leadership coaching

Employees Today want a Coach not a Manager

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I am helping a client recruit a new employee and while going through some resumes found one person who seemed to fit the job well regarding experience, knowledge and skills.


I arranged a phone interview and discovered that the person wanted to change jobs because they felt they were not being developed and that the boss was micromanaging them.


The job market is very competitive for good talent and as an employer you need to do everything you can to retain your staff, especially good performers.  You need to provide more than a dental or medical plan but also career growth opportunities, training and good leadership.


The Right Leadership Style

Good leadership today means a style of leadership that uses coaching more often than managing or supervising.  You still need to manage performance, but you do it differently.  Rather than checking up on the person you set goals and objectives with them and coach them on reaching their targets.


This is done much easier with experienced employees because they know the job well and can see what can be improved. As a coach your job is to make sure that the goals they set are aligned with the team, department and organization and include a personal development goal.


Support Commitments by the Leader

It is also important that as a leader you commit to specific support initiatives so that they are not blocked in doing their job and achieving their goals. For example, an employee goal could be to reduce errors by paying more attention to detail on certain tasks, but they are also forced to answer customer calls while they are working. Perhaps the support required is to transfer the task of taking calls to another employee, at least for part of the day.


Set Coaching Review Sessions

Once you have agreed on the performance commitment goals with the employee, you then set review coaching sessions. There are more like discussions on how well the employee is doing and to help them overcome obstacles. It is also an opportunity to discuss your support commitments and set new action steps if required.


You can use my goal planning worksheet to set goals with employees and the win-win agreement process and form to put agreements in writing.


deal effectively with employee complaints

How to Deal Effectively with Employee Complaints

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It is important to deal effectively with employee complaints otherwise you can make matters worse and cause the employee to feel even more discouragement or anger.


If an employee comes to you with a complaint it could be a sign that they feel comfortable with you to bring you their grievance. Otherwise they might just start spreading negativity amongst the other employees. This gives you a chance to deal with the complaint and avoid any negative consequences.


In most cases the employee is upset with someone or something and at first, they just need to air out their feelings. As a leader you need to give them the space to do that and just hear them out without judgement. Just acknowledge that they are upset, and you are there to listen and provide support to work things out.


Many leaders and managers like to take charge of people and situations and are good at solving problems and telling people what to do. So, it would be easy to do just that when an employee comes with a complaint. But in most cases, this is not what the employee wants. They just need to be listened to and feel understood.


Once you respond with listening and understanding you can then move into problem solving mode and deal with the complaint. If you start telling them what to do right away, they may think you are not taking them seriously and don’t care about how they feel. This can cause further stress and be demotivating.


You may feel that the complaint is groundless, and the employee is being irrational and that may be the case. But you still need to let the person voice their complaint and how they feel without judging them or telling them their wrong. Listen, show you understand and then give your perspective.


Of course, if the employee is just being manipulative or revengeful this might constitute a more direct response as you do not want to encourage that behaviour. I have other articles and videos on active listening and employee confrontation that you can consult for more in depth explanations.


goal setting

Try This Brain Hack Researches Say Will Improve Action on Your Goals

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When you set a goal for change or improvement you intend to act on it but don’t always succeed. In my last article and video achieving your New Year goal or resolutions I talked about using mutual coaching to stay accountable to your commitment.


From that someone sent me a link to an article about a brain hack or technique that is being studied at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute with promising results.


The researchers suggested using the if/then technique to trigger a jolt in the brain at an appropriate time.


Suppose your goal is to eat healthier foods for reducing weight and that means less fat and sugar. You are at a family get together and are offered a second piece of cake that you would normally gladly accept. Using the if/then technique you would say to yourself “if I eat that cake, then I’ll gain back the few pounds I just loss and feel bad about myself”.


This could also work for a behaviour change in leadership such as giving less negative feedback and more positive. You could say “If I tell that person how they performed badly then they will feel de-motivated and may eventually want to leave”. Or “if I tell that person how well they performed that task, then they will be happy with themselves and feel appreciated.”


Combining this technique with my suggestion to write down your goals and use mutual coaching will give you fantastic tools to hack your brain and act on your goals.


The one thing the researches point out is that the technique only works if you are motivated by the goal. That is why in my goal planning form there is a section for writing down the benefits of achieving the goal. You need to come up with at least five benefits for the goal to be considered motivating enough.Download my free goal planning worksheet or follow my goals training on Eloquens.  This course is on sale until January 31, 2020 for half-price with coupon SETGOALS2020 


goal setting
new year’s resolution

Turn your New Year’s Resolution into a Powerful Life Changing Goal

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Last weekend I went to a Christmas party with my partner for the personal training center where she exercises in a group. The man sitting across from me told me that prior to this small workout group he had joined a local gym that was offering a 50% year-end discount. He had good intentions but never stepped foot in the gym. Instead he opted for the small group sessions with a coach who personalized the workout to suit his abilities.


This reminded me of how each year many of us set a New Year’s resolution to change something in our lives. These good intentions are easily forgotten and put aside. Change is hard and uncomfortable and it’s easier to do nothing.


Power of Coaching

The story of the man with the gym experience made me think of how important holding ourselves accountable is and how a coach can help us achieve our goals.


My experience this past year confirmed the importance of having a coach. I had set a goal to publish an online training course, but I had been procrastinating most of the year. I had started but my progress was stagnated.


Then I asked my contact with the publisher to coach me and hold me accountable. She did a great job and so far, I have published three courses rather than just the one I had planned.


Mutual Coaching

I suggest finding a friend who wants to achieve a New Year resolution or goal for the coming year and make an agreement to coach each other. I have an article and video on mutual coaching that you can consult to learn a few coaching skills. It’s simple, but the hard part is sticking to it.


Goal Planning

I recommend planning a date to meet and write down your goals using my goal planning worksheet and tutorial. Coach each other on writing the goal and give mutual critique until you get it right.


Next, before you leave the meeting set a date for your next get together to review progress and adjust.


If you follow my tutorials on coaching and goal planning and use the goal planning worksheet you are sure to turn your New Year’s resolution into something tangible and life changing.