A great leader or business owner not only knows how to run his company, but he is also a great motivator and coach to his employees. Think about it – your business is only as good as the contribution made by your employees and you are only as good as the value you can get from your employees. That is why coaching and motivating your employees to bring out the maximum potential from them is one of the most important jobs of any leader.
The problem is not every leader is a born coach. There are those who are natural at bringing out the best from others and there are others who make employees run away from them. With little help and determination it is possible for a leader to improve his coaching skills. All you need is to put yourself in your employees’ shoes. Below are 3 important steps you need to take to be a better coach.
- Understand Employees’ Needs
- Fulfill Individual Needs
- Build a Culture of Coaching
This is one of the first steps you need to take to be able to coach properly. Different employees have different motivations for working for you. Some employees are perfectly content in their jobs. They want nothing more than to show up for work, do their assigned tasks, and go home. Others want to move up in the ranks, expand their skill set, and become more proficient at other jobs outside of their reach.
Every employee is different, so you really have to talk to them to understand what it is they want from the jobs. The mistake many leaders make is to assume that they can meet every employee’s need with a single plan. It doesn’t work that way.
Once you understand the needs of individual employees you need to come up with a plan to meet those needs. Obviously, you cannot build benefit plan for each individual employee, but you can find ways to tailor your plans and compensation in several tires such that they fit the needs of most employees. After that it becomes a self-selection process. The employees will find plans that meet their needs and feel like you have listen to and understood their needs.
If you are leading a large group of employees your task as a supreme leader is to ensure that everyone working for you gets on board with this and understands and works to meet the needs of the employees they are leading. This is the mark of a good coach. Not only is he able to lead himself, but also help others be better at coaching.
Great coaches and leaders are good at building a culture where learning and coaching is ingrained within the company. They meet their employees on a regular basis to ensure they feel satisfied and motivated. They make it a point to meet them in group settings as well as on an individual basis. This gives your employees opportunity to tell what is working (and not), what are their challenges and how company can help them be the best, which in turn will help your company. Having a culture of coaching where every leader and employee is eager to help others for the greater good of the company is the best outcome any leader can hope for.
As their leader employees are looking up to you to provide them guidance and coaching. By following these steps you can learn to be a better coach and get the most out of your employees.
Andrew King is a trainer at a large firm. He loves to share his best tips for training employees by writing on small business blogs. He recommends you to visit this link for some great business coaching.
