coaching – Resource Library

Command and control isn’t the only way to relate to employees, nor is it the best mindset when you want to engender staff who are more creative or empowered. Coaching skills also help managers demonstrate their interest in their employees, a key factor for retaining and engaging employees.

That’s why there’s a lot of talk these days about managers and leaders using coaching skills. It’s actually an acronym referenced in courses and coaching studies by the International Coach Federation: “MLUCS.”

We regularly hear that managers and leaders should coach their teams, but being “coach-like” has a variety of interpretations. Ask any number of leaders and you’ll hear answers that range from teaching and skills training to giving advice, giving answers or suggestions, learning from a coach’s experience, and thought-partnership to generate new perspectives, challenge assumptions, and create new possibilities.

Executive orders, cabinet confirmation hearings, and Supreme Court nominations are leaving many in the federal sector uncertain about how they’ll be impacted. This uncertainty can increase anxiety for Federal employees.

I remember as a child my mother saying to me, “most often two heads are better than one.”

This phrase still pops into my head when I am contemplating whom to involve in an upcoming work project or initiative. On occasion, working solo is the right course of action, but in most situations, involving others produces better outcomes for everyone.

We all make assumptions as we go about our daily life, with a good portion of them being made while at work. Many of these assumptions are made without knowing it or thinking about it.

Assumptions are usually based on something we have learned previously and do not question. As part of our belief system, assumptions help us form judgments, make meaning, and draw conclusions about what is happening and what others are thinking. When information is missing, they help us complete our own story.

A strong coaching relationship is based on just that…relationship. While some of the factors that we’d think to be important are meaningful matching criteria, some considerations carry more, or less, weight than we’d expect. What the client wants doesn’t always track with what the client needs. Yet one or more client preferences may increase the likelihood that they feel connected to their coach or even view their coach as legitimate. And while we can’t all be expert match-makers, below are some considerations to keep in mind, whether you are a prospective client looking for a coach, or in the position to match coaches and clients together.

Although Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are used throughout the Federal government, their usefulness varies greatly based not only on how they are used in the agency but also on the quality of the IDP itself. HR can help managers to change IDPs from an administrative process to an opportunity to improve both individual performance and engagement.

Tag: coaching