Coaching is a critical component towards building a great team. Really effective coaching will ensure everyone buys in to a shared goal and a synergised team will achieve more than a non-cohesive group of individuals ever will. Coaching is about unlocking people’s potential to maximise their performance.
The following brief overview should help you on your journey to coach your team to success...... As ever these are based on my own real world experiences and sometimes I've learnt the hard way just how important these elements are when coaching teams!
Coach by example – you are the role model for the team and if you are not authentic neither will your team be. You must demonstrate the behaviour and qualities you expect from your team. You must also be prepared to invest the time and energy in your team to help them want to do the same. Lip service will get found out. Ultimately you should be partnering and supporting your team.
Ensure your expectations and goals are understood – all too often we assume that people ‘get it.’ Agree the ground rules with your team. Even if there are clear targets set by the organisation, the team can still contribute as to the best way to achieve these targets.
Ask powerful questions of your team – you are trying to create awareness and responsibility.
Create a culture of trust – believe in potential and encourage people to believe in themselves.
Recognise that each member of the team is unique and will be at a different stage of development so tailor coaching to the individual’s needs. One size definitely does not fit all so ensure regular one to ones.
Listen to your team and encourage feedback - your team will need to feel truly ‘involved’ to achieve great things. Foster a supportive team environment.
Avoid a blame culture - do not be judgemental but rather work through problems that arise. Blame will make people defensive and at the end of the day, what is done is done. Learn and move on.
Help your team recognise and prioritise high importance tasks – time is usually a scarce resource in sales.
Celebrate success – recognise both individual and collective successes. Stating the obvious this boosts morale and purpose.
Make time outside of work for a team to bond naturally - one of the best bosses (leaders!) I ever had did this frequently and the result was a sales team that was always upper quartile for profit, unit sales and customer satisfaction - quarter after quarter, year after year - and had very little staff churn.
Coaching is about helping people to learn, discover, take responsibility, and unlock their potential. It is about fostering a supportive environment, motivating people, creating self-belief, and continuously developing skills. Doing this will help your team achieve great things.
I hope you found this brief overview helpful and If you would like to know more about how R7 can help then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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