Coaching: Inspiring, Encouraging, and Challenging

Think about the people on your team. How do you refer to them? If you're out with a buddy, and you run into one of your employees, how would the introduction go? "I'd like you to meet John. He works for me..." Or would you say, "This is John. We work together..."

The distinction is huge. If you believe they work for you and not with you, that's what they will believe and that's how they will act. Most importantly, you will have a barrier that affects productivity and morale.

Coach Wooden lived his words. He made sure his players knew they worked with him toward a common goal. The result? He and his team had four perfect seasons and won 10 national championships - 7 consecutive. He built up his players and his team every day and his team members knew that what they did mattered. They knew they were in it together.

It's no different in business. You can't achieve the company's goals without your team. So what can you do to make sure that your team members know that they work with you and not for you? You can do what good coaches do every day: inspire, encourage, and challenge your team members.

Do you think you're up for it? Or, do you think you already inspire, encourage, and challenge your team? Take a few minutes and find out. Ask yourself the following questions. Be honest. How you answer the questions will provide you with the insight you need to increase your coaching effectiveness.

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Feel free to reproduce and distribute this assessment to both managers and employees. Be sure to utilize the comments section to make a promise to yourself and your employees to be a practical coach, and come back next week for the 12 Steps to Coach Your Team to Success. Thanks for stopping by…

Michele Eby works for Media Partners as a writer and training advisor. She has worked in the training and development field for more than 15 years. Media Partners' management training program "The Practical Coach" was a source for this article.