Why You Must Be a Good Coach

One of your most important roles and responsibilities is to coach your team. The talent in your team, to help them realize their potential, both as individuals and as a team as a whole. What I want to do with you now is share some of the latest research, best practices, and strategies on how to think about coaching your talent to help them realize that potential. But before we jump into those strategies, the research, the data behind it. I want you to first think about this question. Why do we coach? Why, as leaders, why is coaching so important? The questions I want you to think about.

What are the two or three reasons why you should coach as a leader in a team?

What are two or three reasons you do not coach as much you could today? Are there certain barriers or obstacles that are in the way of you coaching more with your team? Those obstacles or barriers could be personal to you. Could be the fear anxiety for example, of engaging in those coaching conversations. It could be barriers or obstacles related to your team members. The team as a whole, or maybe even your organization. But identifying what those barriers are is critically important. Then I want you to think about your favorite coach. The person in your life who has been your favorite coach.

And I want you to imagine or think about and reflect on the impact that this person has had on you in your life. Think deeply about how that person has had that impact, what they’ve done to support you. And ultimately how they’ve benefited or helped you as a person and, or as a professional. And then finally the question I often ask a lot of the people I work with is, as a leader of your team or even as a team member, can you really afford not to be an effective coach? We all know the old adage that we’re only as good as the people around us.

I’ve shown you very compelling evidence that your talent and your ability to coach and grow and develop that talent, drives results in business. Drives financial results, all the way down to customer satisfaction. All the way down to employee retention and satisfaction. And so ultimately the question is can you afford not to take the time and invest in being an effective coach. Before we go forward, I want you to entertain all four of these questions and really think deeply about. Why you should be coaching? Why you might not be coaching as much as you could? What the impact of coaches have been on your life? And then ultimately, can you really afford not to be an effective coach?

Think about those questions and then we’ll continue.