Management Training Tips: How to Coach a Winning Team
By James A. Baker
Houston, Texas
Management Training Institute
May 2009
Years ago, Tommy Lasorda, Hall of
Fame coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers, said this about managing one
of baseball’s most famous franchises: “I motivate players through
communication, being honest with them, having them respect and
appreciate your ability and your help.” That advice was good enough
to help the Dodgers win two World Series titles and a boatload of
National League and Division championships during Lasorda’s 20 year
career and it will help turn you turn out winners today, too.
It used to be that managing was mostly about hiring, firing,
evaluating, setting schedules and making sure your group met or
exceeded performance goals. However, these days, just like in
baseball, managing is about coaching – that is to say, it is about
helping your people become the very best they can be. Motivating and
teaching (or training) are now the most prized skills for corporate
America’s top managers.
If coaching is undiscovered territory for you, here are a few
excellent tips to help you become the effective coach your people
need you to be:
1. Demonstrate genuine concern in order to build lasting trust. Of
course they agree with you and go along with your ideas! After all,
you are the boss; they will do whatever they can to stay on your
good side. But that doesn’t mean they really agree with you or
support your agenda. Sincere support and focused dedication from
your employees only come from one thing: doing whatever it takes for
however long it takes to create genuine trust and respect. In a
recent Gallup employee engagement survey, the item "My supervisor,
or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person" turned out
to be a key indicator of employee engagement. Take the time to
really get to know your people … as people. Ask good questions, be
supportive, and go out of your way to treat them as real human
beings instead of as cogs in a system. They will give you extra
effort if you show them extra concern.
2. Take the time to understand, appreciate and make the best use of
their abilities. Of course, we would like all of our employees to be
excellent at every phase of the job (just like they would like their
boss to be excellent at every aspect of their job, too). However, we
all have strengths and weaknesses, and one of the worst mistakes
that managers make is spending too much time trying to increase
employee performance in areas where they have no interest or only
low aptitude, instead of taking the areas where they are comfortable
and gifted and helping them to get better! I’m not saying that you
should not encourage your employees to use best practices in
everything they do. However, if you have someone who is great at
organizing, planning and administration, what value is there in
pushing them into more face-to-face interactions with customers if
they find that uncomfortable? Not only does this lead to one
frustrated employee and plenty of confused customers, you also miss
out on an opportunity to improve the efficiency of your
organization. Trust me on this; your people will work harder and
appreciate you more if you put them in areas where they feel
confident and comfortable.
3. Make regular use of specific, timely praise. I think most
managers understand that it is important to express appreciation to
their employees. That is why it surprised me discover that,
according to a recent survey, 65% of employees can’t recall
receiving any positive recognition at work in the past year. I think
that what is more likely is that managers aren’t very good at
expressing recognition and appreciation in ways that actually make
employees feel appreciated. Saying “Thank you,” and “Good work,”
during the day-to-day interactions you have with your people is
better than nothing. However, if you really want to boost motivation
and morale,
• Set a specific time – call them into your office so it is obvious
you are interrupting your schedule and making a special effort.
• Express praise and appreciation for a specific item – “Great job
on getting those reports out yesterday,” or “I really appreciate the
way that you always get your work in on time and that your quality
level is excellent.”
• Offer some type of token of appreciation for exceptional effort –
a bonus for big jobs, or at least a half-day of personal time off
every once in a while for consistent quality. This is above and
beyond merit raises. Employees expect raises for showing up and
being faithful to the job. And they deserve that much, at least.
Extra achievement deserves extra rewards, not just a pat on the
back.
4. Avoid perfection: excellence is good enough. Cy Young won more
baseball games than any other pitcher in the history of Major League
Baseball. He also lost more games than anyone in history! Anyone can
say “Hey, you dropped the ball,” after the game is over. The mark of
a good coach is the ability to pick up a team member and help them
get back in the game with confidence and enthusiasm. Failure is an
opportunity to teach and inspire. Don’t blow it by griping and
complaining over something that is already obvious.
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