5 Essential Coaching Skills for Leaders and Managers to Increase Staff Performance.

"A manager is a title, it does not guarantee success. Coaching is an action, not a title and actions will result in

successes!" - Catherine Pulsifer 

Coaching is now becoming a form of management due to its effectiveness. We will briefly explore 5 of these essential skills which include: listening and acknowledging; validating, reframing, clarifying, actioning and accountability

1. Listening and acknowledging: When we acknowledge what someone else has said, we let them know we have really listened and care about what they are saying. This is a critical skill in building the relationship. Often all a person needs is to feel ‘heard’ which will boost their productivity.

2. Validating: Often people can feel guilty for experiencing a certain emotion or feeling. Validation is letting them know that they have the right to feel the way they do. This makes the person you’re managing feel ‘normal’ which will boost their self-esteem and productivity. For example, ‘It is understandable that you feel that way because….’

3. Reframing: Coaching your staff member to see things differently by ‘framing’ them in a new way, for example seeing the positives instead of the negatives. For example, ‘I understand that you see the situation as XYZ. What’s another way of looking at the situation?’

4. Clarifying and Exploring: The purpose here is to help your employee clarify what the issue is and explore possible solutions. Clarifying comes through asking the right questions. For example: ‘What are the critical issues here we need to clarify? What are the key factors here causing this issue? What can we do to solve this issue?

5. Actioning and Accountability: Finishing each meeting with clear actions and responsibilities is critical. Accountability is core to effective performance management. The coach must record the specific actions with due dates and ensure that the client has followed up within the next meeting. It is important that the client knows that the coach will hold the client accountable.

Challenge: Try these 5 skills in your next meeting and see what happens.