When we “tell” people the answer, we are simply enabling them to rely on us for the answer. We don’t allow them to stretch their minds and learn to work more independently. We create teams of people who rely on the leader to know what to do, how to act, and how to respond. The end result is the manager feels overwhelmed by the needs of their employees and they end up doing instead of leading!
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Chinese Proverb
Coaching to counsel?
Managers usually recognize that their employees need training when they start a new job or take on new duties or responsibilities. If the employee does not perform well after they are trained, the manager either provides more training (telling) or counsels the employee for performing poorly. What managers fail to realize is that employees want to perform well. They don’t intentionally perform poorly. Poor performance is typically a result of a misunderstanding or the lack of a skill.
It must be demoralizing to be chastised for something you’ve done when all you might have needed was a clarification.
Coaching while counseling will help a manager understand why an employee is performing poorly or behaving a certain way. Coaching may help underlying issues emerge. For example, an employee may be intimidated by the complexity of a task. The fear can be so overwhelming that it generates counterproductive work behaviors such as procrastination or avoidance. Instead of a manager counseling an employee for not getting a project done, they might consider coaching the employee to determine the underlying reasons why the project was not completed and help them work through the real issues that are in the way.
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
Learning to coach?
It’s important for leaders of people to learn how to coach their team properly. Some coaching skills and attributes are inherent in leaders, and others require instruction and lots of practice. A wide variety of qualities are needed to coach successfully. Below is a list of ten qualities that are found in a good coach/teacher:
Here are some questions to consider:
I never cease to be amazed at the power of the coaching process to draw out the skills or talent that was previously hidden within an individual, and which invariably finds a way to solve a problem previously thought unsolvable.
John Russell, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson Europe Ltd.
References
Eshleman, John W. “If Telling Were Teaching…” Behaviorology Today, Volume 5, Number 1, Spring 2002
Darnell, Brent. “The Future of Learning and Coaching” The Evolllution, March 28, 2012, http://www.evolllution.com/program_planning/the-future-of-learning-and-coaching/
Willis, Brian. “Teaching vs. Telling” Winning Mind Training, September 11, 2011, http://www.winningmindtraining.com/teaching-vs-telling/
Curwin, Dr. Richard. “Telling Isn’t Teaching: The Fine Art of Coaching, Edutopia, April 4, 2012, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/telling-isnt-teaching-richard-curwin
Yount, Dr. Rick, “Teaching vs. Telling” Called to Teach, April 20, 2011,
Proverbs 1:5, The ESV Bible, Good News Publishers, Text Edition 2007
Institute of Leadership & Management, “Defining Coaching” What is Coaching?, http://www.i-l-m.com/about-ilm/9930.aspx
Morgan, Kim, “Ten Qualities of a Coach” Barefoot Coaching Ltd, February 28, 2012, http://www.barefootcoaching.co.uk/blog/2012/02/ten-qualities-coach