Six Coaching Strategies that Facilitate Leadership Success

 

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been thinking a lot about the traits that successful coaches have in common. It's probably because college football season started a couple of weeks ago, but aside from that, I have always been a fan of sports metaphors generally when talking about leadership principles. As a young athlete many moons ago, I had some great (and not so great coaches). This morning, as I was doing a little bit of reading, I came across an article Jamie Walters had written for Inc.com a couple of years ago—I think it's still relevant.

"Whether on the gridiron, in the boardroom, as part of a project team, or as a personal or professional counselor, all coaches use similar tenets and tools to help others excel," writes Walters. "Coaches might implement these tools in different ways, but the common denominators present in most coaching relationships can have lasting effects on employees' performance, as well as your own."

I couldn't agree more. There were many lessons I learned from my coach while swimming laps in the pool that continue to serve me well today (despite the fact that there's no way I could ever fit into my old Speedo). Here are six strategies that Walters suggests to improve your effectiveness as a leader:

1. Have a game plan: "A clear vision and action plan ensure that all 'players' are focused on the same end-result," says Walters. I agree. In fact, I think that any project without an objective, or an un-articulated objective, has very little chance of success.
2. Associate the game-plan with individual goals: Walters suggests, "A personal coach is only as effective as the client is motivated. A coach can recommend approaches and tools until she is blue in the face, but if the client isn't genuinely focused on attaining the expressed goals ... little change will be made." Articulating the objective is just the first step. The real key to project success is getting everyone on the team motivated to achieve the goals.
3. Do Drills: "Isolate the key skills required to succeed, and develop exercises that hone those specific skills through practice," says Walters. Sometimes we assume that everyone on the project team knows what they are doing. This isn't always the case. A good coach knows the strengths and weaknesses of the team and creates drills or exercises to strengthen the teams weaknesses.
4. Put people in roles that suit their aptitude: "Fill talent voids in your organization, as opposed to filling an open job title," says Walters. "Don't be afraid to give someone new responsibilities or roles if his demonstrated traits suit what's needed." It's really easy to get caught in the trap of filling a job role instead of filling talent voids. Every day organizations turn away excellent talent because they rigidly adhere to arcane notions that titles or education are the ultimate measure of someones ability to effectively contribute. Avoiding that trap might make it a little more challenging to find the right person to fill your talent void, but it's well worth the extra work.
5. Use appropriate communication modes and content: Walters says, "The best coaches in any arena know how to mold their communication style and content to befit the person they are coaching—leading to greater understanding, better rapport, and longer retention." I think we've all been in situations where it's not what you say, but how you say it.
6. Celebrate: "Achieving goals and surpassing milestones deserve credit," argues Walters. "Celebrating these accomplishments underscores the value each person brings to the table and confirms expected behaviors—all while serving as motivators for future learning." In the grind of day-to-day work, sometimes achievements go unrecognized because of the pressure of the next objective. Taking time to celebrate a win doesn't have to take a lot of time, and helps the workforce feel like they've accomplished something. Otherwise, the job becomes a never-ending death march (which nobody appreciates).

None of these strategies is reliant on any particular project management software, but could successfully contribute to how your organization approaches project-based work and how you lead project teams. Have you had success with any of these approaches?