When asked about coaching employees, most bosses will claim a) they don’t have time to coach employees because they’ve got a million other things to do or b) they’ve tried coaching and employees ignore them.
The problem is that while managers may believe these statements to be accurate, they’re not actually true.
While a Corporate Executive Board study finds that the average manager has at least 12 direct reports (compared to only seven before the Great Recession), these managers still can find time to coach because it only takes five to 10 minutes a day, says Michael Bungay Stanier.
As for the second assertion about employees who ignore managers attempting to coach them? Well, that’s simply because managers are often terrible coaches, says Bungay Stanier, the senior partner and founder of Box of Crayons.
“The reason more managers don’t embrace coaching is because from our earliest school days, we are rewarded for having the right answer,” Bungay Stanier says. “So managers think they have to always give the answers.”
The problem is that when managers provide all the answers, then employees have little incentive to think deeper or more creatively to find their own solutions. “It actually feels good to give advice, which is why bosses like to do it,” he says. “They will do it even if it’s the wrong advice or the other person isn’t listening.”
This creates even more dependence on the manager, which leads to bosses feeling even more overwhelmed and disconnected from the bigger picture of what a company is trying to accomplish, he says.
What is more difficult for managers to embrace – but critical to good coaching – is to ask more questions. “It’s tough because it’s more ambiguous and the boss feels like he’s giving up control,” says Bungay Stanier, author of “The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More and Change the Way You Lead Forever.”
“The boss may be worried he’s going to get a crazy answer when he asks a question, or maybe (read more here)
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