Energize Your People. Energize Your Business.

Managers have relied heavily on the tell model throughout the Baby Boomer and Gen X periods. Telling someone what to do and when to do it by is relatively easy compared with the coaching model. If staff are generally compliant and willing to do what you want, the Tell model works well.

With Gen Y set to peak at 40% of the workforce by 2016, the Tell Model is not always going to cut it. Managers accountable for the productivity and performance of the under 30's staff must adopt a more flexible management style. This means letting go of 'the need to know' and welcoming in a little flow.

One company I am working with is getting nervous about the lack of under 30's staff volunteering to enter into management positions. They want interesting and varied projects rather than the stress and anxiety they see managers take on. Becoming a manager does not fit into their life/work balance approach to life. Are you experiencing the same thing in your organisation?

Coaching staff is actually not difficult; rather, its the dropping away of old habits and letting go of the need to control which proves to be more of a challenge. If managers and senior staff can see their way to changing the way they work with staff there are some substantial benefits to be gained. The basic premise behind the coaching model is to ask a question, then stop and listen. The questioning-listening cycle aims to establish:

• Where is the person now
• Where do they / we want to be in the future
• What will bridge them from where they are now to where they want to be in the future
• What blocks and barriers need to be removed to allow for any easy passage

The intention of the conversation is to create ownership of various responsibilities. If done properly and ownership is established, that person will reach a higher level of workplace engagement.

Modern managers need to be aware that during times of pressure, they will almost always speak and act from a place of unconscious competence. That is, they wont take the time to try on something new and unfamiliar, but rather speak and act based on what is most familiar and therefore most easily accessible.

Managers trying on the coaching model for the first time will be in a place of conscious incompetence. That is, they know that they don't know how its really done. So a manager needs to risk not getting it right, fumbling a bit in the dark and worst of all not looking competent. Given that most managers are looked up to as the people who know best, this aspect is the big gest hinderence to implementing coaching in the workplace. 

How many managers in your organisation are willing to risk not getting it right? Does your culture truly support managers trying on new behaviours with staff?

Staff productivity levels are directly related to the skill of the manager or supervisor to choose the most appropriate approach for each staff member in different work circumstances. This is often referred to as situational leadership (Hersey-Blanchard ). To achieve this, managers must adopt a flexible approach and go outside their comfort zone.

If we look at successful organisations, those with a predominance of highly engaged staff, we find four key attributes:

• The right mindset
• The right attitude
• A shared vision
• A strong and consistent culture

These key attributes can be found when a large proportion of the people in the organisation own their job and own the results they produce. Because coaching produces ownership, its a management style which makes these attributes possible.

All the best,

Michael Wynter
Managing Director
Logical Creativity