In today’s world it’s not enough to just tell employees what to do and expect them to do it to your standards. The ol’, “…because I’m the boss and I said so!” doesn’t fly with Millennial and Gen Z populations. They need to know why they are doing something, how it affects others, and that you are right there beside them for feedback and support. These generations (as well as others) thrive and are loyal to leaders that adopt a coaching style.
A coaching-leadership style is one that encourages and supports employees to continuously develop and improve their performance. To do this, it requires a dynamic relationship between the leader and employee. This is done by providing and receiving feedback, asking questions, and conducting motivating conversations. A good coach encourages the learning process of employees and promotes responsibility and independence. A coach helps ensure that the employees continue to work autonomously and independently without removing the initiative from them. A good coaching leader allows employees to perform their work independently, but still makes them feel supported. The independent aspect in coaching makes this leadership style ideal for the home-services industry where most employees work unsupervised. Here are some tips to help you develop a coaching-leadership style.
1. Create a Safe Environment. Part of being a coach is being able to have 2-way, open, honest conversations with your employees. A safe environment is one where individuals are heard, experience is valued, and opinions are respected. Your employees should feel safe enough to discuss various privacy-related situations, such as financial problems, relationship problems, or health problems. You need to know what’s going on inside and outside of your employees’ work-life so you can better help them succeed.
2. Show Empathy. A leader who does not have the ability to empathize will never be a coach. Empathy is about connecting with others without judgment or personal agenda. By growing this skill, you can make difficult or even unpopular decisions that your team will support because they trust your ability to lead for the common good.
3. Encourage Creativity. Too often, leaders approach interactions from a problem-solving mindset. Even if you have a solution in mind, try posing the problem to your team. Use open-ended questions to get the discussion started, encourage creativity, and don’t cause mental constraints. A simple question like, “If there were no constraints and anything was possible, how would you handle this situation,”can open many new ways of solving a problem. By opening a problem up to your team, you may find a better solution, and you will also gain their trust and get more buy-in, regardless of the solution you choose.
4. Set a Clear Vision. For any employee to succeed, they need to know where they are going. Your job as a coach is to ensure that your employees know and understand the vision, what role they play, how to achieve it, and that you are there supporting every step of the way. Telling your employees that they need to maintain a certain average ticket is not enough, you need to tie it to the bigger picture.
5. Give Frequent Feedback. Coaches give frequent feedback to their teams. Soon, Millennials and Gen Z will make up the largest generation of the workforce, and they want regular feedback at work. More positive and constructive feedback for all creates a culture of openness. Feedback allows employees to know where they stand, keep better track of their productivity and feel more empowered to succeed.
6. Recognize Strengths. A great leader and coach will help their people find their strengths and amplify them. The conventional way of leading, which tells us we must find and fix our weaknesses, is outdated and disengaging. Coaches must embrace and capitalize on the uniqueness and strengths of each of their team members to ensure that they not only succeed at work, but also succeed as leaders of their lives.
7. Listen. To be a coach, you can’t just give feedback, you have to be able to listen, too.Typically, the traditional boss sees themselves in a higher position and takes a tone that reinforces this perspective. A disciplinary tone makes the employee feel like a child, especially if reprimanded in front of other employees or customers. Use active listening to hear your employee out and understand the situation more thoroughly, communicating the employee’s perspective back to them in your own words. How you listen, what you say, how you say it, and when you say it impacts whether your message hits its target and whether you get the results you seek. Coaches who competently listen for both text and subtext respond with inclusive language. Using this approach, coaches can help improve employees’ performance and increase enjoyment at work through pace and tone.
8. Be Curious. One of the worst things a leader can do is become rigid or stagnant. You need to constantly be seeking new knowledge, experience, and viewpoints. Curiosity keeps judgment at bay and encourages creativity, consideration, and inclusion. We are born naturally curious and learn to suppress our curiosity in favor of efficiency.
9. Take Ownership. The ability to coach means the ability to know, apply, and teach effectively. It also means taking ownership of the results for yourself and others. In other words, if your employee does well—celebrate! If your employee doesn’t do well, other than just being lazy, examine what can you do better, more effectively, or differently. That way, you are always improving and growing.
Part of good leadership means seeing yourself as a coach, not as a dictator who sits by idly delivering commands. Owners, it’s time to lose the antiquated definitions of a boss. Employees don’t need a pat on the head once a year, nor do they need hand-holding every step of the way. Successful businesses achieve their goals through regular and effective feedback, communication, drive, and support.