“How well do you take constructive criticism?” It’s one of the most frequently asked questions in job interviews. An equally important question that organizations should introspectively be asking themselves is this: how well equipped is your leadership team to provide actionable feedback to their team? A coaching approach to leadership focuses on empowering team members to be the best versions of themselves both personally and professionally, boosting employee engagement, and creating a positive work environment. This in turn enhances your team members’ skills and strengthens interpersonal relationships.
Establish a Coaching Culture
Strong leaders guide their team by example by personifying the company’s core values and continuously seeking feedback themselves. You can’t expect your team to prioritize communication if you as a leader don’t create a growth-focused workplace environment. Remind your team of the big picture that they are working towards and inspire each individual to live up to their full potential to reach a shared vision. A workplace with a coaching culture is focused on transformation and team morale. Create a trusting environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns and practice active listening to understand employees’ perspectives and provide relevant guidance.
Set Clear Expectations
The first step in ensuring your team members meet expectations is to set clear goals and definitions of success. Implement S.M.A.R.T. goals to create specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives. Once a clear picture of success has been painted, leaders can accurately determine if goalposts are met. If team members fall short of what is expected of them, leaders can have an open and honest conversation to align individuals’ goals with organizational objectives to foster a sense of purpose.
Practice a Feedback Routine
Most companies have one-on-one reviews implemented on an annual schedule, but a coaching culture workplace requires more regular opportunities for constructive feedback. Schedule consistent meetings with your team members to discuss progress, challenges, and development plans, and work together to create detailed action plans with timelines and milestones for achieving goals. Offer both positive reinforcement and constructive criticism to guide improvement. Gather feedback from employees to understand the effectiveness of coaching practices. Take the time to get to know each of your team members to understand what motivates them. For some, it may be advancing their position at the company, while others care deeply about doing meaningful work. Tie these personal goals to the tasks they are being asked to complete to create an intrinsic drive to succeed.
Coaching Leadership Training
Any style of leadership is made up of a set of skills that need to be learned and practiced in real-world scenarios. Leadership and development training equips leaders with the communication skills, engagement tactics, and personality knowledge to lead diverse teams with confidence. Leadership training focuses on creating frameworks for conducting coaching conversations with underperforming employees and learning structured processes for planning for coaching conversations.
Integrating a coaching style of leadership and regular constructive feedback into a company’s organizational culture can significantly enhance employee performance and engagement. By focusing on continuous development and open communication, organizations can create a supportive environment that promotes growth and productivity. At Front Line Leadership, we are dedicated to forming well-rounded, confident leaders to empower their teams. Our training and development modules focus on defining the role of the leader, how to communicate effectively, how to promote teamwork, how to coach multigenerational teams, and how to navigate change. Contact us today to learn if Front Line Leadership is right for your organization.