When and How to Coach Team Members

Name: When and How to Coach Team Members
Author: Stella Rostkowski

Learn the basics of workplace coaching

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 4 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

How should you approach coaching? In these lessons, we'll go over what workplace coaching is and the different situations you may encounter as a manager. You'll see why certain employee behaviors are appropriate and why others are not. What does workplace coaching look like? Think of an athletic team coach. The coach directs and guides athletes on their technique and what they need to improve. Workplace coaching is similar as employees look to their managers for guidance and assistance. If an employee came to you with a question about an issue they were having, you wouldn't chase them away. Instead, you'd listen to what they had to say and respond much in the same way the coach guides athletes on how to excel in a particular sport. Here's an example. Maria approaches you about an issue she's having with a coworker in her department. She feels her coworker is being rude to her when they're speaking in front of employees in other departments. Because both employees are in your department, Maria feels she should be able to come to you and discuss what she thinks is going on. What should you do? You should ask Maria to provide you with specific information so that you can better understand what's happening and when. This way, you have specific information to consider rather than working off just one side of the story. The important thing to remember here is that coaching involves guiding, assisting and mentoring. When approaching new employees, remember, they are still unfamiliar with the organization and you're guiding and assisting them towards a specific outcome. One benefit of coaching new employees is that they bring a fresh perspective to the company and their positions which can be incorporated into your coaching. How do you guide a new employee? Let's look at Takeshi and Ronnie, two managers in separate departments that recently hired new employees who have been at the company for one week. At the end of the week, Takeshi and Ronnie ask each of their new employees to meet with them to discuss how things went. In each meeting, the new employees are given a sheet of paper. Takeshi's new employee Erica sees text in a table and begins reading it. Ronnie's new employee Tim sees a heading entitled Things You Did Wrong This Week and a bulleted list. Takeshi waits until Erica finishes reading the table and begins to discuss what he noticed in her first week including how she worked through her lunch breaks. Takeshi discusses the benefits of taking a lunch break noting that it gives employees an opportunity to think about something other than their work. In the next office, Ronnie asks Tim if he has any questions about the bulleted list she gave him and Tim asks, did I do anything right this week? Ronnie simply replies no. Ronnie needs to remember that Tim is a new employee and new employees make mistakes. Ronnie should be encouraging her employees instead of just criticizing them. Providing only negative comments to new employees at first can discourage them from taking initiative, improving business practices or being innovative later. A manager should encourage their new employees to provide feedback on their assignments in order to promote a team dynamic between manager and employee. Managers should also ask new employees for input on how they would handle a situation or project. New employees can bring fresh perspectives and may have had unique experiences elsewhere that provide objective insights.

Intermediate Provider : Stella Rostkowski 4 Lessons · 9m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

This course discusses methods for approaching coaching. It introduces workplace coaching and explores how to coach employees of various levels of productivity.

What You'll Learn

Apply methods for approaching workplace coaching
Coach employees at different levels of competence and productivity
Coach consistent and over-performing employees
Coach under-performing and troubled employees
Coach and mentor other managers

Key Takeaways

The course introduces workplace coaching and methods for approaching it.
It explains how to coach employees at different levels of competence and productivity.
It addresses coaching consistent and over-performing employees as well as under-performing and troubled employees.
It covers coaching and mentoring other managers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You will learn the methods of workplace coaching and how to coach employees at different levels of competence.

Does this course cover coaching different types of employees?

Yes. It explores how to coach employees of various levels of productivity, including consistent and over-performing employees as well as under-performing and troubled employees.

Does this course address coaching managers?

Yes. One lesson covers coaching and mentoring other managers.

What topics are covered in the lessons?

The lessons cover an introduction to workplace coaching, coaching consistent and over-performing employees, coaching under-performing and troubled employees, and coaching and mentoring other managers.