Managers always have high expectations for the people they hire. But new team members don’t always fit right into the organization, perform their jobs without fault and obey directions without questioning them. We’re only human and that means that our performance at work is always subject to being affected by our physical and emotional makeup.
Some days are better than others and we don’t always perform at our optimum levels. But think about a champion athlete whose performance has to be at its peak regardless of any external factors. The date of a competitive event is outside their control and whether it’s a ‘good’ day or not they have to be at their best.
How can champions do their best at event after event, and can their abilities to do this be applied to the workplace as well as the sporting arena?
Become a coach to your team
The decision to try hard enough to win will always come from within the members of the team; it’s not something that can just be ordered. Every coach knows that the people they’re coaching can’t just be told to perform at optimum levels; they have to genuinely want to do their best.
This is why a manager’s coaching skills will make all the difference between just getting satisfactory performance and getting outstanding performance from their team.
To get the team you want you have to be a coach to the employees in your business. Only coaching will ensure that your people deliver optimum performance as individuals and as a team; this means that both you and your team share common goals and are working to achieve them.
Most coaches are ‘retired players’. They’ve had their time on the field and know what it feels like to compete and win. They know how to do the work and how to evaluate the performance of others doing it. But there’s a lot more to getting the team you want than simply having knowledge and evaluating its application.
Some managers think they can just change the title from "manager" to "coach" but that doesn't mean they possess the skills that are required to "coach" successfully. These are the basic talents required of all good coaches:
They know the outcomes they want to achieve
This is goal-setting at its most powerful. Coaches have clear expectations and can quantify the targeted performance levels. They know where they want to go and how to get there.
They communicate their goals to their team
Once they have identified the outcomes they are able to clearly communicate them to the people they’re coaching – the team. They gain both their understanding and acceptance.
They know the resources they need
Coaches know what it takes to accomplish all the tasks leading to the final goals. They can accurately assess the resources they have and can bring skills and performance levels up to whatever it takes to win.
They have a plan and implement it
When the goals have been defined and the team is in agreement, and after the resources have been brought up to the desired level, the coach creates a plan and then implements it. This is usually done for each member of the team, as well as having a plan for the entire team.
Outstanding coaches really get to know the people they coach. They know what motivates their team members and can spot a physical or emotional problem in time to fix it. This is part of being a good people manager – being aware when someone’s having an ‘off’ day and doing something about it.
This is also active management. You give your team directions and make your expectations clear to them so they know what they need to do. If their performance falters below what you expect (and what you know they can do if they try hard enough) you leap in and do whatever it takes to get them back on track.
Set an example for your team
The coach must set an example to the team. This isn’t the same as leading them – that’s the captain’s job. The coach doesn’t take the field with the team but rather prepares them for what happens during the game.
Too often money is seen as the most important motivational factor, but it’s no substitute for good coaching. More than money, your team members want success. You are the one that defines for them what ‘success’ is measured by. You are the one that gives them the tools and the encouragement to succeed.
Managers have to become role models for everyone in their business. They have to set the performance standards by their behavior so that their team members can mirror what they see. If a coach wants a hard-working team they have to be seen to be working hard themselves.
Your organization’s top performers will come to see you as a resource. Managers represent knowledge, experience and new ideas that can help them do their jobs. It’s not unusual for the top performers in any business to want their managers to become great coaches so they can tap into their attributes and achieve an even greater level of success.
If you want a team you can trust you need to be trustworthy yourself and give your team opportunities to demonstrate they can be trusted. In the bigger sense, if you want the business to be successful you need to be sure your team members want it to be successful as well, and then be sure they can share in that success when it arrives.
Coaching your team will help them improve their personal performance. If every team member is able to perform their duties in a very successful way, and is able to perceive their own degree of success, imagine the gains in productivity that will be the result.
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