Invest in your newest leaders. One-on-one coaching gives them the help they need to quickly develop management skills.
Take your best frontline workers and make them managers. Assume they’ll catch on because they’re hard-working and smart.
Of course that leadership work is quite a bit different than the work they did before they were promoted.
And in all the years we’ve worked with emerging leaders, never once have we heard anyone say it was an “easy transition.”
Maybe you should consider a different approach.
Give New Leaders a Coach
The best help is almost always delivered one-to-one. That was something Facebook figured out when it decided to use coaching as a development strategy for new managers.
It has the following advantages over group work:
- Customized to your specific needs.
- You get all the attention.
- You can work on the issues that are currently on your plate.
- It can be done in confidence. Your coworkers don’t need to know you are getting outside help.
3 Approach Options
There are a variety of styles of one-to-one assistance we can provide. These include:
1. Consulting/Advising
You have a problem that you want to solve and we work with you to figure out root causes and make recommendations about what you should do to solve those problems.
When wearing this hat, we draw on our research, analytical, and problem-solving skills to help you figure out what to do. We can also provide help in implementing the plan if that’s what you want.
2. Mentoring
You want skills that we have. This process is about transferring our experience and knowledge to you so that you can up your game. To you this will feel like having a teacher.
The skill areas we most often are called on to provide mentoring include: Meeting management, team leadership, conflict management, and interpersonal skills.
3. Coaching
When we act as your coach, you aren’t likely to get much in the way of advice. As your coach, we are about asking you questions, making observations and providing feedback.
The goals and agenda are yours. We offer a process that helps you discover your own best way to reach your goals.
In reality, most one-on-one working relationships will likely involve techniques from each of these three approaches. Still, at the beginning, we we will decide which approach you are most interested in and design our time together using that as the framework.
What You Can Expect
Regardless of the approach, here are some basic principle you can expect from our relationship.
We will define the partnership
Usually the person who receives the one-to-one help isn’t the only party involved in the process. There’s often the person’s manager, an HR partner, and possibly senior leaders.
We will jointly define the goals
The partners will work together to define the overall goals for the engagement. If the person receiving the one-to-one help has the power to create his or her own goals, this will be determined as part of the partnership goal-setting process.
The partnership will decide on the ground rules
There may be a variety of questions that need to be addressed, but none are as important as those surrounding confidentiality. Everyone needs to be crystal clear about what we as the coach/advisor/mentor will share. This includes what happens within a one-to-one session or what other members of the partnership team share about the person receiving help.
The process will be defined early on
Once the goals have been established, you can expect us to help you understand the proposed process. Because this is one-to-one, we will develop a customized approach that best meets your needs.
The Phone Call is Free
Could this work for one of your employees? There’s one way to find out. Pick up the phone and give us a call. We’ll discuss your needs and decide together if we are right for your situation.