A Good Coach = A Good Leader (page 2 of 2)
The principles to good coaching are straightforward and based on
common sense, says David. Some of the principles, for example,
advise readers to: "build trust and respect, not popularity," "tell
your team what you expect," "be a reflective thinker," "listen to
the data your team members give you," and "never say 'If I were
you...'." David admits that the advice in his book is not new or
revolutionary, but that doesn't mean managers are following it.
"Take, for example, Principle #19: 'understand that people do
things for their reasons and not yours,' " David says. "I would
have to say that more than 90% of managers don't answer that
question because they don't know what makes their people tick."
David blames this condition in part on downsizing and how it
increases the workload of the remaining employees.
"What's happening now more that ever is that people are running so
fast that they're standing still," David notes. "When middle
management is gutted out, organizations are looking to part-timers
to run the show and be creative. Where's it all supposed to come
from?"
With each principle, a brief example of how it could be applied is
presented. David, who has been keeping records since he was in his
early 20s, said the examples came from those early observations and
from experiences with his clients.
The book focuses on keeping the lines of communication open and
instructing managers to listen to their employees' opinions. Advice
that many agree with, but are reluctant to follow, possibly because
they feel it would undermine their authority.
"They're reluctant to be this personable with the employees," David
explains.
Until they have to be. One client David worked with listened to his
advice, but continued working in his usual autocratic,
authoritative manner once David was out of earshot.
It wasn't until the client's boss threatened to fire him unless he
changed that the client began to listen to David in earnest.
"No one will change until they are willing," David explains. "What
I've learned is that people can be helped and people can accelerate
to get there. That's what most coaches don't understand." |
