Supervisor Coaching Skills

Unhappy boss, unproductive worker.

Many people are plagued with a supervisor who has the grace of an ox when it come to correction and has no idea how to motivate, encourage or communicate the ideas that would help an employee do a better job. Typically, the employee is told to do a task without proper guidance. After flubbing the job, the supervisor calls in the employee and tells him to do better. Without knowing what is meant by that, the worker is confused and apt to make more mistakes. A supervisor who has forged coaching skills will see greater productivity among his employees.

Be a Mentor

We're in this together ...

A mentor is someone that a person looks up to. The effortlessness with which a mentor accomplishes work is revered and copied. The supervisor who truly wants to help the people working for her will assume the position of mentor from the beginning of the relationship. The employee feels valued as a person and by what he brings to the job. The mentor doesn't coddle him but asks probing questions that allows him to consider not simply what he is doing but how he is doing it. For example, the employee soon begins to question himself like this, "What is my task?" "How am I doing it?" "Is it working?" "What can I improve it to make it better?" The employee will discover ideas that the mentor has never imagined, and everyone profits from it.

Communicate in Human Terms

Coaches help others make the right choices.

Taco Bell Area Coach Jane Lanza said, "If you don't develop your people, bad things happen ... build them into a team that enjoys working there." When employees are treated with human dignity, they perform as fully committed stakeholders. Talk to them and get a sense of their goals and aspirations. Let them tell you about their dreams and be willing to offer them help in reaching them. As a coach, you have the joy of helping them realize their potential. First, however, they must know you are truly interested in their development. Let them see that coaching is a skill and a commitment of yours. Unfortunately, coaching has recently been used as a strategy to assist underperforming employees. Consequently, some employees may doubt your sincerity. However, the more you talk to them and gain their trust, they will see the value of coaching in their lives.

Inspire Confidence

Passing on the coaching experience.

A good coach will tell a player what to do, and they will do it. A great coach does not have to tell the player anything, and the player does it anyway. That is the true mark of success as a coach: Inspiring your employees to perform at their highest level whether you are observing them or not. They move through the day with confidence that comes from knowing their job and wanting to excel. If problems arise, you have given them enough probing question experience that they can solve them. The ability to think on their feet is a skill they will keep regardless of any situation. It is not unusual that they will soon rise to the challenge of coaching another person themselves.

References

• Supervisor Coaching Skills
• Skills v strategies