Be a coach

As a manager or owner, it’s important that you coach your team to success. Coaches may take different approaches to assembling, motivating, and running a team, but they also share certain habits. They have the ability to create a strategy and set short and long term goals and energize the team to strive to accomplish them. Coaches assess, communicate with, and recognize their employees. A successful coach can be the edge a winning team needs and the difference between winning and losing – whether in sports or in business. To infuse winning ways in your team, put on your coach’s hat, and fire up your team to help each person make the most of his or her skills.

A good coach has a solid game plan – one that has been well thought out and detailed, but not so rigid that it’s never altered to meet unexpected problems and changes inthe marketplace. The competition is always shifting, and – to a degree – your plan should track the shifts. As coach of your team, it’s vital that you share with your employees your vision for your business and your action plan. Be sure everyone understands the goal and help your team remain focused on it.

Assess the strengths of each of your employees, and give them roles they can accomplish and which also provide individual growth. Consider each employee’s demonstrated and transferable skills as well as skills requiring improvement. Don’t discount an employee’s enthusiasm and willingness to take on a new challenge. Also learn the individual goals of each employee. The more you know about your employees, the better you will be able to fit them into your game plan.

Providing employees with proper training to learn new skills and improve their abilities is important. For entry-level employees, that may mean showing them how you want them to perform critical tasks. For management, focus on expected results and negotiable and non-negotiable actions. Cross-training employees for various roles can be a win-win: a well-rounded employee becomes
more of an asset to your business, and new experiences allow an experienced employee to stretch her comfort level, cultivate new proficiencies, and feel better about her work.

Managers are often so focused on catching the negative that they forget to reinforce the positive. As coach of your team, it is important that you recognize achievements and efforts when an employee exhibits positive behaviors or performs a task well. This encourages those actions to continue in the future and provides a blueprint for further success.

Good coaches communicate well on a number of levels. Their expectations and directions are clear and tailored to each individual. They often alter their coaching style to get the best out of each employee. Their ability to individualize communications often fosters a greater rapport and understanding between coach and player. To begin to build that rapport, provide immediate feedback regarding problems or successes, pass along your knowledge where appropriate, and solicit ideas and opinions. Be sincere in your actions and encouraging in your words.