How To Be The Best Boss For Your Business - Using These Coaching Techniques

A manager is an expert in their field who moves the team towards achieving both the company goals and the client’s goals. They set the tone and energy which is why my best advice for managing people is to remember the managers you’ve had in the past that made you feel inferior or under appreciated and those that made you feel valued and empowered.

Then copy the latter. It is vital for managers to delegate responsibilities and assist their delegates if they need help. They also need to create an environment of trust and autonomy.

No one wants a micro-manager! You always have to think one step ahead and be across your own to-do list as well as the rest of your team’s, which can be overwhelming. There are some great tools that will help you to be more flexible and switch between the various hats required of you as you excel in your managerial role.

First of all, what makes a good manager?

They set clear goals and expectations

They delegate tasks effectively

They demonstrate empathy with their team – remember that a powerful person's whisper can sound more like a shout to the person they have power over

They communicate clearly … and check-in regularly

They focus on solutions not problems, and prioritise innovation and initiative

They support their team and remember it is a group effort. A fail is a fail for all, a win is a win for all.

As a manager, when should you use coaching techniques? When someone you are managing is struggling, offer them the space to raise their issue and be a support as they figure out the solutions for themselves. Spoon feeding answers helps no one in the long run. To coach is to ask the right questions, that enables someone to get from where they are to where they want to be quicker and more effectively.

Some questions you can use as a template:

What is on your mind?

What else?

What is the real challenge here for you?

What do you want?

How can I help?

If you are saying yes to this, what are you saying No to? (encourage curiosity before commitment)

What was most useful for you?

(Reference: The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier)

Why is this so important? Because you cannot take on your team’s problems. If you manage three people and each time your juniors have an issue you emotionally and mentally add their problems to your pile, you’re going to have 4x the problems you have presently. And that is for a fairly small team, imagine that x10, or 20! It doesn’t bear thinking about. This is why you have to help people to solve their own problems, not least of all to allow the person themselves to learn and grow.

Instead of swooping in and fixing the issue try these steps…

Make time to discuss the problem and invite the team member to propose various solutions. Give guidance and support. This is when you could use the above questions.

Agree a time to discuss the progress.

Leave the team member the space to solve the problem themselves.

Empower the team member to report back to you (don’t check in on them).

This shows my managerial mantra in action.

SOLUTIONS NOT PROBLEMS. I (half) jokingly bandish this phrase around the office in a way to remind my teammates that we don’t deal with deadends, only crossroads. We have to be flexible in life and it is to be expected that plans will change and even KPIs will need adjusting but to throw one’s hands in the air and give up is simply not an option.

To avoid being the team fairy godmother who fixes everything but also does everything (no one wants that job) it is necessary to invest time into training others up too. This might be in a formal sense or it might be teaching on the job; both are valuable. I have been guilty of thinking “It will be quicker if I just do it” but that isn’t actually fair on me or the other person. Someone once taught me, the least I can do is to pass that on.

When instructing, teaching or delegating you must be clear. Encourage them to ask questions to ensure they fully understand and have all the information they require. If they have got the wrong end of the stick, it is often because you have failed to instruct them effectively. Use the coaching questions to make sure they understand fully. When they answer - listen to them. A great manager won’t say “because this is how it has always been done.” It may be that your way is the best way but it is always worth hearing someone else’s experience and perspective. No more “because I said so” managing! If they are finding that an approach is not working, encourage them to suggest an alternative.

Lead by example. As I said before, be the manager you enjoyed being on the receiving end of yourself. I had two managers at one point in my career. One would sit down opposite me every morning at a meeting table and tell me what I needed to do for the day which felt like delegation in the worst sense.

She was passing on the tasks she didn’t want to do herself and I had no say in the matter. My other manager would sit at my computer next to me and we’d discuss the objectives of our clients for that week and divide and conquer the tasks. She struck the perfect balance between being available to help and encouraging me to seek solutions for myself.

When things got hectic she would (and I mean literally) sit on the floor with me and roll her sleeves up to get the job done. That wasn’t even an option with the first manager. I know which one I learned more from and felt best working with. I try to pass that on to my team now. Inspire them by showing the wonderful results you achieve but also how you problem-solved along the way.

Being a great manager means being a resource and a guide but also allowing the team the space to soar. Coaching techniques can enable you to do both.

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