How to Coach Employees to GROW

Effective managers know that leading a successful department requires far more than telling employees what is expected of them and then meeting with them for their annual performance reviews to discuss what was and was not achieved. This may sound obvious but, unfortunately, all too often managers get so wrapped-up in their own job performance that they neglect the development of their employees. The result is an underperforming department with a staff that doesn't have a clear understanding of the goals, let alone the skills and resources to achieve those goals.

Managers must consider coaching as a part of their job description. Coaching encourages open communication and responsibility. It benefits both organizations and their employees. When a company embraces coaching as part of its culture, the entire organization can learn new things more quickly and adapt to change more effectively. Employees become better, proactive learners. The connection between management and employees improves as both sides understand the ways in which they contribute to the success of the organization.

Considering the importance of coaching skills to improve employee performance, it's surprising that coaching is typically not part of most management training. An executive coach can help managers develop coaching skills in many effective ways, one of the most common being the GROW model first popularized by John Whitmore. GROW is an acronym for:

Goals:

As a manager, you must articulate the department's goals and values clearly and concisely. Employees must understand the context in which they work, so you should define goals that are specific, realistic, and measurable. Involving the employee in the outcome is essential, so ask questions like:

How do you understand the goals?

Can you identify intermediate steps along the way, including timeframes?

How will you know you solved the problem and achieved the goal?

Reality:

Before you can truly understand the problem and develop a solution, you must first consider the ways in which employees view the department, its goals, your role, and how they are expected to achieve key objectives. To do this, a current inventory of the department must be discussed to establish a starting point and what needs to be done. As a manager, coaching questions at this level may include:

What do you see happening in the department right now?

What, who, when, and how often makes sense to you?

What could the result be?

Options:

After the reality of your department is determined, the next step is to explore all of the options you have for solving the problem. Help your employees generate as many options as possible, but let them do most of the brainstorming. Facilitate the brainstorming session by asking:

What else could you do to help us meet our revenue goals?

What are the benefits and drawbacks of your options?

How will you personally weigh your options?

Will and Way Forward:

This final step gives you and your employees a plan of action. It also presents answers to obstacles to their progress and performance. If you have done the work to get employee buy-in to your goals, you will have established a way forward. Motivation will be easier and you can know whether employees are ready to take action by asking:

What will you do now?

What could stop you from pushing forward?

How will you overcome obstacles along the way?

How will this achieve your goal?

Becoming a better manager means learning how to coach your employees to get the very best out of them. Learn more about coaching employees by visiting http://www.ThinkBlueThinking.com or calling 619.550.8052.