Remote NOT Removed

Coaching is a great way to build trust and enhance performance.  When it’s done well, Managers get to enjoy watching team members grow and succeed. 

Good coaching is based on meaningful conversations that highlight strengths and areas for improvement, which can be a challenge in person and even more so for remote teams.

When you work in the office, you have plenty of opportunities to connect, here’s how to connect from a distance.

Make time to establish some common ground.

Learn not just what they do in the office but where they choose to spend the rest of their time. Doing this helps you understand what they are working on in their day-to-day, which builds rapport and trust. 

If you saw them in the office, you’d see them rush out on Wednesdays at 4pm for their son's soccer game, when they work remotely you need to ask. 

Including time for the personal conversation may feel awkward or forced, especially if your style is D or C, and if you have added it to a list. But keep at it.  The more you practice, the easier it gets and when you experience a more successful coaching conversation, it will all be worthwhile. 

For more tips on remote coaching...Click here 

Say What?

Listening, really listening, is harder than reacting.  Reacting comes naturally because, um, it’s a reaction.  Your team needs you to listen, so here’s some tips on how to do that.

Ditch the distractions – yes, I mean you need to turn away from the computer and hide the cell phone but also try not planning your rebuttal.  Use your ninja-like focus to tune into the words the other person is saying.

Repeat after me…  Well, after them.  Repeat back to them what they told you.  The art of paraphrasing forces you to listen so you get it right.

Ask a question about what they just told you.  Asking gives you more information and gives the listener the feeling that you care.  

Oh ya, and watch your tone on that one. “What were you thinking?“ can sound inquisitive or patronizing.  Choose the former.

Misguided Measures

I'm often asked how to motivate a team and whether sharing the team's results will inspire a little healthy competition, and in turn yield greater results.  

Research says "no!"  Sharing individual results with the individual works best. 

"Most people optimistically assume that they are about average...and when they are measured against one another will inevitably rank as average or below average. For these people, seeing their rank is demoralizing, causing their performance to wilt." 

Curious?  Read on... New York Times, At Work, Misguided Measures, July 12, 2015

Hold people accountable to their specific goals and let them know you notice their struggles and their successes.

Those Tricky Sticklers...

Do you have a perfectionist on your team?  Managing a perfectionist can be tough because they expect so much of themselves - you might think it’s easier to stay out of their way.  But don’t pass up the opportunity to help these sticklers - especially if you are trying to help them adapt to change.

1.  Set clear expectations.  Leave expectations up to them and they may be far too hard on themselves.  Let them know up front what the most important thing is and be very specific.

2.  Set frequent checkpoints.  Left to their own devices, perfectionists will wait until the task is complete, checked and double-checked.  Instead, have them share progress along the way so that you can collaborate and build their confidence in results.

Specific Goals

We often have great intentions, but lack a little something in our follow-through. Consider this...

Think about something you wanted to do: go to the gym, clean the garage, write a thank you note, but didn’t do.  Why not?  Chances are, your powers of rationalization were so strong you talked yourself out of doing it.  “I’m too tired", "the garage isn’t really that bad", or "it can get done tomorrow.”

The way around this is to make your goal specific, more like:  I will put my shoes by the door and go to the gym at 6am. I will clean the left side wall of the garage on Saturday at 2pm.

Having the specifics makes it more concrete and harder for your brain to argue.

Now, apply this thinking to your team.  Give them specific outcomes so they can argue better with their brains too!

PS - If you're north of the border, your specific goal for today should be: fireworks, food and fun! Happy Canada Day! 

Employees taking pride in their work

When employees are proud of their work, they put extra effort into their actions.  A good way to encourage this is by posting positive results in large print on a wall in the office, or perhaps a graph showing success stories, or even write on the wall above the employee entrance a powerful, positive phrase.

At Walt Disney World, the sign says, "Smile you are going on stage"

At Fairmont Hotels: "Here walk the greatest employees on earth"

At Ritz-Carlton: "Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen"

... and at my old kickboxing gym, the sign read: "Kick Butt!"

Don't waste the white space - fill it with pride envoking words!

We All Learn Differently...

When was the last time you learned how to do something new?

·      Was it how to play an instrument?
·      To drive to a new location?
·      Or perhaps, how to use a new piece of software?

How did you learn to do that?  Watching someone else, listening to give directions, reading the manual or jumping in and trying it?

Everyone learns differently – assuming that each of your team members learns the same way as you is not the best plan of action.  (You know what they say about ass-u-me-ing!)

This week, ask your coachee how they like to learn and see if you can adapt your coaching style to theirs.