Succession Planning - The Importance of Coaching

Goal setting and feedback are the two main components of coaching: They provide a concrete road-map on what employees are trying to achieve and how they can succeed. Goal setting allows the employees to know what direction they are working towards- it doesn’t matter which path they decide to take, the purpose is for them to look at the bigger picture and be creative on the way to reach the goal. At the same time, real-time and continuous feedback gives the employees an opportunity to improve and ask for support if needed. 

Coaching therefore allows employees to gain valuable skills and knowledge from their coach. Coaching also provides you with how the employee is performing; by following up with their progress, you may discover that they possess skills that you were not aware of. Coaching helps you identify the competencies of your team and you may then take the initiative to strengthen these skills by encouraging them to take advanced classes or/attend seminars.

A big part of being an effective leader at work is the ability to coach the people in your team. Most people in organizations give advice, solve problems and give instructions but they don’t actually coach.

As a coach it is important to tailor your coaching to the individual’s style. Understand that people learn in a variety of ways; hands on experience, visual learning or team projects. Keep in mind the individual’s level of experience as well.

Coaching takes time and patience. When you are busy with pressing matters, it’s tempting to take the easy way out by deferring concerns or questions. But that tactic may backfire. Employees begin to suspect that you don’t care and stop sharing valuable information that could prevent future problems.

Explore options with your employees. Help them explore possibilities and analyse problems so they can arrive at solutions. A great coach doesn’t just solve problems, but instead guides employees to develop their own abilities.

When employees are coached they feel supported and encouraged by their manager and their organization.  Coaching is a two way communication process. You provide feedback to your employees and they are able to use this opportunity to also give feedback. Employees are more likely to stay in the organization if they feel that their voice is being heard by you and by the senior management. 

By integrating coaching, you are encouraging your manager and yourself to be more present among your employees. Coaching also allows you to identify employees who fit with your succession planning.

For the next two weeks I will be spend more time explaining Coaching and how it works. Keep following..