Playing to Win: Why Coaching Should Be in Your Game Plan

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As we begin to coach our employees, I have learned that there are some key ingredients to the goal-setting process that we must understand at the outset:

• There must be specific goals to work on with the employee. This is not a place for generalities or vagueness.
• The goals must be measurable. The employees we coach must be able to quantify their progress or lack thereof.
• What we decide to work on with the employee must consist of realistic targets.

Mastering Our Emotional Intelligence

As a leader and coach, we continually work hard at developing strong, productive relationships with employees. Our ultimate goal is to move them toward enhanced performance. Along the way, we may encounter employees who are not ready for coaching, who respond quite negatively to the coaching, who regard the process as a waste of time, and so on. In these situations, establishing and maintaining control is essential. We must be prepared and willing to offer these resistant employees the individualized attention they require at this time. It is critical to gain their trust in order for them to feel confident that the effort is focused on their development and improvement—that the end result will be a win-win for them and the business.

At the same time, it is critical that we remain in tune with our emotional intelligence (EI). As executives, we are expected to make important, time-sensitive decisions and lead our team appropriately when action must be taken. Whether we have all of the input we need or want, business must go on. Delaying critical decision making invites “paralysis by analysis.” In the end, we are expected to deliver on our responsibilities and move our teams and the business forward. Truly effective leaders have mastered their EI—an essential, core quality of a successful coach.

Let’s delve deeper into the concept of emotional intelligence and the individual elements of EI:

1. Social skill element: This quality allows you to establish and foster a common ground with others and develop strong relationships—a necessary quality for those leading and coaching productive teams.
2. Self-awareness and regulation element: This element is related to our ability to understand how we affect others and how we can manage ourselves effectively so we think before we speak or act. Being self-aware and having complete control over our own actions is essential to being a leader and coach.
3. Motivation element: This aspect means maintaining a positive attitude to help drive our resolve to achieve. At the same time, we can use this quality to explore with others how they best can be driven to succeed.
4. Empathy element: It is important to establish sensitivity to what makes people tick and to be able to respond appropriately. This quality drives our reaction to the needs of others and your interactions with them. Another essential element to effective and successful coaching? Of course!

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