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The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.

February - 2010 - issue > People Manager

First Line Managers as First Rate Coaches!

C. Mahalingam
Monday, February 8, 2010
C. Mahalingam
I have written on the theme of managers’ role as coaches to become valuable to their organizations. The argument essentially centered on a couple of key points. Firstly, I argued that to be a coach is part of every manager’s responsibility and not an add-up or add-on. Secondly, coaching happens whenever the manager comes across a coachable moments in performance of his daily duties. Direct reports can be helped with the benefit of coaching as the manager observes an opportunity to feedback on how a certain task could be done better and more effectively. Thirdly, coaching is a mindset as much as it is a skill & competence. Companies build their brand image as brand developers when managers across organizational levels recognize their responsibility for coaching and deliver their coaching to their people on an on-going basis. The best complement a manager can earn is when their juniors say that working with a particular manager was tremendously value-adding.

There are many models and frameworks around how managers can do coaching effectively. In face, coaching for success has become one of the most thriving businesses of the decade. While the focus of many of these more pronounced efforts is on executive coaching (helping successful managers become even more successful by working on their de-raliers or interpersonal flaws), we are focused on helping first line managers deliver coaching to their direct reports so that their juniors become more focused, more effective and productive.

A simple framework to guide managers in Coaching:
I would like to offer a fairly simple framework which the first line manager can use for coaching their juniors. Following these steps does not call for any expensive investment, but just investment of time in trying out and mastering the steps over time.

Step 1 involves a deeper understanding of the background of the juniors. It is about knowing the educational, scholastic and experience background the employees at a fairly deeper level. Most of the first line managers have probably had an opportunity to select their team members or reviewed their backgrounds through a brief introduction. This is not enough. Recognizing that coaching is a very personalized process and individual team members need different approaches to relate to is important. First principle of coaching is: “if you want to teach Johnny mathematics, it is not enough you know mathematics; you need to know Johnny as well”

Step 2 involves assessing the learning styles of the individual team member: Each of us differ in our learning styles. Some of us learn by reading, some others by doing and still others by listening and reflecting. This is nothing new to us if we have been observant at our own homes. Some children are on their own reading up story books. It is enough if you buy them the books of their interest. But some kids need their grandma or grandpa to read out and explain the story books. They learn the enjoy the story being narrated to them and internalize the moral of the story. History is replete with examples of how many great people differed in their learning styles. Beethoven, the great composer of all times, was known for his profuse writing of his compositions. Once he wrote them up, he never needed to go back and refer to them, but it was his approach to mastery. President Eisenhower was a reader and not a listener. However, his predecessors, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman were both listeners. This is so true of ordinary people like you and me as well. Not knowing what works as a learning style will take the effect out of the coaching process.

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