Transforming Manager as Manager Coach

I am quite confident that by the time I finish writing this blog article, there will be new insights for myself and perhaps some readers too. These insights well could well confirm my doubt or perhaps give me some hope and answer on what it takes to transform managers of today to be manager -coaches. I believe it is awareness and understanding.

There seems to be an inherent contradiction between these two. Managing and coaching are two different activities. One is about directing & other has to be about teaching. Managing is all about telling, directing, authority, immediate needs, and a specific outcome. Coaching involves exploring, facilitating, partnership, long-term improvement, and many possible outcomes.

The manager focuses primarily on strategy and managing the flow of the work. He decides who does what.  He allocates the work based on role & competencies. Manager goes about providing resources and ensuring outcomes.

 How many times have we heard a Manager almost shouting on phone to his sales guy on 25^th of the month “I don’t know how you do it, but I want you to achieve your target by end of month” . The poor sales guy has no idea how to do it but is shut up by his manager who is not willing to understand that probably this person needs new ideas to get the numbers.

In my experience with Managers at senior level, I have often heard that coaching team members is time intensive while we grapple with issues and challenges that have to be resolved on yesterday basis. The Tyranny of Urgent. This explains their prescriptive style of management. Managers start believing that there job is to provide answer. In all situations & all the time. I am reminded of a senior manager who even shared that as soon as his subordinate starts speaking, he is already giving him back instructions on what is to be done. To be fair, he wanted to change this. I wish everyone sees this as a problem first for themselves. This problem of not coaching the team members in creates bigger and long term problems for Managers

A Manager Coach normally coaches his team members in situations. It is an approach where he chooses the situation based on its criticality and developmental opportunity for his team members in that aspect. He would discuss & encourage the role holders to think differently and plan action, but they are then free to implement those (using their skills and knowledge) as they see fit. During the situation, he offers encouragement, support, and suggestions. And he suggests on how to react to many possible outcomes depending on what the other team does.

In business, we have to be both coaches and managers. To lead effectively, we need to know when to wear which hat.Managing involves a more directive, task-oriented style that should only be used under certain conditions. It usually produces the best results in a crisis situation, when someone has never done the task before, or when they have little or no confidence in their ability to get it done.

Coaching works best for developmental purposes, especially when you have a team of competent professionals already performing at a reasonably high level. Once you define winning for your organization, team members may need your guidance and support. But in most cases they shouldn’t need direction.

In today’s world though with pressures on goals & outcomes most of the managers tend to stay in the Manager mode over a prolonged period, which almost becomes their style of management. Prescriptive. Directing.Task Oriented. This impacts the team members who just seem to understand their role as just executing the directions of Manager. If and when sparingly they adopt coaching style to lead & develop team members there tends to be certain degree of surprise for team. They almost don’t believe him. Perhaps it is too late for them to react, as they are already hardwired with predominant way of Manager to direct and be prescriptive.

To be a Manager- Coach, knowing when to direct, delegate or develop is critical to managerial effectiveness. Determining which style is appropriate based on the task at hand rather than the individual. Often, people will need a combination of styles depending on the complexity of the task assigned, their experience with the task, and the competency levels required to complete it with excellence. This critical understanding is crucial when we teach our Managers to be coaches. Initially they tend to believe it will slow down their capability to achieve outcomes. They have to be explained that combination of these two styles will work better overall. They must be asked to review and consider situations ( and not individuals) when they can adopt a coaching style.

Here are some of my thoughts for managers who are keen to consider:

Direct when the employee has low to moderate competence with the skills and abilities needed to complete the task. Be sure to define excellence (what, how and when), and provide specifics (templates, examples, etc.) so the person can achieve the desired outcome. Direct when a person:

·         Is new in a role

·         Is new to the company

·         Is new to the client/customer

·         Has new job responsibilities or tasks

·         Has new ways of working

Delegate when the employee has moderate to high competence. Again, define excellence so both sides have clarity around the goal. Then let the employee determine the approach they will take and keep you informed as to their progress. Ask questions and provide direction and specific support when necessary. Delegate when a person has:

·         Some experience in the role

·         A track record or competence

·         A sensitive task or client

·         Confidence in their abilities

·         Similar ways of working

Develop when the employee has high competence and high commitment to the task. Then define excellence and get out of the way! Give plenty of recognition for successful completion of the task. Then determine the person’s next challenge. Develop when the person:

·         Has extensive experience

·         Has demonstrated evidence of competency

·         Has experienced similar clients or task sensitivities

·         Is growing new competences

·         Is trying new approaches

Sometimes we have to coach and sometimes we have to manage. The more we coach, the less we will manage. We grow people. We grow ourselves.