5 keys to improving your employee coaching skills

Better developed coaching skills will help you to have higher performances, and higher overall satisfaction when it comes to your staff. The following are 5 keys to improving your employee coaching skills:

1. Coach with compassion: even if you pride yourself in saying it as it is, if you are not careful, you could seriously damage the morale of employees. So, when you are feeling the need to give some constructive feedback, be sure that while you say it straight, you also consider the following: Does the situation really warrant giving harsh feedback? Or is the behavior you are planning to reprimand only a mild irritant? Once you have determined the answer to this ask yourself, Is your attitude punishment or problem solving oriented? Answering these questions can go a long way towards positive coaching. The attitude in which you deliver your coaching, and the message you send with your tone, body language, and feelings is just as important as the words themselves.

2. Motivate through high expectations: Many of your employees may feel that they don't know what is expected of them, at least not clearly, thus they continue to disappoint you, and they may not even be realizing it. One of the primary responsibilities of managers, especially when it comes to your employee coaching skills, is communicating the organization's vision, mission and goals to With out a clear expectation, and idea of where they are, and where you want the company to go,productivity decreases and organizational tension is elevated. So, to improve your employee coaching skills, seek to motivate your team with clear and consistent communication of expectations. If you can do this, it results in employees who feel connected to a purpose larger than themselves, they work harder, and your job is easier. Also, once these basic communication steps are in place then coaching becomes much easier for managers and employees alike, so work to be more clear, and make sure each employee understands exactly what you expect of them.

3. Recognize differences: one of the best ways to improve your employee coaching skills is to recognize that one size does not fit all. Employees learn in very different ways. And thus you need to cater your teaching to each employee's unique way of learning. Some learn best through hands-on practice, others through reading technical manuals or self-study and many by solving problems with a group of colleagues. So, when coaching, think of how this particular employee learns. Also, consider the level of experience each employee has. People you have had around for ever naturally need less coaching then a newbie. The less experienced people are going to need more attention. Coaching should not be done the same way for every employee, it should be tailored to each individual with their specific learning styles and backgrounds in mind.

4. Explore issues: as a manager, you will be asked questions, if you give the quick and easy solutions, your employees will never learn to problem solve for themselves, and this will mean that you will always have more work than you want. However, when asked a question, if you explore options to problems with an employee, it helps to teach critical thinking, consequences of actions, creativity and cost benefit analysis. So, especially with newer employees, do not give the quick and easy solution, rather coach, or guide them to find the answer for themselves.

5. Hold people accountable. If you fix their problems for them, or say "next time" and never follow through, you will have employees that take short cuts, and never improve their level of quality. So, improve your employee coaching skills by rating them, help your employees see where they are doing well, and where they could be doing better. Recognize, and encourage better behavior and higher quality of work.