This week I read an article by Jennifer Robinson, from Gallup. She reviews how employees want their managers to be coaches, not bosses, plus great managers have frequent, meaningful conversations with workers.
Here are 3 key ways:
Coaching is distinct from bossing, Gallup’s research shows:
1.Coaches focus on individual and team engagement, seeing their role as the provider of what employees need to succeed.
Bosses, on the other hand, usually just tell people what to do.
2. Coaches understand, leverage and get great satisfaction from deploying the unique talents and strengths of each employee. Great managers are always developing and positioning talent to maximize outcomes.
Bosses, by comparison, often just supervise production.
3.Coaches set clear expectations and performance goals, offering feedback that optimizes individual strengths (a rare practice, as only 26% of employees say the feedback they get helps them do better work) and increases team effectiveness.
Bosses, however, typically watch for opportunities to correct or punish employees whose performance doesn’t measure up.
Maybe more noticeable, the difference between great managers and less effective ones: The best managers talk to their employees and teams. A lot. But it’s not their word count that defines them — it’s what they say.
Big Hint / Idea from Alysia: ‘30 second Coaching for All Generations’
This ‘30 second coaching technique’ works like this: As you walk by a team member, tell them what they are doing well in 30 seconds, and then keep on walking. They will ‘chase’ after you and ask for more of your thoughts. It is a positive way to give positive feedback.
Here is what you can say for each of the generations in your workforce:
Traditionalists / Boomers – let them know they are still going in the right direction / they still have what it takes to be great in their expertise.
Generation X – give them your wisdom on ‘maneuvering’ business relationships
Millennials — need positive ‘course’ corrections as they go
Generation Z —need positive ‘course’ corrections as they go; may need to help them network in the old-fashioned way: in person.
Great managers know great performance comes from frequent, meaningful conversations with their workers. They can’t abide “management by remote control.” They know what to talk about because they know their people well.
So it’s a pity there are so few managers like that. Only about two in 10 managers intuitively understand how to engage employees, develop their strengths and set clear expectations through everyday conversations.
More on how to start coaching next time – Part 2 – ‘How Managers Can Learn to Coach’