Feature


I f we want managers to coach their team members, then they need support, guidance and tools to assist them . . . and they need role models – from above and amongst their peers


Many of us hear about this ‘coaching


culture’. Fewhave been lucky enough to actually encounter one. And when we do… Chief eole ffi cers will tell us that line managers are expected to coach their team members. Team members tell us they cannot remember having been coached. Line managers tell us they think coaching is someone else’s job. This is the coaching conundrum writ


large. While many think it is a good idea, few have actually created the environment where even the most basic coaching activities routinely occur. So, let’s assume for the moment that the organisation tells managers to coach. Let’s assume these exhortations are insuffi cient to effect an kind of change.


When I talk to those expected to coach about why they don’t, there are four reasons I uncover most frequently:


1. I don’t have time. We all have 168 hours per week and some team leaders will be making time to support staff as they try new things, apply new skills they’ve learned (which may even have involved a course!) or pursue their ambitions for advancement. If this is happening in some teams, then, the issue is not time but prioritisation. Is coaching routinely put aside until this or that other thing is dealt with, or the latest crisis averted? Many managers have been promoted


from within and may retain some operational responsibilities. This


represents safe ground for the manager and – let’s face it: “it’s quicker to do the job myself than teach a novice to do it half as well in twice the time, amirite?” Some team leaders have surprisingly little autonomy over how they spend their working hours. Demands from on high increase exponentially; data requests are neer ending fi refi ghting reduces good intentions to smoking rubble. The simple fact is that supporting team members to build their capability to meet organisation goals does take time, yet few have factored this into how they hire, how they promote and how they manage team leaders. he are not an infi nitel stretchable resource. (And if I hear a senior manager say “We need our team leaders to work smarter, not harder” once more, I may not be responsible for my actions.)


2. Fear. Even where the need is for managers to coach their teams in core capabilities, and that manager has been promoted from within, they may be disconnected from the coalface. The special projects, the reports, the meetings, the new technology… is it any wonder managers may feel they are a it rust? ot uite as confi dent to act as a role model for those day-to-day


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Special Edition | 7


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