The Manager as Coach
Author: Eric Thompson
The Manager as Coach - What are the Benefits?
Eric Thompson examines the benefits that flow from equipping managers to coach their workplace teams.
Making sure that managers have sufficient coaching skills to work interactively with their staff opens up the possibility of using the manager as coach concept. The manager can then help to develop the individual in the context of the job. What are the benefits of this approach? Do you have what it takes? Self Assessment Questionnaire We shall examine these questions further here. First of all though, let’s just make sure that we understand what we mean when we talk about the manager performing as a coach.
Coaching in the Workplace
In the wider context, a coach is someone who works with an individual to help them to understand and analyse exactly what their goals are, to help them to identify inner strengths and potential in achieving those goals and recognise weaknesses that create obstacles in moving ahead to accomplish the goals. The coach then helps the individual to develop the right plan of action to achieve what they want.
At this level of definition we could be describing a football coach, a life coach, a career coach or almost any other potential coaching engagement.
People who coach need to develop a range of skills that enable them to facilitate these interactions. Skills such as listening, observing and giving feedback are just a few of the many skills that coaches require. Individuals who choose to develop these skills to enable them to provide coaching as a main stream activity may engage in a professional development programme that enables them to deal with clients in a wide variety of contexts. They may go on to achieve accredited qualifications. For these people coaching will be a significant part of what they do.
The Manager as Coach
The manager as coach does not require all of that when asked to work with some of their staff in a coaching context. The coaching definition remains the same, many of the same skills are required, but the remit is much more restricted. The purpose is confined to helping the individual to become as effective as possible in the job that they do. Employee capability is one of the key factors which influence employee effectiveness
“Coaching adds another dimension in the engagement between managers and managed...”
The line manager’s focus is on that job and the performance of the individual in it. Coaching adds another dimension in the engagement between managers and managed, which puts the manager in the position of contributing to the individual’s development with the very specific intention of enhancing their performance.
The manager as coach is not a full time occupation. The manager always has many other things to do. However the proposition takes advantage of the fact that the manger sees the individual on a regular basis, discussion of what work is to be done is a key item on the agenda, and the manager is in a position to discuss how the work will be done. A short and timely coaching intervention by the manager may be just what the individual needs to help them to develop their approach to a new challenge. This coaching intervention is designed to help the individual consolidate prior learning and make the best choices. The manager and the individual are both focussed on making the individual as effective as possible.
From the manager’s perspective, this is not an open ended engagement. The task is to interact with people whom they already know, whose work goals are already well understood, to help them to understand how to do their work better.
The Benefit for the Individual
The individual benefits because the focus of the engagement is on the development of their capability. They are learning and developing on the job, in a way that is focussed on their performance in the role. The process of acquiring skill and experience is more organised and less haphazard. Depending on the organisation and the role, improved performance may have immediate beneficial financial consequences for the individual, or it may simply mean that they are more likely to be considered for promotion in the future.
The fact that the organisation sets about developing the employee’s capability in a consistent and systematic way may well be a motivational factor for the employee.
The Benefit for the Manager
“…improved performance may have immediate beneficial financial consequences for the individual...”
A manager who engages in coaching members of their team is likely to benefit in three ways. Firstly, there may be the personal satisfaction that comes from realisation that they are able to directly influence their capability. Secondly, the interaction provides a personal development opportunity for the manager. Thirdly, if the individuals achieve more, the team will undoubtedly achieve more, and the manager is well on the way towards meeting their work objectives.
The Benefit for the Organisation
The organisation gains an employee who becomes more capable in their role more quickly. Employer surveys suggest that the average time for a person newly appointed to a role to get up to speed is around eight months. Anything that reduces that time and makes the individual more competent earlier is likely to have a direct financial benefit for the employer. It needn’t stop there of course. Increasing effectiveness in the role should continue to provide the organisation with further benefit.
Additionally, from the employer’s point of view the coaching intervention is also cost effective. Both the manager and the individual are in the position where they meet each other regularly. Coaching can take place, without the need for time off the job, and it can take place exactly when the individual requires it.
Finally, coaching of their teams by the manager is an excellent way to ensure that the organisation’s accumulated knowledge and experience is passed from one generation to another.
Manager as Coach – Do you have what it takes?
We have established that the manager as coach is a concept that can be applied cost effectively by any line manager in any workplace situation to help them to develop the effectiveness of their team members.
To find out whether you have what it takes to work in this way with your team, why not download our self assessment questionnaire now.
If you think that you would like some help to introduce the concept in your workplace please contact us and ask us about our manager as coach training.