Page 169 - Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

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COACHING—ONE-TO-ONE LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER 10
coach helps the individual achieve personal goals, and the individual helps
the coach realize organizational goals. Harvey Penick, throughout his
seven decades of coaching championship golfers, founded his relationships
on trust; players understood that Penick wanted them to excel, and so they
should listen to his counsel. At the same time, Penick did not mold players
to a specific swing pattern; he worked within the physical capabilities of
each player. This approach depends fundamentally upon respect for a
player’s talent and engenders trust.
Few things earn the respect of a team more than a coach’s willingness to
accept criticism in public. In sports, good coaches never publicly blame the
players or their assistants for a defeat. They take the criticism. Behind closed
doors, within the confines of “family,” a coach will rip into players who need
ripping into, just as he or she will praise those who are deserving of praise.
Corporate leader-coaches can do the same. They should stand up for their peo-
ple in front of senior management and do whatever is possible to provide their
employees with the support and the resources they need if they are to perform.
Advocating on behalf of employees is a sure way to gain employees’ respect.
But a coach must be skillful about this; he or she cannot alienate the manage-
ment team. Coaches, too, need to maintain the trust of the bosses.
SET EXPECTATIONS
The individual needs to know what is expected of her or him, and it is up to the
coach to be specific about what is needed. As an extension of the goals align-
ment, the leader-coach needs to make certain that the department is aligned
with the organizational goals. Furthermore, the coach needs to ensure that the
individuals on the team know what they are supposed to do. Many managers
ask their direct reports to set their own performance objectives. This practice
is a good one, but the manager owes it to both the team and the individuals to
contribute to those objectives. A simple sign-off is not good enough; the man-
ager owes the employee a conversation about it.
As part of the conversation on performance, the leader-coach must get the
individual’s buy-in. And it is here that the manager must be very clear and spe-
cific. Make certain that goals and objectives are in writing, and gain agree-
ment on what the individual will do by when. Timeliness and deadlines are
essential. If this is not made clear, the employee may legitimately state that he
or she will do it when he or she gets around to it. The deadlines add a sense of
urgency and lead naturally to the manager’s following up and following
through. In the wake of the Super Bowl, Tom Brady, as quarterback of his
team, set expectations for himself that he wanted to repeat, and as team leader
he thereby established expectations for everyone. Brady backed those expec-
tations with a commitment to off-season training.