to figure out the logistics and make sure that it’s business as usual for the rest of the company. Being short-handed is no excuse for not giving your people much deserved vacation time. We all know that weekends tend to be short and full of errands and don’t count as vacation. You may even have to convince a dedicated employee to take some time off. So whether it’s a couple of long weekends or an actual week off, you have to figure out a way to let your employees take some vacations with minimal disruption to everyone else. Whether you spread the workload of the absent employee among his fellow workers or hire a temp to fill in, find a way to figure it out. Everyone needs time off. Never taking an actual vacation can lead to employee burn out, compromise the quality of their work, and even lead to them leaving the company. Be a leader/manager and take the bull by the horns. Be proactive and take care of your employees as well as yourself.

Minding Your Emotions

Part of being a great leader/manager is setting the right example for others. Part of setting a great example means not only being aware of your emotions, but also being in control of them (and the related behaviors). Emotions are part of being human, but emotional reactions must be kept in check at the office. It’s one thing to show excitement or disappointment, but emotional outbursts are an absolute no-no. The last thing a leader/manager needs is for his people to think that highly emotional behavior is acceptable at the office. When emotions run high, others may catch the fever and things can escalate.

High emotions are not only a bad example for your employees, they can also affect your business decisions. A decision that may be emotionally satisfying at the moment may prove to be disastrous (and irreversible) in the long run. Furthermore, making emotionally charged decisions will create an atmosphere of uncertainty, where irrational decisions are a high possibility. No one likes to walk on eggshells, especially when the reason is the boss who has the potential to “flip out” at any time.

Although leader/managers are fully human, and therefore emotional creatures, you have a responsibility to keeps your emotions in check, make rational decisions, set a good example, and promote a healthy work atmosphere. No small feat, but it’s all part of the job. If you think all of that is difficult, imagine trying to manage a group of emotionally irresponsible or unstable people. Instead, mind your emotions and give them something good to imitate.

Self-fulfilling prophecies

Just as good parents expect the very best from their children, so does a good manager when it comes to his employees. My last post talked about using stories as a way to teach and inspire. I’d like to share with you (a short version of) a story from my own past.

Nick was a troubled young man I coached during a time when a judge had ordered him to work at an office where I was employed. He came from a troubled background that led him to problems with drugs. Those around him expected him to fail and he followed that path. He was lucky to stand in front of a judge who wanted to give him a chance to make different choices. Eventually an opportunity presented itself where he was introduced to people who not only expected different and better things from him, but actually believed that he was capable of succeeding. In an environment where his past was not seen as his destiny, Nick was treated as if he was no different than anyone else there. Conveying positive expectations and beliefs in both verbal and non-verbal ways produced tremendous results. In the end Nick found his way onto a different life path. His journey wasn’t easy and the work never-ending, but he continued to make better choices long after he left our office. I eventually lost track of him, but hope that he continued to do the right thing.

I chose to share this story because it illustrates what tremendous difference expectations can make – be it those of others or the self. The story underlines the importance of expectations in self-fulfilling prophecies, as well as self-efficacy and the need for positive things in life. It shows how others’ expectations seemed to have shaped this young man’s life – as if choosing a life’s path for him.

So where do expectations fit into your daily life at the office? Do you have a difficult employee who’s bound to be nothing but trouble? Or one who’s never going to be anything more than a slacker? Pay close attention to your approach. What message are you sending? Your messages go beyond what you say – your body language can negate all of your words. How are you contributing to their behavior? Do you expect this person to be anything more than what you’ve seen so far?

I won’t tell you that expectations alone will fix all problems, but they make a tremendous difference in getting what you need from others. Consider that the next time you’re assessing one of your employees.

What's in a vision?

When facing change one of the most important elements is having a clear vision. The lack of one can have disastrous effects. Think about your goals. How do you see the end results? Your vision must be clear and well defined, and it should only take you a few minutes to communicate it to others. Make it short, sweet and to the point – and yes, interesting. At the end of the presentation (of your ideas) it should be obvious that your audience understands and that their own interest has been provoked.

But before a vision can inspire and be shared by others, it has to inspire you – the leader. Your vision must be in harmony with your own values, and you must be willing to set an example with your own actions. This goes back to the idea of walking the walk rather than telling people to do as you say, not as you do. It’s your task to convey the image of an exciting future to others, appealing to shared values and aspirations, thusly enlisting them to share the vision. If others see your passion and enthusiasm, they’re going to get curious. This curiosity provides you with the opportunity to share your vision with others, hopefully inspiring them and enlisting their help in achieving that vision.