From my experience, as an organizational psychologist, I have learned and emphasize the following:
To manage is to coach.
To coach is to lead.
Great leaders are first and foremost great coaches.
This view point of leadership is well illustrated in Gary Magenta’s great new book “The Un-Bossy Boss”. Gary, who is the Vice President at Root Learning, will be our guest speaker at this Fridays Leaders Connect. He is featured this month in Entrepreneur Magazine, and has this to say on great managers:
“Not all managers are cut from the same cloth, but the best ones have the ability to coach their employees to contribute meaningfully to the business and achieve personal satisfaction. Unfortunately, too many managers fail on both accounts, often because they haven’t received proper training themselves.
Learning how to unleash the potential of individual employees and teams is what separates the middle-of-the pack managers from the great ones. Being a great manager requires strong desire, intuition, coaching skills, dedication and — above all else — the ability to restrain from telling employees what to do and instead asking what I call “powerful questions.”
Here are Gary’s tips on what makes a powerful question:
- Open-ended: They cannot be answered in a single word, but rather elicit thoughtful responses.
- Non-judgmental: They aren’t leading, and they don’t encompass your personal views.
- Provocative: They challenge thinking and probe for thoughts employees may not have even known existed.
- Respectful: They consider your workers’ feelings and emotions in order to obtain honesty.
- It’s important to remember that a successful employee coaching conversation also requires a genuine interest in the employee. This can’t be faked. If managers aren’t interested in the growth and development of others, then they are likely going to be stuck with mediocre results.
I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Please feel free to share them in the comments section below.
If you would like to attend this Friday’s Leaders Connect with Gary, please register HERE.